Council of Europe
Pan-European international organisation founded to promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law across its member states; seat in Strasbourg and creator of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Council of Europe is a continent-wide international organisation dedicated to promoting human rights, democracy and the rule of law across Europe. Its names in other languages are often used in official contexts, for example Conseil de l'Europe in French and Europarat in German. The organisation brings together 47 member states from the broader European region and is best known for establishing the European Convention on Human Rights, the treaty that underpins the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights.
Image gallery
9 Images
Purpose and principles
The Council of Europe works to safeguard core values shared by its members. Prospective members must be European democracies that accept the principle of the rule of law and commit to guaranteeing fundamental human rights, including civil rights and protections for minority groups. Its activities range from legal standard-setting and monitoring to practical programmes that help national institutions comply with human-rights obligations.
Main institutions and functions
- Parliamentary Assembly: a forum for parliamentary debate and recommendations.
- Committee of Ministers: the council’s decision-making body formed by member states’ foreign ministers or their representatives.
- The Secretariat and Secretary General: administrative leadership and coordination of day-to-day work.
- The European Court of Human Rights: an independent judicial body that hears individual and interstate petitions under the Convention.
- Other bodies: monitoring committees, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, and specialist conventions on criminal justice, anti-corruption and cultural heritage.
History and seat
The organisation was founded in the wake of World War II as part of efforts to rebuild common standards across the continent. Its foundational treaty, the European Convention on Human Rights, entered into force early in the postwar period and established judicial mechanisms to enforce rights. The official seat of the Council of Europe is in Strasbourg, situated near the Franco-German border; the Palais de l'Europe houses many of its institutions.
Relationship with other European bodies
The Council of Europe is an independent organisation and should not be confused with the Council of the European Union or the European Council, both of which are institutions of the European Union. Despite this separation, almost all EU member states are also members of the Council of Europe, and the two systems often cooperate on legal and policy matters.
Notable developments and membership issues
Membership typically involves monitoring and periodic evaluation of compliance with human-rights standards. The Council has at times taken political and legal measures in response to breaches of core values: for example, a member state can face suspension or exclusion for serious violations. In 2022, Russia was excluded following events that the Council judged incompatible with its obligations. Such steps are relatively rare and underscore the organisation’s role as guardian of collective commitments.
The Council of Europe continues to be influential across the continent by providing legal frameworks, facilitating cooperation among national authorities, and offering remedies for individuals who allege violations of their rights. For further official material and documents consult institutional publications and treaty texts prepared by the organisation itself (Convention, court judgments and monitoring reports).
History
The Council of Europe was founded by ten northern and western European states. It received its formal statute on 5 May 1949 from Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom in the London Ten-Power Pact. It is thus the oldest original political organisation of European states. It was founded by the European Conference on Federation at the instigation of the American Committee for a United Europe.
In addition to the economic OEEC (merged into the OECD) and military cooperation within the framework of NATO, the political unification of the continent took concrete shape with the Council of Europe.
The Federal Republic of Germany joined the body on 14 July 1950, initially as an associate member, and became a full member in May 1951. The Saarland (an autonomous state until 1 January 1957) was already an associate member on 13 May 1950 and a full member from 2 May 1951. Austria attained membership in 1956, and Switzerland in 1963.
All but three European states now belong to the Council of Europe. As such, the Vatican City State does not enter into relations with other states, but leaves its representation at the international level to the Holy See - the latter, as a non-state subject of international law, has observer status in the Committee of Ministers. Belarus has been a candidate country since 1993. Kosovo will only be considered for membership once its status has been clarified under international law. Until then, Kosovo has been granted observer status since April 2013 through two representatives of the Kosovar parliament, who can participate in the debates of the plenary sessions and in the work of the committees without voting rights.
Following the controversial vote on Crimea's affiliation to Russia, the Council of Europe provisionally withdrew the voting rights of the 18 Russian deputies in April 2014 by a majority of 145 votes to 21 with 22 abstentions. In addition, Russia is excluded from the governing bodies of the Assembly until further notice, whereupon the Russian deputies boycotted the meetings of the Assembly from then on and Russia also stopped paying its membership fees from June 2017 until further notice.
Because the withdrawal of voting rights was not regulated in the Council of Europe's statutes, and because after two years without paying dues Russia was threatened with permanent expulsion and an election of the organization's next secretary-general without Russian members in the Parliamentary Assembly, the Council of Ministers decided on 17 May 2019, on the initiative of the Finnish presidency, to introduce a new multi-stage procedure for sanctioning members to pave the way for Russia's renewed full membership.
Objective
The Council of Europe is a forum for debate on general European issues. Within its framework, intergovernmental agreements binding under international law (Council of Europe conventions, such as the European Convention on Human Rights) are concluded with the aim of preserving the common heritage and promoting economic and social progress.
Since 1993, the Council of Europe has been devoting increased attention to safeguarding democratic security. This includes in particular:
- the commitment to human rights
- the safeguarding of democratic principles, and
- basic constitutional principles
- Combating terrorism with the Council of Europe's Committee of Experts on Combating Terrorism
- Promoting economic and social progress
- Promoting cultural cooperation (e.g. by establishing the legal framework for the recognition of higher education studies and diplomas, the legal protection of cultural minorities and the creation of policy guidelines for intercultural dialogue) - an area in which the EU has no competence of its own and should therefore cooperate with the Council of Europe in accordance with Articles 165 (3) and 167 (3) of the TFEU (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union).
- Promoting environmental protection and nature conservation in Europe, including the implementation of the European Year of Nature Conservation.
Questions and answers
Q: What is the Council of Europe?
A: The Council of Europe is an international organization made up of 47 member states in the European region.
Q: What was one of the Council of Europe's early successes?
A: One of the Council of Europe's early successes was the creation of the European Convention on Human Rights in 1950, which serves as the basis for the European Court of Human Rights.
Q: Where is the Council of Europe based?
A: The Council of Europe is based in Strasbourg on the Franco-German border. The original meeting place was in the city's University Palace, but it has now been replaced by the Palais de l'Europe, which is about two kilometres from the city centre.
Q: Who can become a member of the Council of Europe?
A: Any European democracy which accepts the principle of the rule of law and guarantees fundamental human rights, civil rights and freedoms to its citizens and respects the rights of minority groups can become a member of the Council of Europe.
Q: Is the Council of Europe part of the European Union?
A: No, the Council of Europe is a separate organisation and not part of the European Union. However, all member states of the European Union are also member states of the Council of Europe.
Q: Why was Russia excluded from the Council of Europe in 2022?
A: Russia was excluded from the Council of Europe in 2022 because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Q: How many member states make up the Council of Europe?
A: The Council of Europe is made up of 47 member states in the European region.
Related articles
Author
AlegsaOnline.com Council of Europe Leandro Alegsa
URL: https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/23450