Democracy can’t protect itself – we need to work more closely together
The Vice-President of the Nordic Council, Maria Stockhaus, during her opening address to The European Conference on Democracy and Human Rights in Kristiansand on 5 May 2025.
The Vice-President of the Nordic Council, Maria Stockhaus, opened the conference along with the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Theodoros Rousopoulos, and HRH Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who also joined in the discussions on social trust, co-operation and democratic resilience.
“Only a few years ago, not many people would have believed that we’d be discussing the future of democracy in Europe. And yet, it is now one of the most pressing issues we face,” the Vice-President said in her opening speech.
The conference turned the spotlight on threats of authoritarianism, the war in Ukraine and diminishing trust in democratic institutions. Both the Nordic Council and the Council of Europe stressed the need for parliamentarians from all regions and institutions to work more closely together.
“We need to enhance European co-operation – not just on security and defence but also on values. Because democracy can’t protect itself,” Stockhaus stressed.
We need to enhance European co-operation – not just on security and defence but also on values. Because democracy can’t protect itself.
Historic setting for important meeting
The Nordic Council and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe met for bilateral talks for the first time in what constitutes a new and important forum for interparliamentary co-operation in Europe.
The meeting took place in The Archive in Kristiansand, a Gestapo HQ during World War II but now a documentation centre for war, human rights and democracy, a symbolic setting that underscored the seriousness of the talks and the need for vigilance in the face of new threats of authoritarianism.
The agenda included the need for European institutions to work more closely together, the war in Ukraine and the situation in Belarus, where both democracy and human rights are under serious threat.
