2023-05-15 20:13:34
Around 30 European heads of state and government are traveling to Reykjavik, Iceland, for the first Council of Europe summit in almost 20 years on Tuesday (4:30 p.m.). French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, among others, have announced that they will be there. Austria is represented by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen.
The Council of Europe wants to work to protect human rights and is independent of the EU, which is why its 46 members also include countries such as Great Britain, Turkey and Ukraine. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU Council President Charles Michel and observers from the UN and the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) will also attend.
At the first summit since 2005 and only the fourth meeting of the heads of state and government in this form, the main focus is on the war in Ukraine. At the two-day summit, the countries want to consider how Russia can be held accountable for its war of aggression against Ukraine. Russia has not been part of the Council of Europe since last year.
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