See photos from the visit on Flickr. All photos may be freely used provided they are credited.

Challenging times for Europe

“These are challenging times for Europe and there is a great need for dialogue,” President of the Storting Olemic Thommessen said when he welcomed Mr Jagland to the Storting.

Mr Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe and a former Norwegian Prime Minister, had several meetings in the Storting during his official visit on 10^th and 11^th March. The main item on the agenda was the challenges to democracy currently faced by Europe, including the refugee crisis, migration, terrorism and violent radicalization. These challenges have put such fundamental values as human rights, democracy and the rule of law under increasing strain. The Council of Europe plays a central role in the efforts to protect these values.

Mr Jagland’s prime message was that it was essential to safeguard the system of international conventions and not to undermine human rights and the principle of the rule of law in any way. Mr Jagland made particular reference to the worrying tendency in a number of the Council of Europe’s member states to question the role and position of the European Court of Human Rights.

Basic norms provide stability

The first item on the programme was a working lunch with the President of the Storting and the Storting Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). During the lunch Mr Jagland spoke about the challenges linked to Europe’s handling of the migration crisis, and the worrying developments in Turkey, Russia, Moldova and Azerbaijan in the fields of human rights, civil society and freedom of the press.

“We discuss and debate these questions actively in PACE. We’re also concerned that our fundamental values relating to human rights, democracy and the rule of law are coming under increasing pressure,” says Ingjerd Schou, head of the Storting’s Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. “It is decisive for democratic security and a stable Europe that basic norms remain unshakeable in difficult times,” she points out.

Important initiative

Over the past year or so the President of the Storting has involved himself closely in the ongoing reform efforts in the Ukrainian parliament, and has stood in the forefront of a Nordic-Baltic initiative towards Ukraine. The aim has been to lend support to the current reforms in the country in general and in the Ukrainian parliament in particular. This issue was one of the items under discussion with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

«In light of our collaboration with the Ukrainian parliament, it’s very useful for me to hear the Council of Europe’s assessment of the situation and developments in Ukraine. Mr Jagland has reacted very positively to our initiative and underlined the importance of contact between political colleagues,” said the President of the Storting.

Read more about the President of the Storting's last visit to Ukraine

The Council of Europe has a central role to play

In addition to the President of the Storting and the PACE delegation, Mr Jagland also met the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence during his visit to the Storting.

After the meeting with Mr Jagland, Anniken Huitfeldt (Labour Party), the committee chair, said “I have great respect for the perspectives Mr Jagland provides regarding the challenges Europe is facing. The work of the Council of Europe in the fields of democratic principles and human rights is arguably more important than ever before.”

Mr Jagland’s message to the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee was that peace in Europe must be based on the principles of the rule of law and respect for human rights. He stressed that an absence of this can only lead to instability and unrest.

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About the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs & Defence