Ukraine 'damages' on table before Council of Europe Summit in Iceland

Leaders to meet for fourth summit in nearly 80 years

National flags marking the 70th anniversary of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. AFP

A register of damages is to be set up for Ukrainian war victims in The Hague when nearly 50 heads of government meet this week for a two-day Council of Europe summit in Iceland.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels it was “a first step, and a good step, towards Russian compensation”.

A spokesman for the Council of Europe, the continent's oldest multilateral institution, which focuses on upholding human rights, told The National that the register would enable anyone harmed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year to log damages in the hope of compensation.

The structure will be open to the Council of Europe's 46 member states and observer countries such as the US and Canada. So far, there is no list of countries planning to join.

The high-level meeting, only the fourth of its kind since the council of Europe’s creation in 1949, will be held in Reykjavik on Tuesday and Wednesday.

It is also the first such summit to be held since Russia's unprecedented expulsion from the Council of Europe last year.

It has been described by the Council of Europe as a “historic opportunity to refocus its mission in the light of new threats to human rights and to help establish accountability for Russia’s crimes of aggression and secure justice for the victims”.

Attendees will discuss how to support displaced Ukrainian children, whether they are in Russia or in countries that are members of the Council of Europe, to return home.

The Vatican this week expressed willingness to help Ukraine on the issue of children after a meeting between Pope Francis and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Kyiv estimates nearly 19,500 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied Crimea since February last year, in what it condemns as illegal deportations.

Leaders attending the Council of Europe summit are expected to reaffirm their commitment to upholding democratic values in a document that will be dubbed the Reykjavik principles of democracy. They are also expected to reaffirm their commitment to the European Convention on Human Rights.

The convention is the most important of more than 200 drawn up by the Council of Europe between its member states.

A report published last last year, which focused on the future of the Council of Europe, highlighted the need for the organisation to adapt to “remain fit for purpose” at a time in which war has returned to Europe.

The report, prepared by a group of senior European officials chaired by former Irish president Mary Robinson, called on the Council of Europe to boost its outreach and funding.

It noted that “the amount of money member states are willing to invest in the collective system of protection of our fundamental rights and freedoms represents less than half a euro per person, which is unquestionably insufficient.”

A French presidency source told journalists that the summit was necessary due to the “evolution of the organisation” after Russia’s exclusion.

The Paris-based Council of Europe Development Bank is “getting equipped to be able to answer to the needs, in the fastest way possible, of Ukrainians, especially in the social field,” said the Elysee source.

The bank, which includes 42 member states, helps raise money that fund social projects in line with the Council of Europe mandate.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that he will use his engagements in Reykjavik to discuss illegal migration and “the threat posed by Russia” to Europe’s security and prosperity.

“Many of the challenges we are dealing with, from inflation to migration, must be solved by working closely with our international partners,” he said in a statement.