Europe Day
Bern, 05.05.2023 - Message from President of the Confederation Alain Berset on the occasion of Europe Day on 5 May 2023
Every year on 5 May, our continent pays tribute to the Council of Europe, and with good reason. Founded in 1949 to help rebuild war-torn Western Europe and foster social and economic progress, the Council of Europe has evolved to become a leading pan-European institution promoting democracy, human rights and the rule of law. And since 6 May 1963 – 60 years ago – Switzerland has also been a member of the Council of Europe.
Joining the Council of Europe has brought far-reaching benefits for Switzerland too, helping to modernise our systems for protecting human rights and the rule of law. Its key instrument, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), allows every individual to seek redress before the European Court of Human Rights.
The Council of Europe is Europe’s foremost organisation for the protection and promotion of democracy, human rights and the rule of law – values that Switzerland shares with the other member states and to which it is wholly committed. Open, democratic countries like ours, with global economic ties, rely heavily on respect for international law. It protects smaller states by ensuring that larger states also abide by commonly agreed rules.
Russia's military aggression against Ukraine is a flagrant violation of these rules and a stark reminder of the need to uphold the values of the Council of Europe 74 years after its founding.
This May, the fourth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe will take place in Reykjavik. The summit aims to inject new energy into the organisation in light of the major challenges it faces. These include the need to ensure that war crimes in Ukraine do not go unpunished. Other topics on the agenda are democratic resilience, human rights and artificial intelligence, and human rights and the environment. In this anniversary year of its accession, Switzerland will continue to do its part to strengthen the credibility and relevance of the Council of Europe and to reaffirm, together with all member states, the unity of the community of values.
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