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Speech by Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe
I. OPENING
Բարեւ ձեզ (Barev dzez). Hello, everyone.
It is a real pleasure to be here.
I want to thank the Rector of Yerevan State University, Dr. Hovhannes Hovhannisyan, for this opportunity.
On this trip, I have met Prime Minister Pashinyan, as well as the President of the National Assembly.
And later on today, I will sit down with President Khachaturyan and with the Minister of Justice.
Yet one of the best ways to understand a country is to listen to its students.
II. Armenia’s First European Generation
I look forward to your questions.
But first, let me ask you something.
Show of hands — how many of you were born after Armenia joined the Council of Europe in 2001?
You are part of the first generation of Armenians to grow up entirely inside the European family.
And maybe — just maybe — you are the first generation to live what the European project was always meant to be:
Not just a place on a map, but a promise — of peace built on justice, of security rooted in rights, and of prosperity shared through solidarity.
III. A PROMISE ON TRIAL
In 2025, that promise is being tested — in real time.
Right here in your region, in your generation, and across our continent.
So I am not going to give a long policy speech.
Instead, I want to tell you three short stories.
They are happening now — and they say something urgent about the future we are building…
And what is at stake if we get it wrong.
III. THREE STORIES — ONE EUROPEAN FUTURE
Story 1 — Peace talks with Azerbaijan
My first story starts where you are, because peace begins at home.
In March, Armenia and Azerbaijan announced that they had finalised the text of a draft peace agreement.
It may not be the end of the process, but it is a turning point.
More than three decades of conflict: borders challenged, ceasefires broken, tens of thousands displaced.
Some of you lived through this. Others grew up under its weight.
When Armenia and Azerbaijan joined the Council of Europe in 2001, they pledged to work towards peaceful cooperation.
This draft agreement is a concrete step in that direction — a step towards building the conditions for stable and lasting peace.
Next year, Armenia will host the first European Political Community summit of 2026 — a decision supported by both countries.
That is not symbolic. It reflects a shared responsibility for long-term stability in the South Caucasus.
The Council of Europe will remain involved and vigilant — inside and outside the EPC framework.
For the first time in years, peace feels possible.
It is a document — on the table — waiting to be signed.
Story 2 — Ukraine: closing the impunity gap
My second story takes us beyond this region, but it speaks to something universal: justice.
Last month, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe launched the process to establish a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.
This tribunal matters. Because without it, those who planned and launched the war might never be held to account.
There is still work ahead. But we have taken a decisive step.
And this is part of something bigger.
From the first days of the invasion, the Council of Europe has made Ukraine its number one priority.
We built the Register of Damage — now fully operational.
We made the cause of Ukrainian children our own.
And now, we are working to close the impunity gap — with law, not force.
The Council of Europe does not command armies.
But it has another kind of power.
The power to ensure that aggression does not pay.
That law prevails over violence.
And that accountability helps pave the way to peace.
This tribunal is not just for Ukraine.
It is a message to every aggressor, now or in the future:
Europe will not look away.
Story 3 — Justice must be independent
This brings me to the third story — and to a different kind of test for justice.
Not on the battlefield, but within our own system of law.
Just a few weeks ago, nine member states of the Council of Europe called for — and I quote — “a new and open-minded conversation” about how the European Court of Human Rights interprets the European Convention on Human Rights.
All of them are EU countries.
Their focus: migration.
The Court is the legal arm of the Council of Europe, but they did not raise the issue with us.
They sent their letter to the media.
My response was simple: debate is healthy. Politicising the Court is not.
In a democracy governed by the rule of law, no judiciary should face political pressure.
This year, the Convention turns 75.
And today, the Court is the only international tribunal adjudicating human rights violations from the war in Ukraine.
This is not just about legal principle.
It is about what kind of Europe we are choosing to build.
IV. THE CHOICE BEFORE US
Do we want a Europe that grows stronger by protecting democracy at home — and earns influence by supporting it abroad?
Or a Europe where democracy is slowly weakened from within — eroding its credibility in an emerging new world order shaped by others?
That is the choice before us.
V. WARNING SIGNS EVERYWHERE
Across the continent, we are seeing warning signs: disinformation, democratic backsliding, attempts to discredit independent institutions, and the rise of extremism and populism.
Laws are being introduced to address foreign influence.
In some cases, their intent is legitimate.
But they must not be used to silence critics or shrink civic space.
These laws must be scrutinised — without double standards.
What is deemed unacceptable in Georgia or Hungary must be judged the same way in Germany or Romania.
Because double standards — whether real or perceived — erode public trust.
And they damage Europe’s credibility and leadership.
It is not theory. It is already happening.
The tools of democracy — its laws, its courts, its freedoms — are being used to undermine the very values they were built to protect.
Rights are being restricted.
Dissent is being suppressed.
And all of this is done in the name of security.
VI. Democratic SECURITY — NOW
The risk is to trade democratic security for the security of democracy, without even realising it.
This is why we must act.
Europe must define a strategy for democratic security — one that puts values at the heart of our defence.
The European Union is right to commit €800 billion to military security.
Defending democracy — inside and outside — demands the same clarity, urgency, and resolve.
And we have seen why — with today’s three stories:
Peace between neighbours.
Justice and accountability for victims of war.
The independence of courts.
Each is a pillar of democratic security.
Together, they are the foundation for lasting peace — and for resilient, democratic societies.
VII. CALL TO ACTION
But this cannot be imposed from above.
It must be built with — and by — citizens.
And especially with young people, like those here today.
Because the next chapter of the European project will not be written in Strasbourg or Brussels alone.
It will be shaped in classrooms, courtrooms, civic spaces — and in the choices you make.
That is the power of your generation.
So let’s use it — to renew the promise of Europe.
A Europe of peace built on justice.
Of security rooted in rights.
And of prosperity shared through solidarity.
Thank you.