The Council of Europe (French French is a Romance language spoken as a first language by about 136 million people worldwide. Around 190 million people speak French as a second language, and an additional 200 million speak it as an acquired foreign language. French speaking communities are present in 57 countries and territories. Most native speakers of the language live in: Conseil de l'Europe) is one of the oldest international organisations An international organization is an organization with an international membership, scope, or presence. There are two main types: working towards European integration European integration is the process of political, legal, economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe. In the present day, European integration has primarily come about through the European Union and the Council of Europe, having been founded in 1949. It has a particular emphasis on legal standards, human rights Human rights are "rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Proponents of the concept usually assert that everyone is endowed with certain entitlements merely by reason of being human, democratic Democracy is a political form of government where governing power is derived from the people, either by direct referendum or by means of elected representatives of the people (representative democracy). The term comes from the Greek: δημοκρατία - (dēmokratía) "rule of the people", which was coined from δῆμος (dêmos) & development, the rule of law While the rule of law has been described as "an exceedingly elusive notion" giving rise to a "rampant divergence of understandings", a dichotomy can be identified between two principal conceptions of the rule of law: a formalist or "thin" and a substantive or "thick" definition of the rule of law. Formalist and cultural co-operation. It has 47 member states with some 800 million citizens. It is distinct from the European Union The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 member states which are located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1993 upon the foundations of the European Communities. With over 500 million citizens, the EU combined generated an estimated 28% share (US$ 16.5 (EU) which has common policies, binding laws and only twenty-seven members. The two do however share certain symbols A number of symbols of Europe has emerged throughout history. Depending on the symbol, they can apply to Europe as a whole, European unity or merely to the European Union . Most well known symbols were created by the Council of Europe (CoE) in the 1950s and 1960s, and while these symbols were intended to represent Europe as a whole, many people such as their flag The Flag of Europe is the flag and emblem of the European Union and Council of Europe (CoE) (it is also used to indicate the euro or eurozone countries). It consists of a circle of 12 golden (yellow) stars on a blue background. The blue represents the west, the number of stars represents completeness while their position in a circle represents.

Its statutory institutions are the Committee of Ministers The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe or commonly the Committee of Ministers (French: Comité des ministres) is the Council of Europe's decision-making body. It comprises the Foreign Affairs Ministers of all the member states, or their permanent diplomatic representatives in Strasbourg. It is both a governmental body, where national comprising the foreign ministers of each member state, the Parliamentary Assembly The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an intergovernmental treaty. The Assembly is one of the two composed of MPs A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of parliament tend to form parliamentary parties with members from the Parliament A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French parlement, the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which such a discussion took place. It acquired of each member state, and the Secretary General The Secretary General of the Council of Europe is appointed by the Parliamentary Assembly on the recommendation of the Committee of Ministers for a period of five years. He or she is entrusted with the responsibility of meeting the aim for which the Council of Europe was set up in London on 5 May 1949, namely to achieve greater unity between its heading the secretariat of the Council of Europe. The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent institution within the Council of Europe, mandated to promote the awareness of and respect for human rights in the member states.

The most famous conventional bodies of the Council of Europe are the European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is an international judicial body, established under the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950 to monitor respect of human rights by states. The European Convention on Human Rights, or formally named Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, is a convention, which enforces the European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (long title: Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953. All Council of Europe, and the European Pharmacopoeia The European Pharmacopoeia of the Council of Europe is a pharmacopoeia, listing a wide range of active substances and excipients used to prepare pharmaceutical products in Europe[citation needed]. The 2005 edition includes 1800 specific and general monographs, including various chemical substances, antibiotics, biological substances; Vaccines for Commission, which sets the quality standards for pharmaceutical products in Europe. The Council of Europe's work has resulted in standards, charters and conventions to facilitate cooperation between European countries and further integration.

