Four candidatures for the next Secretary General of the Council of Europe have been received by the Chair of the Committee of Ministers.

As the deadline expired, the Committee of Ministers received the candidatures of Didier Reynders, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs, Minister of Defence of Belgium, former Lithuania PM Andrius Kubilius, former Greece FM Dora Bakoyannis and Deputy PM of Croatia  Marija Pejčinović Burić.

The Committee of Ministers will interview the four candidates separately in March 2019, and decide upon a final list of candidates that will be transmitted to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The Parliamentary Assembly will then proceed with the election of the next Secretary General, which is due to take place in June 2019. The mandate of the new Secretary General starts on 1 October 2019.