Parliamentary Assembly

Madam President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Mr Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Mr Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, honourable members, ambassadors, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, it is a great honour for me to address you today. In three days’ time, on 30 June 2018, we shall commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Slovak Republic’s accession to the Council of Europe, the oldest international Organisation on the European continent.

I am delighted to say that I am very familiar with this place, having worked here for several years as a member of the permanent delegation of the Slovak Republic to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. I am therefore all the more pleased that I can be here with you again, now as Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, to share with you the successes that my country has achieved in the past 25 years. I will also be glad to discuss with you outstanding matters and challenges that the Council of Europe and Europe itself face today. The importance of our debate taking place here is clear, because the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is a permanent platform for dialogue at the parliamentary level, inspiring all policies of the Council of Europe. Moreover, the Assembly defends our common values, which are deeply enshrined in the principles of human rights and democracy.

Let me draw your attention to the very purpose for which the Council of Europe was founded – to protect human rights, peace and democracy. We must not lose respect for those values, which now tend to be taken for granted instead of being seen as privileges that we gained when the Council of Europe was founded and that European society continues to benefit from. The Slovak Republic values that privilege. In the course of fulfilling the often challenging obligations arising from our membership of the Council of Europe, we have been able to reach a high level of democracy in a relatively short period of time since our independence in 1993. The Council of Europe helped young European democracies substantially at that time, on occasion even by asking for strict measures to be implemented – as it turns out, we now have more problems with those countries with which the Council of Europe chose to be more lenient.

All Member States should realise that the Council of Europe is not a ‘menu à la carte’ where we only choose what we want. Therefore, we should not merely enjoy the benefits of the membership.

Let us not forget, however, that the new members proved to be a breath of fresh air after the Council of Europe had started to lose momentum, just before the fall of the Iron Curtain. Young blood is simply an asset for every organisation, even though it bears some aspects of wildness. When those new members joined the Council of Europe, it was a win-win situation, and we should strive to maintain such an approach now and in the future.

Slovakia appeared on the map of Europe a quarter of a century ago. Like all young democracies, we had to cope with a fundamental change of circumstances, be they political, economic, social or related to fundamental values. That was not an easy period, for much of what had been considered stable suddenly lost its relevance, and new beacons of stability had yet to be found. With the benefit of hindsight, we can see that Slovakia also had to do its utmost to build its own statehood – in the full complexity of this word. We had to create our own institutions, and develop our own foreign policy and diplomacy, among other things, as well as engaging in the international community and in various forms of international co-operation. I am deeply honoured to claim that we have succeeded in that mission.

Today, 25 years after independence, I can proudly say that Slovakia is a fully fledged and recognised member of the international community. Slovakia fulfils its commitments and contributes to maintaining peace, stability, security and prosperity in the world. That is also proved by various positions on the international stage, such as the successful Slovak presidency of the Council of Europe in 2007-08 and the Slovak presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2016. The post of President of the General Assembly of the United Nations has been held by the Slovak Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Miroslav Lajčák, for several months. Slovakia is a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council for 2018 to 2020, following its previous successful involvement in that body in 2008 to 2011. In a few days, literally, Slovakia will succeed Hungary to hold the presidency of the Visegrád Group for the fifth time, and the OSCE chairmanship next year is no doubt one of the major challenges ahead of us. Those examples serve as a testimony to the confidence of the international community in our young democracy and to the firm footing it has established on the international stage through the years.

As I have said, a quarter of a century ago the Council of Europe helped us lay the foundations of our statehood and parliamentary democracy in accordance with the principles of the rule of law and respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights. Today, Slovakia offers the Organisation and its members our own experience and knowledge acquired in the course of transition from a totalitarian to a democratic society. We are actively involved in the process of the Organisation’s creation of norms and standards to strengthen international co-operation and to deal jointly with the challenges present in today’s Europe.

I have mentioned the role of the Council of Europe in increasing the level of democracy on the European continent, but let me highlight the role of its flagship, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. History shows us that no State is perfect when it comes to respecting human rights. Shortcomings related to human rights occur in every country from time to time, and it is necessary to identify them and call for a remedy. States must be relentless in the field of human rights, and must continuously strengthen and improve legislative, institutional and application frameworks for protecting and promoting human rights.