The seat of the Council of Europe is in Strasbourg Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in north-eastern France. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin department. In 2006, the city proper had 272,975 inhabitants and its urban community 467,375 inhabitants. With 638,670 inhabitants in 2006, Strasbourg's metropolitan area ("aire, France France (pronounced /ˈfrænts/ frantss or /ˈfrɑːnts/ frahnts; French pronunciation (help·info): [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a state in Western Europe with several of its overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, with English English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into South-East Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria. Following the economic, political, military, scientific, cultural, and colonial influence of Great Britain and the United Kingdom from the 18th century, and of and French French is a Romance language spoken as a first language by about 136 million people worldwide. Around 190 million people speak French as a second language, and an additional 200 million speak it as an acquired foreign language. French speaking communities are present in 57 countries and territories. Most native speakers of the language live in as its two official languages An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a language a legal status, even if that language is not. The Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress The Congress of the Council of Europe is an institution representing local and regional authorities from the forty-seven member states of the Council of Europe. It has two chambers, the Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions. The Congress holds its plenary meetings at the Palace of Europe in Strasbourg, where its permanent also use German German (Deutsch, [ˈdɔʏtʃ] ) is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Globally, German is spoken by approximately 120 million native speakers and also by about 80 million non-native speakers, Italian Italian ( italiano , or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken as a native language by about 62 million people in Italy, San Marino and parts of Switzerland, Croatia, Slovenia and France. It is spoken as a first language by many Italian citizens and immigrants abroad, for a total of approximately 70 million native speakers. In addition, it, and Russian Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe. Russian belongs to the family of Indo-European languages and is one of three living members of the East Slavic languages. Written examples of Old East Slavonic are attested from the 10th for some of their work.

Contents

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 European integration is the process of political, legal, economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe. In the present day, European integration has primarily come about through the European Union and the Council of Europe through the creation of common institutions.

In his famous speech at the University of Zurich The University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 25,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new faculty of philosophy. Currently, the University has faculties of arts, economics, law, medicine, science, theology and veterinary on 19 September 1946,[1] Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, PC, FRS was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the great wartime leaders. He served as prime minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was called for a United States of Europe The United States of Europe is a name given to several similar hypothetical scenarios of the unification of Europe, as a single nation and a single federation of states, similar to the United States of America, both as projected by writers of speculative fiction and science fiction, and by political scientists, politicians, geographers, historians, and the creation of a Council of Europe. He had spoken of a Council of Europe as early as 1943 in a broadcast to the nation.[2] The future structure of the Council of Europe was discussed at a specific congress of several hundred leading politicians, government representatives and civil society in The Hague The Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 485,818 (as of May 31, 2009) (population of agglomeration: 1,011,459) and an area of approximately 100 km². It is located in the west of the country, in the province of South Holland, of which it is also the provincial capital. The Hague is,, Netherlands The Netherlands (pronounced /ˈnɛðɚləndz/ ; Dutch: Nederland, pronounced [ˈneːdərlɑnt] ( listen)) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in North-West Europe. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany in 1948. 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. This dual intergovernmental and inter-parliamentary structure was later copied for the European Communities The European Communities were three international organisations that were governed by the same set of institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO (pronounced /ˈneɪtoʊ/, NAY-toe; French: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique Nord ), also called the "(North) Atlantic Alliance", is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The NATO headquarters are in Brussels, and the OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections. Most of its 3,500-plus staff are engaged in field operations, with only around 10% in its headquarters.

Session of the Council of Europe's Assembly in the former House of Europe The Palace of Europe is a building in located in Strasbourg, France that has served as the seat of the Council of Europe since 1977 when it replaced the 'House of Europe'. Between 1977 and 1999 it was also the Strasbourg seat of the European Parliament in Strasbourg in 1967

