Skopje, 9 May 2026 (MIA) - Being a member of the Council of Europe is not only being a member of a club, it is also committing to the European Convention of Human Rights and it is as well accepting to execute all the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. That's the commitment that the member states took joining the Council of Europe, and it is also obviously the case for North Macedonia, it is the case for Bulgaria, and it is the case for all the 46 member states, Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, told MIA in an interview when quizzed about the 14 rulings of the ECHR which found that Bulgaria violated Article 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights (freedom of association).

Berset, who was on official visit to North Macedonia the past week, told MIA work is ongoing on the implementation of the judgements, with positive results expected soon. The issue, he said, will also be on the agenda of the next meeting of the Committee of Ministers.

"Well, the decisions of the court are clear and they must be implemented. We call this execution. You know, being a member of the Council of Europe is not only being a member of a club, it is also committing to the European Convention of Human Rights and it is as well accepting to execute all the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. That's the commitment that the member states took joining the Council of Europe, and it is also obviously the case for North Macedonia, it is the case for Bulgaria, and it is the case for all the 46 member states. Saying this, we have the judicial level - the court taking decisions - and then we have the political level, that means the Committee of Ministers, the group of the member states accompanying the execution of the judgments in all member states. That's the second element I wanted to mention. We are now not in the first element, we have the decisions of the court, we are in the moment of execution. It is accompanied by the Committee of Ministers," Berset said.

The CoE Secretary General underscored that in a lot of countries there are complex issues or delays when it comes to implementing rulings.

"And this is always a concern for us because it is not possible to accept that it will be not executed. And that's why we are working closely with the concerned countries to make this happen. In the last months, we had made some progress in the execution discussion with Bulgaria. This is discussed regularly at the Committee of Ministers. But who is able to say, 'Okay, it has been done, thank you for the execution'? This is the role of the Committee of Ministers. They are not so far. They are continuing to work on this and I hope that we will have a positive progress. What does it mean? It means that the decisions of the court must be executed. It means concretely in the cases that you mentioned that it must be possible for some organization being registered. That's the point. And from the moment where it will be possible to have in good conditions this result, I think it will be possible for the Committee of Ministers to consider that this step has been made," Berset said.

Berset clarified that the role of the Secretariat he heads is more to deliver elements and documents that would help the Committee of Ministers have all information on the decision.

"And what I was saying yesterday is that it is a process. It is not black or white. It is not one day you just do like this and it has been done. It must be really, it's quite complex, it must be executed and it is a process that takes a bit time if we want to have a stable and high-quality level for the execution. But my impression, what I feel, is that it is progressing," Berset stressed.

In the interview with MIA, Berset spoke about the state of democracy and human rights in Europe today; the challenges of AI; the efficiency of the ECHR; requests to modify the European Convention of Human Rights; as well as the new New Democratic Pact for Europe.

How do you assess the present state of democracy and human rights in Europe and what are the main challenges?

I think democracy is under strong pressure everywhere because of the technological changes, because of social media, because of artificial intelligence. It is more and more difficult to see if we are confronted with information or disinformation, and it means that we need to address this, and this explains that it is backsliding. The Council of Europe is able to do something for this with, for example, the convention on fighting against disinformation or foreign interferences that we are preparing, with globally the New Democratic Pact for Europe that we want to implement. It is a common answer to those threats. 

How big of an influence does the Council of Europe have in promoting and protecting democracy, human rights, and the rule of law?

We have a strong influence, you know. First of all, the organization is made by 46 member states, and North Macedonia is a member state for more than 30 years. It's a long history. And this organization is dedicated to the promotion of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. What does this mean concretely? It means that when those principles are under pressure or attack, we need to bring answers together - for the pressure on democracy, the New Democratic Pact for Europe, on accountability, the rule of law, what's happening right now for example in Ukraine with this aggression from Russia. I mean it is not possible to accept just impunity and brutality and force and war. We want dialogue, peaceful relations and accountability. And we are building a framework for accountability in Ukraine. And for this we also have what I call a common legal space that was developed by the European Court on Human Rights around the European Convention of Human Rights. And all this is the collective answer we can have to the challenges that we are all facing together today. You know, 46 member states, the European continent is highly diverse, but it is not fragmented. Diversity is positive, fragmentation would be negative. And to fight against the fragmentation, we are working all together to create this common legal space. 

