the prime minister of the United Kingdom
[Applause]
addressing a huge crowd on the streets of Strasbourg in 1949
Winston Churchill one of the founding fathers of this Council spoke about Legend
he was talking about what makes our continent so successful the values of freedom democracy and the
rule of law The Same Spirit we've seen again and again that led Vacaville to broadcast his messages
of Freedom during the suppression of the Prague spring that brought down the Berlin Wall and that
leads Ukraine to defend its sovereignty with such Valor inspiring us to stand with them all
the Council of Europe has nurtured that spirit for three quarters of a century
and it must do so again now because today we are facing the greatest threat to democracy and
the rule of law on our continent since before the Treaty of London was signed
with Russia waging a war of aggression on European soil and China growing in assertiveness
the world is becoming more contested and more volatile the challenge to our values is growing
and the moment to push back is now democracies like ours must build resilience so that we can
out cooperate and out-compete those who drive instability that's why we're working so closely
with our friends across Europe through the G7 NATO The Joint expeditionary Force the
European political community and with a welcome new tone in our relations with the European Union
friends the United Kingdom may have left the EU but we have not left Europe we remain a proud
European nation and we must work together to defend the values we all hold so dear
the Council of Europe with its huge reach has such a vital role to play
and we need to think about how this Council should react to the realities of today we showed great
purpose in expelling Russia last year acting decisively together within days of the invasion
let's bring that dynamism to the issues before us now and let's send a message
from this Hall loud and clear that we will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes
we will hold Russia accountable for the horrendous war crimes that have been committed
and we must also learn the lessons of this war by being prepared to confront threats to
our societies before they become too big to deal with that includes acting on cyber security and AI
and it means tackling illegal migration the moral case for Action is clear we can't just
sit back and watch as criminal gangs profiteer on people's misery illegal migration exploits
the most vulnerable it risks crowding out those with a genuine case for Asylum and it strains
the trust that our citizens have not just in our domestic borders but in the International System
and that's why so many of us are already acting at the national level and why we need to do more to
cooperate across borders and across jurisdictions to end illegal migration and stop the boats
the council already plays a vital role but I urge leaders to consider how we can go further
because we know what we can achieve together look at this council's extraordinary Legacy
protecting human rights abolishing the death penalty in Europe supporting media freedom
and championing democracy across Central and Eastern Europe after the Cold War
so let's take heart from that and keep rising to the many challenges before us
true to our enduring values and certain that as Churchill went on to tell the Strasbourg crowd the
dangers before us are great but great too is our strength thank you thank you [Applause] [Music]