The Council of Europe was founded on 5 May 1949 by the Treaty of London The Treaty of London was signed on May 5, 1949, which created the Council of Europe. The original signatories were Belgium, Denmark, France, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and United Kingdom. It is currently referred to as the Statute of the Council of Europe. The Treaty of London or 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 includes all European states except Belarus Belarus, (pronounced /bɛləˈruːs/ bel-ə-ROOS; Belarusian: Беларусь, Russian: Беларусь or Белоруссия, see Etymology), officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the, Kazakhstan Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is one of the six independent Turkic states. It is located in Eurasia and ranked as the ninth largest country in the world. It is also ranked the world's largest landlocked country, its territory of 2,727,300 km² is greater than Western Europe. It is neighbored clockwise from the north by Russia,, Kosovo Kosovo is a disputed territory in the Balkans. The partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo (Albanian: Republika e Kosovës; Serbian: Република Косово, Republika Kosovo), a self-declared independent state, has de facto control over most of the territory, with limited control in North Kosovo. Serbia does not recognise the unilateral[3] and Vatican City Vatican City /ˈvætɪkən ˈsɪti/ or Vatican City State, officially Stato della Città del Vaticano (pronounced [ˈsta(ː)to delːa tʃiˈtːa del vatiˈka(ː)no]), which translates literally as "State of the City of the Vatican", is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome,.

Aims and achievements

Article 1(a) of the Statute states that "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 states which seek European integration European integration is the process of political, legal, economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe. In the present day, European integration has primarily come about through the European Union and the Council of Europe, accept the principle of the rule of law While the rule of law has been described as "an exceedingly elusive notion" giving rise to a "rampant divergence of understandings", a dichotomy can be identified between two principal conceptions of the rule of law: a formalist or "thin" and a substantive or "thick" definition of the rule of law. Formalist and are able and willing to guarantee democracy Democracy is a political form of government where governing power is derived from the people, either by direct referendum or by means of elected representatives of the people (representative democracy). The term comes from the Greek: δημοκρατία - (dēmokratía) "rule of the people", which was coined from δῆμος (dêmos) &, fundamental human rights Human rights are "rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Proponents of the concept usually assert that everyone is endowed with certain entitlements merely by reason of being human and freedoms The opposite of a free society is a totalitarian state, which highly restricts political freedom in order to regulate almost every aspect of behavior. In this sense ‘freedom’ refers solely to the relation of humans to other humans, and the only infringement on it is coercion by humans.

While the member states of the European Union The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 member states which are located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1993 upon the foundations of the European Communities. With over 500 million citizens, the EU combined generated an estimated 28% share (US$ 16.5 transfer national legislative and executive powers to the European Commission The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union and the European Parliament The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU). Together with the Council of the European Union (the Council), it forms the bicameral legislative branch of the EU and has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world. The Parliament and Council form the highest in specific areas under European Community law The Law of the European Union is the unique legal system which operates alongside the laws of Member States of the European Union . EU law has direct effect within the legal systems of its Member States, and overrides national law in many areas, especially in areas covered by the Single Market. The EU is not a federal government; as established by, Council of Europe member states maintain their sovereignty but commit themselves through conventions (i.e. public international law) and co-operate on the basis of common values and common political decisions. Those conventions and decisions are developed by the member states working together at the Council of Europe, whereas secondary European Community law is set by the organs of the European Union. Both organisations function as concentric circles around the common foundations for European integration, with the Council of Europe being the geographically wider circle. The European Union could be seen as the smaller circle with a much higher level of integration through the transfer of powers from the national to the EU level. Being part of public international law, Council of Europe conventions could also be opened for signature to non-member states thus facilitating equal co-operation with countries outside Europe (see chapter below).

The Council of Europe's most famous achievement is the European Convention on Human Rights, which was adopted in 1950 following a report by the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly. The Convention 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. It is to this court that Europeans can bring cases if they believe that a member country has violated their fundamental rights.

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:

Institutions

The parliamentary hemicycle

The institutions of the Council of Europe are:

European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines.