One of your main commitments as the organization's Secretary General is the New Democratic Pact for Europe. What are your expectations for this process?

I think we should always see that democracy is a fantastic system because it is the only one allowing the population to decide how they want to be led. But at the same time, democracy can be fragile. It is fragile because it is possible, with social media, disinformation, with AI to manipulate information and to manipulate opinions. And I think the New Democratic Pact for Europe is the program we want to develop together to make sure that we are able as resilient societies to adapt to the new situation. What does it mean? It means that it is important to learn at school, in the family, in the society how democracy works. It is important to protect democracy, and that's exactly for example the goal that we are following with the convention fighting disinformation and foreign interferences. And at the same time we need to innovate, to find new way to promote democracy. And this learning, protecting and innovating is the general context of the New Democratic Pact for Europe. It is a project that we are developing with all the member states, learning from each other, learning from different practices and trying to develop together a context where democracy and democratic values are expanding in a world that is much more complicated than it was the case 20 years ago. 

Our country signed on Friday the Framework Convention on AI and Human Rights. How significant is the issue of regulating AI use in terms of human rights?

It is extremely significant. If we see the expansion of artificial intelligence today, what it can mean, I mean also the use, the misuse, I would say, of artificial intelligence to create disinformation for example, it represents a threat for democratic values. And the fact that North Macedonia is joining this framework convention of the Council of Europe is a very strong signal. It was a very important moment together with the Minister when we signed, when North Macedonia joined the convention. And now clearly it is also the question about implementation and development. But I think this step made by North Macedonia is a strong commitment to participate to a development of artificial intelligence that is not against democracy, rule of law and human rights, but that is really integrated in the processes to make something positive with this. We have very positive elements from AI. You can use AI to debunk disinformation or misinformation. That's really important, we have also these tools that we can use for a positive support for democracy. 

The Council of Europe adopted a resolution to close the post-monitoring dialogue with the country. What does this mean for the country?

It was a decision of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and it is a very good element. It is I think a normal step after all those years. I was mentioning before North Macedonia is a member of the Council of Europe for more than 30 years now. And we had very important positive development together. I mean, if we think where was the continent, where was the region, the Western Balkans 20-30 years ago, it was a totally different situation than today. And it shows, if we see the difference, it shows the huge progress that has been made in the meantime. That's a very positive step, and but we will continue to work together as we do with all member states with the monitoring bodies, following the implementation of conventions, that's really normal. We have with GRECO the fight against corruption, we have with other bodies an important follow-up. We have the CPT, the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, visiting prisons all around the continent, also here in North Macedonia, an external eye on what's happening with also recommendations and discussions to have some progress in those issues that are strongly related to human rights. And this work will never stop. It is ongoing for all countries, all member states have those visits and have these exchanges because we are in an active work promoting the human rights, promoting the rule of law and the democracy, and it is a never-ending process and it will continue here like it is the case in all countries. 

In the context of the rights of the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria, the ECHR has issued 14 judgements over the past two decades ruling that Bulgaria has violated Article 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights (freedom of association), but none of them have been implemented by Bulgaria. Yesterday, at the press conference with your host, Foreign Minister Timcho Mucunski, you stated that you are working on the implementation of the decisions and the issue will be on the next meeting of the Committee of Ministers. Can you be more specific, what positive results do you expect?

Well, the decisions of the court are clear and they must be implemented. We call this execution. You know, being a member of the Council of Europe is not only being a member of a club, it is also committing to the European Convention of Human Rights and it is as well accepting to execute all the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. That's the commitment that the member states took joining the Council of Europe, and it is also obviously the case for North Macedonia, it is the case for Bulgaria, and it is the case for all the member states, all the 46 member states.

