Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen

Thank you for this opportunity to speak to you on this very important and interesting theme.

My background paper is published on the conference website, so I can be rather brief.

Democracy, sovereignty and security have been strongly interrelated in a European context for centuries.

The nation state has been the political, institutional framework for the development of democracy in Europe, and will together with national parliaments remain the most important building stone in our democracies.

However, history has taught us, that the many challenges we are facing cannot be met by the national framework alone.

Some of the most existential challenges for mankind – about peace, development, climate and environment can only be met efficiently through strong International institutions and frameworks.

The United Nations and the Council of Europe have very important roles to play. NATO is for many of us the cornerstone for maintaining regional peace. The European Union is the most advanced and extended example of democraticly decided pooling of sovereignty in order to meet common challenges among 28 countries.

After the end of the Cold War we had high hopes that we could finally combine democracy, sovereignty and security. For the first time in history, it seemed within reach to transform Europe to a peaceful and stable continent of democracies cooperating in regional organizations to secure peace and promote economic development.

The Council of Europe and the EU admitted several new member states, all eager to meet the commitments on democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

Today we witness a setback for many of these ideals. Corruption scandals, support for far-right parties, nationalism, homophobia, hatred against Roma etc are rising. And it is happening, not under dictatorships, but under democratically elected governments. How did it come to this?

The financial crisis, high unemployment, social problems and austerity policies to avoid the piling up of public debt are all parts of the explanation. The social and labour market consequences of digesting a major enlargement of the EU as well. Crises make people scared and many don’t feel protected by the European institutions.

In such times there is a tendency to turn nationalistic – you assume that you can trust your own blood.

Nationalistic tendencies are remarkable in many European countries – not only in the countries which have been forced to implement the toughest austerity measures. It has been illustrated at several national elections the last couple of years.

Most distinctly with the results of the elections to the European Parliament in May this year which clearly indicated that the popular support for the European project is declining.

European Union governments have to cooperate much better in formulating the right policy answers both to fight unemployment here and now and to secure the urgently needed structural reforms

National parliaments have an obligation to facilitate these policies, but we also have a special responsibility in fostering a well-informed, nuanced debate.

We can promote discussions through parliamentary debates and questions and hold governments to account. We can conduct public hearings, engage independent experts and civil society representatives to improve the debate.

National parliaments must play a more active role in the European decision making. To this end a number of proposals have been put forward by the Danish Parliament and other national parliaments earlier this summer.

National parliaments have the possibility to be in direct contact with the voters and the responsibility to foster well informed, nuanced debates on for instance nationalism, racism and the rights of minorities.

National parliaments are in particular well qualified to ensure that the citizens do not regard themselves as alienated from the decision-making in the international bodies.

Ladies and gentlemen

The concepts of democracy, sovereignty and security will also in the future remain crucial to a stable and secure Europe.

The Council of Europe has since its foundation in 1949 made valuable contributions in defending human rights, democracy, sovereignty and the rule of law. But all that progress is threatened by developments in the Ukraine right now.

The Russian annexation of Crimea and support for the separatists in the Eastern Ukraine violate the Ukrainian territorial integrity in contradiction with international law.

It is also in blunt conflict with the 1994 Budapest Memoranda, where the Ukraine gave up possession of nuclear weapons, while all major powers including Russia guaranteed the territorial integrity of the Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.

In reaction to the Russian annexation of Crimea, a huge majority in the UN General Assembly in March 2014 voted in favor of resolution 68/262 once again supporting the territorial integrity of the Ukraine.

But in spite of strong warnings from the international community, a war is being fought in the Eastern Ukraine with support for the separatists coming in from Russia. The whole security architecture of the broader Europe is shaken and disturbed by the situation in the Ukraine. Cooperation between Russia and the West is breaking down, and sanctions have led to economic warfare.

I sincerely hope that somewhere in the future we can reinvent the understanding that across the whole European continent we have strong common interests and that closer cooperation is the precondition for peace and development.

A renewed regional cooperation under the broader European Space that will include Russia and other members of the Eurasian Union and allow the Ukraine and other member states of the Council of Europe to cooperate freely both with neighbours in the West and in the East. None of us should understand security as a zero-sum-play – less to me if more to you.

Thank you for your attention.