The CoE system also includes a number of semi-autonomous structures known as "Partial Agreements", some of which are also open to non-member states:

Headquarters and buildings

See also: European Institutions in Strasbourg Aerial shot of the Palais de l'Europe in Strasbourg

The seat of the Council of Europe is in Strasbourg, France. First meetings were held in Strasbourg's University Palace in 1949, but the Council of Europe moved soon into its own buildings. The Council of Europe's eight main buildings are situated in the Quartier européen, an area in the north-west of Strasbourg spread over the three districts Le Wacken, La Robertsau and Quartier de l'Orangerie, that also features the four buildings of the seat of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the Arte headquarters and the seat of the International Institute of Human Rights.

Building in the area started in 1949 with the predecessor of the Palais de l'Europe, the House of Europe (torn down in 1977) and came to a provisional end in 2007 with the opening of the New General Office Building in 2008.[11] The Palais de l'Europe (Palace of Europe) as well as the Art Nouveau Villa Schutzenberger (seat of the European Audiovisual Observatory) are located in the Orangerie district, the European Court of Human Rights, the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and the Agora Building are situated in the Robertsau district. The Agora building has been voted "best international business center real estate project of 2007" on 13 March 2008, at the MIPIM 2008.[12] The European Youth Centre is located in the Wacken district.

Besides its headquarters in Strasbourg, the Council of Europe is also present in other cities and countries. The Council of Europe Development Bank has its seat in Paris, the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe is established in Lisbon, Portugal, and the Centre for Modern Languages is in Graz, Austria. There are European Youth Centres in Budapest, Hungary and Strasbourg. The European Wergeland Centre, a new Resource Centre on education for intercultural dialogue, human rights and democratic citizenship, operated in cooperation with the Norwegian Government opened in Oslo, Norway in February 2009.[13]

The Council of Europe has offices in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine and information offices in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine and a projects office in Turkey. All of these offices are establishments of the Council of Europe and they share its juridical personality with privileges and immunities.

Due to persistent budgetary shortages, the Council of Europe is expected to cut down significantly the number of its activities, and thus the number of its employees, from 2011 on. This will notably affect the economy of the city of Strasbourg, where a total of 2,321 people (on 1 January 2010) are doing salary work for the CoE. Most offices in foreign countries are expected to be closed as well.[14]

Symbols

Main articles: Symbols of Europe and Flag of Europe The Flag of Europe

The Council of Europe created and uses as its official symbols the famous European Flag with 12 golden stars arranged in a circle on a blue background since 1955, and the European Anthem based on the Ode to Joy in the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth symphony since 1972.

On 5 May 1964 - the 15th anniversary of its founding, the Council of Europe established 5 May as Europe Day.[15]

Although protected by copyright, the wide private and public use of the European Flag is encouraged to symbolise a European dimension. To avoid confusion with the European Union which subsequently adopted the same flag in the 1980s, as well as other European institutions, the Council of Europe often uses a modified version with a lower-case 'e' in the centre of the stars which is referred to as the "Council of Europe Logo".[15][16]

Membership

The Council of Europe was founded on 5 May 1949 by Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Greece and Turkey joined three months later, and Iceland and Germany the next year. It now has 47 member states, with Montenegro being the latest to join.

Article 4 of the Council of Europe Statute specifies that membership is open to any "European" State. This has been interpreted liberally from the beginning (when Turkey was admitted) to include any Eurasian state with a toe-hold in Europe.

As a result, nearly all European states have acceded to the Council of Europe, with the exception of Kazakhstan, Vatican City, Belarus (human rights concerns) and Kosovo whose status as an independent state is disputed by some Council of Europe member states.

Founder states Later members
Notes on table; aGreece and Turkey also considered as founders of the organisation.

