Around sixty presidents of national parliaments from the Council of Europe and other interparliamentary assemblies gathered on March 20 and 21 at the Palais de lEurope, the permanent meeting place of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. From the Netherlands, Senate President Jan Anthonie Bruijn and House of Representatives President Martin Bosma participated in the biennial conference of parliamentary presidents of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The Council of Europe, founded in 1949, focuses on the protection of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.
The conference agenda included protecting democracy, ensuring freedom of expression in times of polarization, and uncertainty and violence against representatives. On the second day, the secretaries-general of the parliaments met for their own meeting. Remco Nehmelman, Clerk of the Senate, and Peter Oskam, Clerk of the House of Representatives, participated. They discussed the challenges of artificial intelligence and its use by parliaments.
On the eve of the conference, the delegation was received by Tanja Gonggrijp, Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe, her deputy Loek ten Hagen, and several Dutch nationals working in Strasbourg: Jolien Schukking, judge of the European Court of Human Rights, Jeroen Schokkenbroek, Director of Anti-discrimination at the Council of Europe, Marco Leidekker, head of division at the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), and Christian Mommers, adviser to the Commissioner for Human Rights and the Council of Europe.
The conference opened with a thematic session on protecting democracy. As our democracies are targeted, our rule of law is threatened, and our fundamental values are violently challenged, we, presidents of parliaments, bear a historical responsibility: we are the bulwarks of our rule of law against the dangers that threaten it, said Yaël Braun-Pivet, President of the French National Assembly, who introduced the theme as the keynote speaker.
Bärbel Bas, President of the German Bundestag, emphasized that the values of the Council of Europe have never been under more pressure. We must defend democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Our parliaments are also called upon. We, as parliamentarians, must convey the magnitude of this task to our citizens, said Bas.
Jan Anthonie Bruijn highlighted both external and internal threats to democracy and the rule of law, with a special focus on the importance of trust between citizens and government. He advocated for the establishment of an independent Scientific Bureau for the Rule of Law. Such a service can be offered to political parties and during the formation of a coalition government, aiming to contribute to trust in government and politics. Trust is the foundation of our democratic rule of law, of peace, security, and prosperity, said Bruijn.
In the afternoon, Pedro Rollán, President of the Spanish Senate, stated that freedom of expression is one of the main pillars on which our democracies and the future of our societies are built. Without freedom of expression, there may be something else, but no complete democracies. Therefore, it is essential to protect this freedom with all means at our disposal, said Rollán.
In his intervention, Martin Bosma made a case for polarization. Parliaments are the highest elected body in a democracy. As such, they must constantly stand up for their rights and their rightful place in a modern state. As leaders of our parliaments, we are all obliged to be constantly ready to defend the rights of parliaments. Lets first acknowledge that governments have different objectives than we do. They govern, we control, said Bosma. He emphasized the inalienable right to be well-informed by our governments: That is not a favor, it is our most fundamental right. This is enshrined in the Dutch Constitution in Article 68 - the right to information.
PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos concluded the conference on Friday with the statement that our unity and solidarity are the strongest defense against malicious foreign and domestic forces that seek to undermine democracy and peace. We must find ways to reconnect with those citizens, especially with the youth, and bring back the passion for democracy and peace instead of resignation and division. We must invest in civic education that reaches hearts and minds, throughout society and especially in schools and educational institutions. And parliamentarians have a special responsibility and a leading role to play, said Rousopoulos.
The conference was used by the presidents of the chambers to hold bilateral talks with their colleagues. They met together with Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada in Ukraine. Jan Anthonie Bruijn spoke with his colleagues Andrija Mandic (Montenegro) and Gerard Fernández Norona (Mexico), with the vice-presidents of the French Senate, Loïc Hervé, and of the British House of Lords, Lord John Gardiner of Kimble. On Friday, the delegation was received at GRECO, the body established by the Council of Europe in 1999 to combat government corruption. The discussion reflected on the integrity measures in the Senate and House of Representatives.
Read/watch here from the President of the Senate and here the intervention of the President of the House of Representatives. Here you will find the conclusions of the conference.