The 'Council of Europe' (
French: ''Conseil de l'Europe'') is the oldest organisation working for
European integration since 1949. The seat of the Council of Europe is in
Strasbourg on the
Franco-German border. Having held its first meeting in Strasbourg's
University Palace, it is domiciled in the
Palace of Europe and adjacent buildings about two kilometres from the city centre.
English and
French are its two
official languages, but its Committee of Ministers and its Parliamentary Assembly also work in
German,
Italian and
Russian.
The Council of Europe should not be confused with the
Council of the European Union or the
European Council, as it is a separate international organisation and not part of the
European Union which, however, adopted the same European flag and anthem subsequently.
History
In 1945, at the end of the second World War,
Europe was marked by unprecedented devastation and human suffering. It faced new political challenges, in particular reconciliation among the peoples of Europe. This situation favoured the long held idea of
European integration through the creation of common institutions.
In his famous speech at the University of Zurich in 1946, Sir
Winston Churchill called for a
United States of Europe and the creation of a Council of Europe.
At a specific congress of more than a thousand government representatives, politicians and civil society in
The Hague in 1948, the future structure of the Council of Europe was discussed. There were two schools of thought competing: some favoured a classical international organisation with representatives of governments, while others preferred a political forum with parliamentarians. Both approaches were finally combined through the creation of the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly under the Statute of the Council of Europe of 1949.
This dual governmental/parliamentary approach was also kept for the
European Communities later, which were organisations separate from the Council of Europe, but whose Assemblies met in Strasbourg in the Palace of Europe of the Council of Europe until they were transformed to the directly elected
European Parliament of the
European Union and a separate building was built in Strasbourg.
The Council of Europe was founded on
5 May 1949 by the
Treaty of London. The Statute of the Council of Europe was signed in London on that day by ten states: Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Many states followed, especially after the democratic transitions in central and eastern Europe during the early 1990s, and the Council of Europe now integrates nearly all states of Europe.
Symbols
Main articles: European symbols,
Flag of Europe
The Council of Europe is responsible for the notable
European flag with 12 golden stars (upward pointing) arranged in a circle on a blue background since 1955, and the
anthem based on the
Ode to Joy in the final movement of
Ludwig van Beethoven's
Ninth symphony since 1972. In 1964, it established the anniversary of its founding on
5 May 1949 as
Europe Day. (The
EU has also designated a Europe Day,
9 May; see
European symbols.)
To avoid confusion with the
European Union, which adopted the same flag, the Council often uses a modified version with a stylised lower-case 'e' in the centre of the stars which is referred to as the "Council of Europe Logo"
[1]. A similar logo is used by the
European Council of Jewish Communities [2].
Aims
This coin issued by the Central Bank of Armenia commemorates Armenia joining the Council of Europe (
25 January 2001).
Article 1(a) of the Statute states:
: ''The aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve a greater unity between its members for the purpose of safeguarding and realising the ideals and principles which are their common heritage and facilitating their economic and social progress.''
Therefore, membership is open to all European democracies which accept the principle of the
rule of law and are able and willing to guarantee fundamental
human rights and
freedoms.
Achievements
The Council of Europe's most important achievement is the
European Convention on Human Rights, adopted in 1950, which created the
European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The Court supervises compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights and thus functions as the highest European court for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The wide activities and achievements of the Council of Europe can be found in detail on its official website. In a nutshell, the Council of Europe works in the following areas:
★ Protection of
democracy through election monitoring by its Parliamentary Assembly and assistance in democratic reforms, in particular by the
Venice Commission.
★ Protection of the
rule of law and fostering legal co-operation through some 200 conventions and other treaties, including such leading instruments as the
Convention on Cybercrime, the conventions on the suppression and prevention of terrorism, the conventions against corruption and organised crime, and the convention on bioethics.
★ Protection of
human rights, notably through:
★
★ the
European Convention on Human Rights
★
★ the
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture
★
★ social rights under the
European Social Charter
★
★ linguistic rights under the
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
★
★ minority rights under the
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
★
★
Media freedom under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Convention on Transfrontier Television
★ Promotion of cultural co-operation and diversity under the Council of Europe's Cultural Convention of 1954 and several conventions on the protection of cultural heritage.
★ Promotion of the right to education under Article 2 of the first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights and several conventions on the recognition of university studies and diplomas (see also
Bologna Process).
★ Promotion of fair sport through the Anti-
doping Convention and the Convention against spectator violence.
Institutions
The institutions of the Council of Europe are:
★ The
Secretariat and the
Secretary General
★ The
Committee of Ministers
★ The
Parliamentary Assembly (PACE)
★ The
Congress of the Council of Europe (Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe)
★ The
European Court of Human Rights
★ The
Commissioner for Human Rights
The CoE system also includes a number of autonomous structures known as "partial agreements". Among them:
★ The
European Audiovisual Observatory
★ The
European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines
★ The
Pompidou Group - Cooperation Group to Combat Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Drugs
★ The European Commission for Democracy through Law, better known as the
Venice Commission
★ The
Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO).
★ In 2007, a new partial agreement on sport was established, which is open to accession by states and sport associations.
