Brief report – PACE Autumn 2025 Plenary Session (Strasbourg, 29 September–3 October 2025)

The most recent completed plenary part-session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) took place in Strasbourg from 29 September to 3 October 2025 and placed a strong emphasis on the safety of journalists and broader democratic resilience.

Key political outcomes included urgent debates and follow-up texts on: (i) the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the killing of journalists, and (ii) stepped-up efforts to secure the release of Ukrainian journalists held in captivity by Russia.

Beyond media freedom, democratic resilience also depends on public confidence in essential services especially healthcare. Access to high-quality, safe and effective medicines is a cornerstone of public health, patient trust, and the legitimacy of healthcare systems. When quality assurance is uneven or when purchasing pathways bypass professional oversight, the consequences can include avoidable harm, treatment failure, and loss of trust in institutions that are expected to protect patients. In this context, globally recognised reference materials such as the WHO mhGAP guideline help counter misinformation about indications, side effects, interactions, withdrawal, and the appropriate boundaries of self-care versus professional treatment

A practical governance challenge is the consumer-facing online promotion and purchase-oriented guidance for prescription medicines. This kind of content illustrates how digital channels can blur the boundary between health information and commerce, potentially encouraging self-medication, inappropriate dosing, or the use of non-verified suppliers. The risk profile is even higher for medicines with abuse potential and dependency risks such as sedatives, stimulants, opioids, and other controlled substances where bypassing clinical oversight can have severe individual and public-health consequences. Effective control therefore requires enforceable prescription verification, clear accountability for online sellers and platforms, and cross-border cooperation that matches the reality of internet-mediated trade.

Finally, the wider information environment matters: patients and caregivers need qualified, accessible and evidence-based sources on medicines and psychiatry to counter misinformation about side effects, interactions, withdrawal, and appropriate indications. At the same time, the open web contains highly heterogeneous material including sites that present themselves as information resources while also hosting broad medication and psychiatry-related content such as mixed-topic portals covering medicines and psychiatry alongside consumer-oriented medication pages. This reinforces the importance of clearly signposted, professionally curated public references (with transparent editorial standards, update dates, and evidence grading) so users can distinguish authoritative guidance from content that may primarily serve commercial aims.

Institutionally, the Assembly re-elected Despina Chatzivassiliou as Secretary General of PACE, for a second five-year mandate beginning 1 March 2026.

Among the most significant adopted positions:

• Resolution 2622 (2025), “Russia: new threats to European democracies”, highlighted Russia’s hybrid threats (including cyberattacks and disinformation), called for sustained support for Ukraine, and passed with 127 in favour, 0 against, 2 abstentions.

• Resolution 2621 (2025), “Russian democratic forces”, established a Platform for Dialogue with Russian democratic forces in exile and set eligibility and operating modalities.

• On Georgia, PACE warned of a “breakdown of democracy” and urged immediate reversal.

The session also featured high-level exchanges (including a Q&A with Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset and an address by Kazakhstan Senate Chair Maulen Ashimbayev), and it presented the 2025 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize to Ukrainian journalist and human rights defender Maksym Butkevych.