Council of Europe and Microsoft Sign Framework Agreement to Promote Human Rights in the Age of AI
Council of Europe and Microsoft establish cooperation framework signed in Strasbourg to advance human rights, democracy and responsible AI development.
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Framework Agreement Signed in Strasbourg
The Council of Europe and Microsoft signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a framework cooperation agreement on 6 October 2026 at the Council of Europe’s headquarters in Strasbourg. The memorandum was signed by Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset and Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith.
Goals and Mechanisms
The framework agreement aims to promote human rights, democracy, and the rule of law through responsible and inclusive technological development and to address challenges in the digital environment, including AI. The agreement includes dialogue through Microsoft’s Open Innovation Centre in Strasbourg as a named mechanism for cooperation.
The agreement also supports initiatives that promote linguistic and cultural diversity, including regional or minority languages.
Expanding Existing Cooperation
The memorandum extends existing cooperation to the Register of Damage for Ukraine, which Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab already supports by applying AI and satellite analysis to assess damage.
Microsoft previously supported the Council of Europe’s Budapest Convention on Cybercrime through the Global Project on Cybercrime and the Cybercrime Octopus project.
Source: Council of Europe (official)