It should be a common interest of all member States to ensure that the European Court of Human Rights is not confronted with long-term difficulties that have a significantly negative effect on its functioning and effectiveness. I therefore believe that effective implementation of the Convention and full compliance with the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights at national level is the most natural path to follow. We learned from application practice in the Slovak Republic just how positively the Strasbourg Court’s case law affects the development and formation of legislation and decision making by judicial authorities, thus increasing the protection of human rights in member States.

I would also like to focus on the work of the European Commission for Democracy through Law – the Venice Commission. That highly respected institution has outstripped the geographic reach of the Council of Europe in terms of its members and importance. The Slovak Republic is grateful for the excellent co-operation and expert assistance provided by the Venice Commission, including its opinion of last year that helped to address the issue of appointing judges to the constitutional court of the Slovak Republic. In recognition of the value of our dialogue with expert bodies, I would also like to highlight the importance of GRECO and Moneyval. The Slovak Republic tries not only to implement the recommendations of monitoring bodies at national level but to help the proper functioning of those bodies.

Let me draw your attention to another two important pillars of this Organisation. The first is the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, who oversees adherence to human rights standards in member States. I am grateful to the former Commissioner, Nils Muižnieks, for his inspiring co-operation with the Slovak authorities, and I look forward to working with the new Commissioner, Dunja Mijatović. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe is another important anchor of the Organisation. Without democracy at local and regional level, there would not be democracy at national level. The voices of our citizens, who ask for solutions to their everyday problems and demonstrate their active engagement in the life of the country, should be among the priorities of all politicians. I therefore welcome the contribution of the Congress to enhancing democracy and good governance.

The protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities is a topic of particular importance for Slovakia. The Council of Europe has done vital work in that regard. I appreciated the event hosted by the Croatian presidency of the Committee of Ministers last week, at which we commemorated the 20th anniversary of two unique Council of Europe legal instruments – the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages – entering into force. Slovakia, with its diverse population in terms of national minorities and ethnic groups, takes full advantage of the expertise and assistance provided by the Advisory Committee and the Committee of Experts in its efforts to improve the protection of persons belonging to national minorities.

I am also thankful to the Council of Europe for helping to improve the social status of the Roma in both Slovakia and Europe, including their social inclusion. Addressing the problems of Roma communities is a long-term priority of the Government of the Slovak Republic, which welcomes any suggestions from the international community that may have a positive impact on that target group. I consider education fundamental to the integration of Roma into majority society and therefore wish to highlight the joint project of the Council of Europe and the European Union on inclusive education for Roma children.

The basic pillar of the rule of law is an independent and properly functioning judiciary. I am glad that the European Union justice scoreboard ranked the Slovak Republic much higher in 2018 than in previous years. I appreciate the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice, with which the Slovak Republic works closely and intensively, as a particularly useful Council of Europe tool. One of the results of that co-operation is an in-depth analysis of the state of the Slovak justice system. I believe that the measures proposed by CEPEJ will contribute to further optimisation of the functioning of the justice system in Slovakia. Having a high-quality, efficient, cost-effective and independent justice system will ultimately restore and reinforce our citizens’ confidence.

I appreciate the excellent co-operation between the Council of Europe Development Bank and the Slovak Republic. This month, we organised a joint meeting of the bank – the oldest European multilateral development bank – in Bratislava. During its 20-year membership, Slovakia has made use of both the finances provided by the bank and its experience and values, and we are an active contributor to its funds and social cohesion tools.

Ladies and gentlemen, like other member States, the Slovak Republic needs the Council of Europe in these turbulent times. Populism and extremism are on the rise in Europe and around the world, along with fake news and hate speech. Terrorism, the migration crisis, growing scepticism and the public’s mistrust of institutions undermine the principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Multilateralism is threatened by a lack of dialogue and tolerance, an inability to listen to one another and a lack of political will. However, only by taking a joint approach and co-operating will we be able to cope with the challenges that we face.

The Council of Europe is no exception. The political and financial crisis undermines the Organisation’s mandate and ability to act, and impedes its proper functioning. The upcoming 70th anniversary of the foundation of the Council of Europe is therefore an opportunity to self-reflect, to recognise our strengths and weaknesses, and to outline the Council of Europe’s strategic direction, rather than to celebrate. The basic premise of that process is that all member States should realise that the Council of Europe is not an à la carte menu from which we choose only what we want. We should not merely enjoy the benefits of membership. On the contrary, it is necessary to honour and respect the obligations imposed on us by membership of the Council of Europe, and to implement consistently the decisions made by the Organisation in accordance with the rules agreed by all member States. I therefore greatly appreciate the initiative by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to continue the reforms that it so urgently needs.

