Luxembourg Stresses Importance of Protecting Vulnerable Groups at Council of Europe Summit

On Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 17 May 2023, Luxembourg’s Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, participated in the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe in Reykjavik, Iceland.

This was the fourth summit since the creation of the Council of Europe 75 years ago, the last one having taken place in 2005 in Poland. This summit took place in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine and its implications for democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental rights.

On the first day, after the official opening and a ceremony including a solemn musical performance dedicated to the Ukrainian people, Prime Minister Bettel co-chaired a round table together with the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, on the theme of “Safeguarding democracy in times of crisis – risks, resilience and re-engagement” according to Luxembourg’s Ministry of State. The first day ended with a working dinner at the level of leaders around the subject “United for Ukraine”.

The second day of the summit was marked by the general debate in plenary session during which Luxembourg’s Prime Minister notably highlighted the foundations on which Europe was built: peace, human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Prime Minister Bettel emphasised the importance of the Reykjavik Declaration, as well as the joint ministerial declaration on the occasion of the International Day against Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Biphobia, Transphobia and Intersexphobia, also signed during the summit. The Prime Minister stressed that for Luxembourg, the protection of vulnerable groups and people, women, children, migrants, people with disabilities, LGBTQI+ people and others should be at the heart of common pan-European action, because without solidarity with the most vulnerable, the European architecture of democratic values would be challenged.

On the margins of the summit, Prime Minister Bettel also had the opportunity to meet with several of his European colleagues and counterparts, including the President of the European Court of Human Rights, Síofra O'Leary, and the Prime Minister of Iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir. The latter focused in particular on deeper cooperation in the fields of renewable energies, education and research, as well as the audiovisual and ICT sectors.