Saying this, we have the judicial level - the court taking decisions - and then we have the political level, that means the Committee of Ministers, the group of the member states accompanying the execution of the judgments in all member states. That's the second element I wanted to mention. We are now not in the first element, we have the decisions of the court, we are in the moment of execution. It is accompanied by the Committee of Ministers.  

My third point is that we have in different countries, in a lot of countries by the way, for certain decisions, some complex issues or some delays for the execution. And this is always a concern for us because it is not possible to accept that it will be not executed. And that's why we are working closely with the concerned countries to make this happen. And in the last months, we had made some progress in the execution discussion with Bulgaria. And it is discussed regularly at the Committee of Ministers. 

But who is able to say, "Okay, it has been done, thank you for the execution"? This is the role of the Committee of Ministers. They are not so far. They are continuing to work on this and I hope that we will have a positive progress. What does it mean? It means that the decisions of the court must be executed. It means concretely in the cases that you mentioned that it must be possible for some organization being registered. That's the point. And from the moment where it will be possible to have in good conditions this result, I think it will be possible for the Committee of Ministers to consider that this step has been made. 

The role of the Secretariat that I am leading is more to help to bring some elements, to bring some documents to help the Committee of Ministers to have all information for doing this. And what I was saying yesterday is that it is a process. It is not black or white. It is not one day you just do like this and it has been done. It must be really, it's quite complex, it must be executed and it is a process that takes a bit time if we want to have a stable and high-quality level for the execution. But my impression, what I feel, is that it is progressing. 

How efficient is the work of the European Court of Human Rights in reality?

It is extremely efficient. And we should never underestimate what was achieved during all those times. North Macedonia being a member of the Council of Europe is not just a member of a club. North Macedonia being a member of the Council of Europe takes part in a huge common legal space that was created around the European Convention of Human Rights. Because a lot of rights that have been shaped and decided during more than 60 years now created this common legal space.  

I can give you one example. Because of a decision of the court in the seventies on a United Kingdom case, the court decided, and it was the first time of the continent, that there is for individuals a right to privacy. Can we imagine this? Before this case, there was no right to privacy. And now we have the right to privacy on all the member states of the Council of Europe at the same level thanks to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. And this is creating a huge difference for individuals. North Macedonia joining 31 years ago is a part of this common space. 

Another case is the right to have access to a court when you have a problem, the right to access to a court. It was not obvious before a decision of the European Court of Human Rights. And this is creating for really important rights for individuals a common legal space. And that means what? It means that the influence of the court and the influence of the Council of Europe at this issue is huge. And it means what? It means that the 46 member states are on equal footing in this common legal space. That means that North Macedonia is at the same level like France. It means that Serbia is at the same level like Spain. It means that Ukraine is at the same level like Switzerland or Germany. This is huge. It is totally underestimated. And thank you for the question because it gives me the occasion to underline the importance of this situation for all the populations, for you, for me, for all the people living in North Macedonia. 

An issue that is being raised recently in some countries are proposals to make changes or adaptations of the European Convention for Human Rights.

You mention probably the case on migration. It was this discussion that was launched by some member states. The question is not to change the convention because the convention is not mentioning migration, that's not the point. The point is how are we able in the wide European family to take the political issues that we are seeing, confronting with, to take this in the Council of Europe. And I decided to make a promotion for this discussion at the political level, the Committee of Ministers. And we will have next week in Chisinau, Moldova, a very important meeting of all member states. It's a ministerial conference of the Council of Europe where we will adopt a declaration on migration at the political level. And it was I think the right way at the political level to address this without undermining the independence of the judiciary. We are working for the independence of the judiciary in all countries. We are insisting on this. It would not be correct to try to undermine this at the level of the Council of Europe. 

Photo: Darko Popov

Video: Asllan Vishko, Srgjan Krstikj