"I warmly welcome the signature today by the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, of the new three-year contract 'Strasbourg, European Capital' (2024-2026), host city of the Council of Europe and seat of several European institutions.

This signature is the expression of the strong support for the Council of Europe, in particular for three human rights projects aimed at addressing the democratic backsliding of our times. I am referring in particular to the Observatory on History Teaching in Europe, whose mission is to promote and reinforce the understanding of democratic culture through quality history education; the Council of Europe Model of Negotiation (CoEMoN), an event aimed at raising awareness among political science students of the role, functioning and various missions of our Organisation; and finally, our World Forum for Democracy, which takes place in November and offers a unique platform to discuss the challenges facing our democracies."