48th SESSION

CG(2025)48-15 rev

26 March 2025

Oral reply to written questions

Luxembourg Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe

Statement by Léon Gloden, Minister of the Interior on behalf of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers

Wednesday, 26 March 2025

Mrs Bryony RUDKIN (United Kingdom, SOC/V/DP-SOC/G/PD)

Can the minister comment on what action might be taken when member states do not abide by the values, protocols and expectations of the Council of Europe?

Andrew BOFF (United Kingdom, CRE-ECR)

What progress has been made towards establishing an International Criminal Tribunal for the Russian Federation.

Stewart DICKSON (United Kingdom, GILD-ILDG)

Luxembourg is a country that can be proud of its particularly active cross-border

cooperation with regions and cities in neighbouring countries. What are the main lessons to be learnt from Luxembourg's experience in the field of trans-regional cooperation and what are the main challenges that your country has faced or is facing in this field?

Bernd VOEHRINGER (Germany, PPE/CCE-EPP/CCE)

Dear Minister,

As one of the Council of Europe’s founding members, Luxembourg has presented very ambitious priorities for its presidency.

As outlined in the priorities, Luxemburg wants to strengthen the protection for key players in our democracies. Mayors and city councillors are key players. The arrest and detention of the Mayor of Istanbul, and other democratically elected local representatives, as well as the recent detainment of journalists, marks a new and alarming escalation in Türkiye’s ongoing democratic backsliding. How will the Committee of Ministers react to the detention of Istanbul’s Mayor, other democratically elected representatives and journalists? And how can the Committee of Ministers work together with the Congress in order to improve the current situation in Türkiye?