bIn 1950, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), est. 23 May 1949, and then French-occupied Saar (protectorate) became associate members. (West) Germany became a full member in 1951, while the Saarland withdrew from its associate membership in 1956 after acceding to the Federal Republic after a referendum in 1955. The Soviet-occupied eastern part of Germany and later East German Democratic Republic never became a member of the Council of Europe. Through German reunification in 1990, the five Länder (i.e. states/regions) of East Germany acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany and thus gained representation in the Council of Europe. c Joined under the provisional reference "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (including quotation marks).[17] Majority of countries recognise the country with its constitutional name. dOriginally joined as Serbia and Montenegro. eWithdrew from Council in September, 1967, until 1974 during the Regime of the Colonels.
Flag State Date joined
Belgium Founder
Denmark Founder
France Founder
Ireland Founder
Italy Founder
Luxembourg Founder
Netherlands Founder
Norway Founder
Sweden Founder
United Kingdom Founder
Greecea, e 9 August 1949
Turkeya 9 August 1949
Iceland 7 March 1950
Germanyb 13 July 1950
Austria 16 April 1956
Cyprus 24 May 1961
Switzerland 6 May 1963
Malta 29 April 1965
Portugal 22 September 1976
Spain 24 November 1977
Liechtenstein 23 November 1978
San Marino 16 November 1988
Finland 5 May 1989
Hungary 6 November 1990
Czechoslovakia 21 January 1991 – 31 December 1992
Poland 26 November 1991
Bulgaria 7 May 1992
Estonia 14 May 1993
Lithuania 14 May 1993
Slovenia 14 May 1993
Czech Republic 30 June 1993
Slovakia 30 June 1993
Romania 7 October 1993
Andorra 10 November 1994
Latvia 10 February 1995
Albania 13 July 1995
Moldova 13 July 1995
Macedoniac 9 November 1995
Ukraine 9 November 1995
Russia 28 February 1996
Croatia 6 November 1996
Georgia 27 April 1999
Armenia 25 January 2001
Azerbaijan 25 January 2001
Bosnia and Herzegovina 24 April 2002
Serbiad 3 April 2003
Monaco 5 October 2004
Montenegro 11 May 2007

Following its declaration of independence on 3 June 2006, Montenegro submitted a request to accede to the Council of Europe. The Committee of Ministers transmitted the request to the Parliamentary Assembly for opinion, in accordance with the usual procedure.[18] 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.[19] On 11 May 2007, Montenegro joined the Council of Europe as 47th member state.

This coin was issued in Armenia to commemorate Armenia's accession to the Council in 2001

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 administration 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.[20] Belarus applied for full membership on 12 March 1993 (still open).

Kazakhstan applied for the Special Guest status with the Parliamentary Assembly in 1999. The Assembly found that Kazakhstan could apply for full membership, because 4% of its territory west of the Ural river is located in Europe,[21] but granting Special Guest status would require improvements in the fields of democracy and human rights. Kazakhstan signed a co-operation agreement with the Assembly in April 2004. On 15 to 16 March 2010, the President of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) made an official visit to Kazakhstan,[22] resulting in the conclusion that the Council of Europe and Kazakhstan strengthen their relations. This milestone emboldens Kazakhstan's "Path to Europe" programme, as outlined by Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev in Astana in 2008.[23]

Observers

Canada, Japan, Mexico, the U.S. and the Holy See have observer status with the Council of Europe and can participate in the Committee of Ministers and all intergovernmental committees. They may contribute financially to the activities of the Council of Europe on a voluntary basis.

The parliaments of Canada, Israel and Mexico have observer status with the Parliamentary Assembly and their delegations can participate in Assembly sessions and committee meetings. Representatives of the Palestinian Legislative Council may participate in Assembly debates concerning the Middle East as well as Turkish-Cypriot representatives from Northern Cyprus concerning this island.

There has been criticism concerning the observer status of Japan and the United States because both countries apply the death penalty.[24] The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has been lobbying for the United States and Japan to abolish the death penalty or lose their observer status. The Council also voted to restore Special Guest status to Belarus, on condition that Belarus declare a moratorium on the death penalty.

Co-operation

Non-member states

Council of Europe members Non-members invited to sign conventions

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 (signed e.g. by Canada, Japan, South Africa and the United States), the Lisbon Recognition Convention on the recognition of study periods and degrees (signed e.g. by Australia, Belarus, Canada, the Holy See, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, New Zealand and the USA), the Anti-doping Convention (signed e.g. by Australia, Belarus, Canada and Tunisia) and the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (signed e.g. by Burkina Faso, Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal as well as the European Community). Non-member states also participate in several partial agreements, such as the Venice Commission, the Group of States Against Corruption GRECO, the European Pharmacopoeia Commission and the North-South Centre.