Membership
The Council of Europe has 47 member states in the
European region (with
Azerbaijan,
Armenia,
Turkey,
Georgia and
Cyprus also extending into
Western Asia and
Russia into
North Asia). With the exception of
Belarus,
Kazakhstan and the
Vatican City all European states have acceded to the Council of Europe.
Upon foundation on
5 May 1949 there were ten members:
In 1950, then
West Germany and French-occupied
Saarland became associate members. (West) Germany became a full member in 1951, while the Saarland withdrew from its associate membership in 1956. Saarland was then reintegrated with (West) Germany through a referendum in 1957. The Soviet-occupied eastern part of Germany and later
East Germany never became a member of the Council of Europe like other East Bloc countries. Following
German reunification in 1990, eastern Germans became part of
Germany and thus gained representation in the Council of Europe.
[3]
Subsequent members by date of admission:
Following its declaration of independence on
3 June 2006,
Montenegro submitted a request to accede to (join) the Council of Europe. The Committee of Ministers transmitted the request to the Parliamentary Assembly for opinion, in accordance with the usual procedure.
[4]Eleven days later, on
14 June 2006, the Committee of Ministers declared that the
Republic of Serbia would continue the membership of the
State Union of Serbia and Montenegro.
[5]
European Union
Cooperation between the
European Union and the Council of Europe has recently been reinforced, notably on culture and education as well as on the international enforcement of justice and Human Rights
[6].
The European Union is expected to accede to the
European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention). In 2005, the leaders of the Council of Europe reiterated their desire for the EU to accede without delay to ensure consistent human rights protection across Europe. There are also concerns about consistency in case law - the
European Court of Justice (the EU's supreme court) is already treating the Convention as though it was part of the EU's legal system to prevent conflict between its judgements and those of the
European Court of Human Rights (the court interpreting the Convention). Protocol No.14 of the Convention is designed to allow the EU to accede to the it and the
Reform Treaty contains a protocol binding the EU to joining. The EU would not be subordinate to the Council, but would be subject to its human rights law and external monitoring as its member states are currently. It is further proposed that the EU join as a member of the Council once it has attained its legal personality in the Reform Treaty, possibly in 2010.
[7][8]
Applicants
The Parliament of
Belarus held special guest status with the Parliamentary Assembly from September 1992 to January 1997, but this has been suspended as a consequence of the November 1996 constitutional referendum and parliament by-elections which the CoE found to be undemocratic, as well as limits on democratic freedoms such as
freedom of expression (cf.
Belarusian media) under the authoritarian regime of President
Alexander Lukashenko. The constitution changed by the referendum "does not respect minimum democratic standards and violates the principles of separation of powers and the rule of law."
[9]. Belarus applied for full membership on
12 March 1993 (still open).
Kazakhstan applied for observer status at the
Parliamentary Assembly in 1999. The official response of PACE was that Kazakhstan could apply for full membership, because it is partially located in Europe, but that it would not be granted any status whatsoever at CoE until its
democracy and
human rights records improved.
Observers
Canada,
Japan,
Mexico, the
U.S. and the
Holy See have observer status with the Council of Europe and the parliaments of Canada,
Israel and
Mexico have observer status with its Parliamentary Assembly.
Co-operation with non-member states
The Council of Europe works mainly through conventions. By drafting conventions or international treaties, common legal standards are set for its member states. However, several conventions have also been opened for signature to non-member states. Important examples are the
Convention on Cybercrime, the Anti-
doping Convention and the
Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats.
Non-member states also participate in several partial agreements, such as the
Venice Commission and the
European Pharmacopoeia.
Inter-regional and local co-operation
Since 1994, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe assembles locally and regionally elected representatives from all member states. The most influential instruments of the Council of Europe in this field are the European Charter of Local Self-Government of 1985 and the European Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities of 1980.
Co-operation with NGOs
NGOs can participate in the INGO Conference of the Council of Europe and become observers to inter-governmental committees of experts.
The Council of Europe drafted the European Convention on the Recognition of the Legal Personality of International Non-Governmental Organisations in 1986, which sets the legal basis for the existence and work of NGOs in Europe. Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects the right to freedom of association, which is also a fundamental norm for NGOs.
References
1. http://www.coe.int/02/Logo/Pictures/LogoCoE/LogoCoe.jpg
2. http://www.ecjc.org/
3. ''One Europe – A Europe of Partners'', note 4 from the Council of Europe's website.
4. https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1010157
5. https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1010125
6. The Council of Europe and the European Union sign an agreement to foster mutual cooperation
7. Council of Europe - European Union: "A sole ambition for the European continent"
8. Draft treaty modifying the treaty on the European Union and the treaty establishing the European community
9. http://press.coe.int/cp/97/11a(97).htm
See also
★
Europe
★
European Union
★
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
★
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
★
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
External links
★
Official site
★
Statute of the Council of Europe
★
Eurominority map of minorities, native peoples and ethnic groups
★
European NAvigator Council of Europe
★
Armenia, Azerbaijan join Council of Europe
★
Cornish Bureau for European Relations - CoBER
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