Secretary General Jagland, on behalf of the Slovak Republic, I am grateful to you for all you have done in favour of the Organisation as a whole. I firmly believe that in the future there will be the political will among all actors to undertake a complex reform of the Organisation that will make the Council of Europe stronger and more clearly defined within the framework of modern multilateral architecture.

Effective multilateralism has been much debated lately – alas, from both an enthusiastic and a sceptical point of view. Promoting effective multilateralism is one of the main pillars of Slovakia’s foreign policy. We apply all aspects of it to the Council of Europe. But let me point out one aspect of effective multilateralism which is so simple that it is often forgotten. The Council of Europe is a type of international organisation that cannot be equally useful for all of its members at the same time. Sometimes a particular State needs it more, and sometimes less. Put differently, the Council of Europe can sometimes offer the State more, and sometimes less. Therefore, a member of an international organisation should approach it not in terms of whether it now meets its short-term expectations or demands, but in terms of whether it serves the whole community of member States from a long-term perspective.

The Council of Europe's mission is to promote and protect human rights in Europe. I find it rather worrying that this mission is undermined in areas affected by armed and frozen conflicts. We cannot accept that the human rights of citizens living in such territories are systematically suppressed. This is the case for Slovakia’s neighbour, Ukraine. I reiterate that Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders have the Slovak Republic’s full support. We appreciate the results of previous reforms in Ukraine, to which the Council of Europe also contributes a great deal through the action plan. At the same time, I stress the need to continue this reform effort, to effectively implement new legislation and to ensure the reforms are sustainable. Slovakia reaffirms its commitment to assist and support Ukraine actively in its reform process, including its gradual progress towards the standards of the European Union.

The unrelenting violence in the eastern part of Ukraine and the frozen conflicts in Georgia, Transnistria and Nagorno-Karabakh, in contravention of international law, demonstrate the lack of political will to solve them. At this point, I would like to commend Council of Europe programmes such as the confidence building measures, which we consider to be an important contribution to the peaceful settlement of disputes and the coexistence of the inhabitants of the territories concerned. Europe’s security has been directly linked with the Western Balkans for centuries. It is therefore not a coincidence that the term “Western Balkans” occurs repeatedly in key European Union documents, and the enlargement policy is seen as a strategic investment in European security and prosperity.

Seventy years ago, when memories of wartime were present in every corner of our continent, we had a dream. The grand idea at the time was to have a Europe without borders, where people could live freely and happily and where the rule of law was a fundamental imperative. Today we can say that we have come considerably closer to that idea. The European family has become a reality, and 28 countries, including central European countries, sit together at the same table to discuss a wide range of issues and decide on their own future. However, the vision has not yet been accomplished, so Slovakia will continue to support the reform efforts of the Western Balkan region and enhance the credibility of the accession process. We believe that new dynamics of expansion will help the countries in the region to meet the conditions for European Union membership. A stable, secure and prosperous Western Balkans is the shared vision not only of the European Union, but of the Council of Europe, which makes a significant contribution to this vision.

Before I conclude my speech, I should draw your attention to something that you have heard here again and again. Corruption is one of the greatest threats to democracy in Europe. It has cast its shadow over this Organisation and many of its member States. I believe that the Parliamentary Assembly and the Council of Europe will find the inner strength to deal with this problem in a dignified manner. Corruption is often referred to as the cancer of society, and we saw during the recent events in my country that none of us is immune to this disease. In the struggle to preserve and restore citizens’ trust in the rule of law, we see independent and functioning institutions, an active civil society and free media as our partners. We envisage the Council of Europe, with its experience and know-how, playing a major role in this process.

I would like express my support for the vital role that the Parliamentary Assembly and the Council of Europe play in protecting democracy throughout the pan-European area. Your work and new ideas are essential in the process of overcoming the challenges we face together. This objective can only be achieved through co-operation at parliamentary and governmental levels, as well as through co-operation with civil society and other stakeholders. This vision of mutual respect and tolerance was shared by Alexander Dubček, a prominent Czechoslovak and Slovak political figure in the 20th century, who is known as the face of the Prague Spring and who is a Sakharov prize laureate. I will present his bust as a gift on behalf of the Slovak Republic to the Council of Europe after the end of our discussion.

Thank you for your attention, and I will be pleased to answer questions from the members of the Parliamentary Assembly. It is a great honour to be here with you today. [Applause.]