Council of Europe: Alain Berset hospitalised
Keystone-SDA
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, was admitted to hospital on Friday evening, the organisation’s press service indicated. His condition does not give cause for concern, but as a precaution he will remain in observation for a few days.
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Consequently, Berset’s participation in the strategy forum in Bled (Slovenia) had to be cancelled. The Slovenian authorities were informed of this, a Council of Europe note said today. At the moment, Berset’s attendance at the engagements scheduled for next week is still uncertain.
The Bled Strategy Forum in Slovenia was established in 2006, when the Balkan country embarked on the path to European integration after joining the EU and NATO in 2004. According to its own statements, the strategy forum is an annual international conference and a global platform for exchanging views on current and future social and political challenges.
The 53-year-old Berset was elected Secretary General of the Council of Europe in June 2024. The former Swiss President is the first Swiss to hold this position. In 2023, Berset announced his retirement from the seven-member federal government after twelve years.
The press service of the Council of Europe did not give details of the reasons for Berset’s hospitalisation nor did it say whether he had returned to Switzerland. For its part, the Federal Chancellery does not disclose private information about former government ministers.
Translated from Italian by DeepL/jdp
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