Many people in Switzerland were delighted when former Swiss cabinet minister Alain Berset took up his new post as secretary general of the Council of Europe. However, a Swiss-based Europe specialist has questioned his influence.
A recent opinion piece by Geneva-based Europe specialist René Schwok takes a tough line on the Council of Europe. No, Switzerland will not gain international influence through the chairmanship of the Council of Europe under Alain Berset, because the institution has been in decline for a long time, without power and without credibility, writes Schwok.
Can Switzerland compensate for its problems with the European Union thanks to Berset’s top job in the Council of Europe? Schwok is sceptical. The organisation is clinically dead. This is because “every state has a right of veto, which prevents progress on important issues. Secondly, the council only has limited resources, he says. And thirdly, the council only has an advisory role.
“In addition, the council suffers from competition from other human rights organisations: the United Nations and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which are also ineffective,” he adds.
Berset himself told Swiss public radio, SRF, when he took office: “I believe that Switzerland’s role and the network that it and I personally have can help the Council of Europe quickly gain more visibility and political weight.”
René SchwokExternal link opinion piece in Le Temps in French (paywall).
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=66f43117483b45f8a0f3d3cbabdd875a&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.swissinfo.ch%2Feng%2Fswiss-abroad%2Fswitzerland-today-briefing%2F87614086&c=3898677380727158991&mkt=en-us
Author :
Publish date : 2024-09-25 08:00:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
