Political leadership needed to tackle current tensions, Council of Europe Secretary General tells OSCE Permanent Council

Europe needs political leadership and better law making and enforcement if it is to solve current problems, Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjrn Jagland told the OSCE Permanent Council on 24 October 2013.

Jagland spoke of current challenges such as a rise in hate speech, incitement to violence and racism; transborder crimes such as money laundering, tax evasion and trafficking in drugs and human beings, and corruption.

He underlined the ‘excellent” day to day co-operation between the two organizations to tackle these rising threats, and to ensure such values as media freedom, democracy and the rights of minorities were respected.

The Permanent Council is a main decision-making body of the 57-country OSCE. It meets weekly in Vienna to discuss developments in the OSCE area and to make appropriate decisions.