Invitations to sign and ratify relevant conventions of the Council of Europe on a case-by-case basis are sent to three groups of non-member entities[25]:

European Union

Relations in general between the CoE and the EU

See also: Relationship between the European Court of Justice and European Court of Human Rights European Free Trade Association Council of Europe Switzerland Albania Armenia Liechtenstein Iceland Norway Azerbaijan Schengen Area European Economic Area Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia Austria Germany Malta Georgia Belgium Slovenia Greece Portugal Cyprus Eurozone Moldova European Union Finland Italy Netherlands Spain Sweden Republic of Ireland Montenegro France Slovakia Luxembourg Lithuania Macedonia Poland Hungary Bulgaria Denmark Russia Czech Republic Romania Latvia Estonia Serbia United Kingdom Ukraine European Union Customs Union Monaco Turkey San Marino Andorra Vatican City International status and usage of the euro#States with issuing rights A clickable Euler diagram showing the relationships between various multinational European organisations.

As mentioned in the introduction, it is important to realise that the Council of Europe is not to be mistaken with the Council of the European Union (the "Council of Ministers") or the European Council. These belong to the European Union, which is separate from the Council of Europe, although they have shared the same European flag and anthem since the 1980s because they also work for European integration.

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.[26]

The European Union is expected to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention). There are also concerns about consistency in case law - the European Court of Justice (the EU's court in Luxembourg) is treating the Convention as part of the legal system of all EU member states in order to prevent conflict between its judgements and those of the European Court of Human Rights (the court in Strasbourg interpreting the Convention). Protocol No.14 of the Convention is designed to allow the EU to accede to it and the EU Treaty of Lisbon contains a protocol binding the EU to join. The EU would thus be subject to its human rights law and external monitoring as its member states currently are.[27][28]

Joint Programmes between the CoE and the EU

The Council of Europe and the European Union are based on the same values and pursue common aims with regard to the protection of democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law. These common aims have led the Council of Europe and the European Union to develop a very tight network of relations and cooperation links (participation of the European Commission to meet Council of Europe activities, accession of European Union to Council of Europe Conventions, etc.). One significant instrument of this cooperation is the conclusion since 1993 of a number of joint programmes, for essentially cooperation with countries which have joined the Council of Europe since 1989. The same countries have developed increasingly close links with the European Union, or have applied for membership. By combining forces in this way, the complementarity of respective activities of the European Commission and the Council of Europe has been enhanced. In April 2001 an important step was taken through the signature by the European Commission and the Council of Europe of a Joint Declaration on Cooperation and Partnership, which, among other things, offers more systematic means of joint programming and priority-setting.[29]

Country-specific and thematic Joint Programmes

Most joint programmes are country-specific. They cover Albania (since 1993), Ukraine (since 1995), the Russian Federation (since 1996), Moldova (since 1997), Georgia (since 1999), Serbia, Montenegro, Armenia, and Azerbaijan (since 2001), Turkey (since 2001), Bosnia and Herzegovina (since 2003) and also the Republic of Macedonia. Other Joint Programmes, for instance for the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) have also been implemented in the past. There have also been multilateral thematic joint programmes, open to Central and Eastern European countries, regarding, for instance, national minorities, the fight against organised crime and corruption, and the development of independent and multidisciplinary ethics committees for review of biomedical research. There have been other multilateral joint programmes, for awareness-raising on the abolition of the death penalty, the preparation of the European conference to fight against racism and intolerance, action to promote the European Social Charter and a programme to strengthen democracy and constitutional development in central and eastern Europe with the Council of Europe's Venice Commission.[29]

There is a "Council of Europe Project Office" in Ankara, Turkey since 2004 which implements joint projects of the Council of Europe and the European Union in co-operation with the Turkish government.

