A year after his appointment at the head of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset embodies the voice of 46 member states. In the morning on Monday, the former federal adviser argued for a sovereign Europe and engaged in the defense of law within the framework of the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine, without however fixing a red line as to the territorial integrity of the country.
“The territorial integrity of Ukraine is an absolutely central question”, but “it is up to Ukrainians to say how they see the situation,” says Alain Berset, who refuses to draw a red line himself. Nevertheless, he defends an approach based on law and dialogue: “It is not logical whether to me or to anyone else to say how this conflict must end”.
While Volodymyr Zelensky was received on Monday at the White House, to discuss the consequences of the war in Ukraine, Alain Berset calls to go beyond the obsession of the short term and hot reactions. “Everyone is rightly passionate about what will happen in Washington in a few hours. But it’s a bit like we are putting aside what should happen tomorrow or the day after tomorrow,” he deplores.
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We must see that we will not respond to the great challenges of time by being in the ultra short term
He therefore pleads for a long -term vision, carried by the 46 member states of the Council of Europe: “We must see that we will not respond to the major challenges of time by being in the ultra short term, or in the logic of the next publication on Twitter. We must think about [l’échelle d’]A generation, at least. “
European values put to the test
The former president of the Confederation stresses that the current conflict directly affects a Member State of the Council of Europe. It therefore concerns “the big European family, that of the values, that which we built after the Second World War, based on democracy and respect for the law, which we have mentioned little in recent days,” he said.
He insists on the urgent need to put an end to violence, but recalls that this represents only “first step”. According to him, the real challenge is to rebuild a lasting European order, based on law: “It is long -term work, underlying work, work of patience, ant work.” A project he intends to continue, especially during a next visit to kyiv, where he will meet the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
International law, rampart against power logics
Alain Berset warns against a drift towards power logics and insists on the essential role of the law. “We do not want a world in which the great powers meet, share things, then discuss” vaguely consequences, says the secretary general of the Council of Europe.
We live in a world that today seems to walk on the head
This is why he recalls the fundamentals: relations between states must be based on international law. Thus, he deplores an era marked by many inconsistencies: “Frankly, we live in a world which, today, seems to be walking on the head”.
“We want, above all, that human rights are guaranteed, that peoples can live in peace, that the populations have perspectives other than war, and that democracy prevails,” he insists. For him, obviously, “nothing can be decided on Ukraine without Ukraine, or Europe without Europeans.”
Interview by Pietro Bugnon
Adaptation web: Miroslav Mares
