On 18 and 19 January, Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland paid visits to the United Kingdom and Germany to meet leaders and discuss the future political structure of Europe. The visits took place just before the presentation to member states' governments in Strasbourg on Wednesday 20 January of the Secretary General's proposals to reform the Council of Europe and make it more flexible and relevant to the challenges confronting Europe.

UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband and German Minister of Foreign Affairs Guido Westerwelle recalled the pressing need for reform and underlined their support for Mr Jagland’s reform efforts.

During his meetings with government and members of the House of Commons and the Bundestag, and also with members of the UK and German delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the importance of EU accession to the ECHR was underlined as a vital step to strengthen cooperation between the EU and the Council of Europe and to establish a single legal space in which to protect the rights of everyone in Europe.

The move will also consolidate the role of the Council of Europe as an Organisation including the whole of Europe in pursuit of common values of respect for human rights and democracy.

Concluding his visit to Berlin the Secretary General addressed the German Council on Foreign Relations on the relevance and challenges of the Council of Europe.

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