Activities

The Joint Programmes consist of a series of activities agreed between the European Commission and the Council of Europe, in consultation with the governments of the concerned countries, designed to facilitate and support legal and institutional reform. Training courses, expert reports and advice to governments, conferences, workshops, seminars and publication dissemination are all usual working methods. The emphasis has been on training and advice but in some cases Joint Programmes have even offered limited material support (for instance with the establishment of the Albanian School of Magistrates and the State Publications Centre).[29]

Programming and funding

The Directorate General for External Relations of the European Commission and the Council of Europe's Directorate of Strategic Planning (as well as other services as applicable) set and match priorities for the purpose of Joint Programmes. Sometimes the Council of Europe makes proposals to the European Commission for urgent joint undertakings. EuropeAid is the structure within the European Commission involved in the final selection and administrative follow-up of programmes. The Council of Europe counterpart throughout the project cycle is the Directorate of Strategic Planning, in close consultation with the different Council of Europe Directorates General responsible for the implementation of the activities. In recent years the European Commission Delegations in the beneficiary countries have increasingly been implied in the Joint Programmes. Equally, Council of Europe Secretariat Offices in the field support planning and implementation.

The European Commission and the Council of Europe provide joint funding for the programme, and the Council of Europe is responsible for its implementation. In most cases funding is shared on a 50-50 basis but on some occasions the European Commission has contributed with proportionally more resources. A large number of Joint Programmes have been concluded with the EC's European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).

Programmes have also been concluded with the European Commission's TACIS and CARDS programmes. In 2002 a major Joint Programme for Turkey became operational, with resources from the EU enlargement funds and the Council of Europe. In 2001 two Joint Programmes were established with the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR), a decentralised agency of the European Union that deals with assistance to Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia.[29]

Programme Partners

The Council of Europe often works with partner institutions in the country concerned. Partners may include:

  1. The Ministries of Justice, Foreign Affairs and the Interior
  2. The national and regional Bar Associations
  3. The office of the Public Prosecutor
  4. The Courts and judicial training centres
  5. The national or regional commissioners on human rights
  6. Journalists' unions
  7. Other professional bodies
  8. Human rights protection movements and other non-governmental organisations.[29]

United Nations

The Council of Europe holds observer status with the United Nations and is regularly represented in the UN General Assembly. It has organised the regional UN conferences against racism and on women and co-operates with the United Nations at many levels, in particular in the areas of human rights, minorities, migration and counter-terrorism.

Non-governmental Organisations

Non-governmental Organisations (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. The rules for Consultative Status for INGOs appended to the resolution (93)38 "On relation between the Council of Europe and non-governmental organisations", adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 18 October 1993 at the 500th meeting of the Ministers' Deputies.

