Terry Davis, the secretary-general of the Council of Europe, furrows his brow as he contemplates the condition of his Strasbourg-based organisation, now approaching its 60th birthday.

Established in May 1949 at the onset of the cold war to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe, the Council has in one sense amply fulfilled its task. The continent’s ideological divisions are healed, and Alexander Lukashenko’s authoritarian Belarus is the only country still denied membership.