See also

References

  1. ^ "European Navigator (ENA)". http://www.ena.lu/the_zurich_speech-020100043.html. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
  2. ^ "Council of Europe Archivage-Historic-Churchill". Coe.int. http://www.coe.int/t/dgal/dit/ilcd/Historical_Content/churchill_en.asp. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  3. ^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. The Assembly of Kosovo declared its independence on 17 February 2008, while Serbia claims it as part of its own sovereign territory. Kosovo is recognised by 69 of the 192 UN member states.
  4. ^ "Council of Europe Convention for the protection of Human Rights and dignity of the human being with regard to the application of biology and medicine". http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=164&CM=8&DF=9/4/2007&CL=ENG.
  5. ^ "Microsoft Word - Convention_197_Trafficking_E.doc" (PDF). http://www.coe.int/t/dg2/trafficking/campaign/Source/PDF_Conv_197_Trafficking_E.pdf.
  6. ^ "Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse". http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=201&CM=8&DF=10/25/2007&CL=ENG.
  7. ^ "Anti-Doping Convention". http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=135&CM=7&DF=5/21/2008&CL=ENG.
  8. ^ "Anti-Doping Convention". http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=135&CM=8&CL=ENG.
  9. ^ "Norwegian Thorbjorn Jagland Elected Secretary General Of Council Of Europe". Turkish Weekly. 2009-09-30. http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/90008/-norwegian-thorbjorn-jagland-elected-secretary-general-of-council-of-europe-update-2-.html. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  10. ^ "Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport". Council of Europe. http://www.coe.int/t/DG4/EPAS/default_en.asp.
  11. ^ "Inauguration of the Agora Building" (PDF). http://www.coe.int/t/DC/Press/Source/PressFile_%20AGORA_fr.pdf.
  12. ^ "2008 List of MIPIM winners". http://www.mipim.com/App/homepage.cfm?appname=100517&moduleid=288&campaignid=11888&iUserCampaignID=43827991.
  13. ^ "European Wergeland Centre". http://www.theewc.org/about-the-ewc.html.
  14. ^ "Conseil de l’Europe - Réduction drastique des activités à Strasbourg". L'Alsace. 19 June 2010. http://www.lalsace.fr/fr/france-monde/article/3340157,218/Reduction-drastique-des-activites-a-Strasbourg.html. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  15. ^ a b "Flag, anthem and logo: the Council of Europe's symbols". Council of Europe. http://www.coe.int/T/E/Com/About_Coe/emblems/emblemes.asp. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  16. ^ "Logo of the Council of Europe". Council of Europe. http://www.coe.int/02/Logo/Pictures/LogoCoE/LogoCoe.jpg. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  17. ^ "Statute of the Council of Europe". Council of Europe. 5 May 1949. http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/en/Treaties/Html/001.htm. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  18. ^ "Request by the Republic of Montenegro for accession to the Council of Europe". Council of Europe. 14 June 1949. https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1010157. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  19. ^ "Continuation by the Republic of Serbia of membership of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in the Council of Europe". Council of Europe. 14 June 2006. https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1010125. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  20. ^ "Belarus : a referendum under a 'hardening dictatorial regime'". Council of Europe. 2004. http://assembly.coe.int/ASP/APFeaturesManager/defaultArtSiteView.asp?ArtId=362. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  21. ^ II General information, point 11 on Council of Europe document 11007 dated 07 July 2006 at http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc06/EDOC11007.htm
  22. ^ http://assembly.coe.int/ASP/NewsManager/EMB_NewsManagerView.asp?ID=5361&L=2
  23. ^ http://www.kazembassy.org.uk/path_to_europe_state_programme.html
  24. ^ "Europarådet kan frånta USA observatörsstatus". Yelah. 2004. http://www.yelah.net/articles/20020226183029. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
  25. ^ CoE Conventions
  26. ^ "The Council of Europe and the European Union sign an agreement to foster mutual cooperation". Council of Europe. 23 May 2007. https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?Ref=PR331(2007)&Language=lanEnglish&Ver=original&BackColorInternet=F5CA75&BackColorIntranet=F5CA75&BackColorLogged=A9BACE&ShowBanner=no&Target=_self. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  27. ^ Juncker, Jean-Claude (2006). "Council of Europe - European Union: "A sole ambition for the European continent"" (PDF). Council of Europe. http://assembly.coe.int/Sessions/2006/speeches/20060411_report_JCJuncker_EN.pdf. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  28. ^ "Draft treaty modifying the treaty on the European Union and the treaty establishing the European community" (PDF). Open Europe. 24 July 2007. http://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/translation.pdf. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  29. ^ a b c d e "Joint Programmes between the CoE and the EU". Council of Europe. http://www.jp.coe.int/Default.asp.

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Why Does France Have a Veto on the UN Security Council?
Q. France was just another overrun country of Europe. Yet, it was given a veto on the UN Security Council. The Allies also permitted it to engage in military expeditions in Algeria and in Indochina, all of which contributed to the instability of the present world situation. Why was this allowed to happen? Please cite source material in your answer.
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A. Tradition. They were a world power for centuries.
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