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| Council of Europe - Structure |
- The Council of Europe: an overview
- The Committee of Ministers
- The Parliamentary Assembly
- The Secretary General
- The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe
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| The Council of Europe: an overview |
| The Council of Europe: an overview
| | A statute built on human rights
| Any European state can become a member of the Council of Europe provided it accepts the principle of the rule of law and guarantees human rights and fundamental freedoms to everyone under its jurisdiction.
| | Aims
| The Council of Europe is an intergovernmental organisation which aims:
- to protect human rights,
pluralist democracy and the rule of law;
- to promote awareness and encourage the development of Europe's cultural identity and diversity;
- to seek solutions to problems facing European society (discrimination against minorities,
xenophobia,
intolerance,environmental protection,
human cloning,
Aids,
drugs,
terrorism,
organised crime,
etc.);
- to help consolidate democratic stability in Europe by backing political,
legislative and constitutional reform.
| | 47 member states
| Set up on 5 May 1949 by 10 countries (Belgium,
Denmark,
France,
Ireland,
Italy,
Luxembourg,
Netherlands,
Norway,
Sweden,
United Kingdom),
joined by Greece and Turkey in August 1949,
the Council of Europe now has 46 member states* : Iceland and Germany (1950),
Austria (1956),
Cyprus (1961),
Switzerland (1963),
Malta (1965),
Portugal (1976),
Spain (1977),
Liechtenstein (1978),
San Marino (1988),
Finland (1989),
Hungary (1990),
Poland (1991),
Bulgaria (1992),
Estonia,
Lithuania,
Slovenia,
the Czech Republic,
Slovakia,
Romania (1993),
Andorra (1994),
Latvia,
Albania,
Moldova,
Ukraine,
"the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"(1995),
Russian Federation and Croatia (1996),
Georgia (1999),
Armenia and Azerbaijan (2001),
Bosnia and Herzegovina (2002),
Serbia (2003),
Monaco (2004,
Montenegro (2007).
The Council of Europe should not be confused with the European Union.
The two organisations are quite distinct.
The 27 European Union states,
however,
are all members of the Council of Europe.
| | Candidates for membership
| Belarus (procedure suspended in 1997).
| | Observer status
| Canada,
the Holy See,
Japan,
the United States of America and Mexico enjoy observer status with the Council of Europe's intergovernmental bodies.
* April 2003 | | Palais de l'Europe
| The Palais de l'Europe in Strasbourg (France) is the Council of Europe's headquarters.
| | Wide-ranging activities
| The Council of Europe covers all major issues facing European society other than defence.
Its work programme includes the following fields of activity: human rights,
media,
legal co-operation,
social cohesion,
health,
education,
culture,
heritage,
sport,
youth,
local democracy and transfrontier co-operation,
the environment and regional planning.
| | A framework for co-operation
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The Committee of Ministers is the Council of Europe's decision-making body,
and is composed of the foreign affairs ministers of all the member states (or their Permanent Representatives).
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The Parliamentary Assembly is the Organisation's deliberative body,
the members of which are appointed by national parliaments.
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The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe is a consultative body representing local and regional authorities.
Governments,
national parliaments and local and regional authorities are thus represented separately.
| | An elected Secretary General
| The British Terry Davis was elected Secretary General by the Parliamentary Assembly in 2004 for a five-year period.
He directs and co-ordinates the Organisation's activities.
| | Summits give fresh impetus
| To reinforce European stability,
particularly after the fall of communist regimes,
the Council of Europe gained fresh political impetus at the highest level through summit meetings of heads of state and government.
Two summits have been held to date.
In Vienna in 1993,
the political leaders of the 32 states which were members of the Organisation at the time responded to the challenge by determining a course of action for enlargement.
In Strasbourg in 1997,
with 40 member states,
political leaders adopted a new Plan of Action based on four broad themes: democracy and human rights,
social cohesion,
security of citizens and education for democracy and cultural diversity.
This is the blueprint for the Council's programme of work in the new millennium.
Third Summit was held in May 2005.
| | Conferences of specialised ministers
| The Council of Europe periodically organises conferences of specialised ministers (for justice,
education,
family affairs,
health,
environment,
local authorities,
migration,
equality between women and men,
labour,
mass media,
culture,
sport,
youth,
etc.).
The conferences analyse the major problems arising in their sectors and foster ongoing contact between ministries dealing with the same subjects in member states.
They work out projects to be implemented jointly,
and propose activities for the Council's work programme.
| | Building Europe day by day
| The Council of Europe's work leads to European conventions and agreements in the light of which member states may subsequently harmonise and amend their own legislation to comply with them.
Some conventions and agreements are also open for adoption by non-member states.
The results of studies and activities are available to governments in order to foster co-operation and social progress in Europe.
The Council of Europe also adopts partial agreements,
a form of "variable geometry" co-operation,
which allow a number of states to carry out a specific activity of common interest with the consent of other members.
| | A platform for voluntary associations
| By granting consultative status to over 400 non-governmental organisations (NGOs),
the Council of Europe is building a real partnership with those who represent ordinary people.
Through various consultation arrangements (including discussions and colloquies) it brings NGOs into intergovernmental activities and encourages dialogue between members of parliament and associations on major social issues.
| | An international staff
| Approximately 1300 international civil servants recruited from the member states make up the permanent staff of the Organisation's secretariat which is headed by the Secretary General.
| | European funding
| The Council is financed by the governments of member states whose contributions to the organisation's budget are calculated in relation to their population and wealth.
The ordinary budget of the Council of Europe for the year 2002 amounts to 169 million euros.
| | Official languages
| The Council of Europe's official languages are English and French,
but the Parliamentary Assembly also uses German,
Italian and Russian as working languages.
Other languages may be interpreted during debates,
under certain conditions.
| | Select documentation
| Council of Europe Publishing:
- The conscience of Europe (1999),
ISBN 92-871-4030-8
- A decade which made history - The Council of Europe,
1989 - 1999 (1999),
ISBN 92-871-3928-8
- Europe under a single roof (1999)
| | Websites:
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| The Committee of Ministers |
| The Committee of Ministers
| | The Committee of Ministers 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 approaches to problems facing European society can be discussed on an equal footing,
and a collective forum,
where Europe-wide responses to such challenges are formulated.
In collaboration with the Parliamentary Assembly,
it is the guardian of the Council's fundamental values,
and monitors member states' compliance with their undertakings.
| | VOICE OF THE GOVERNMENTS | | Decisions and action
| The Committee of Ministers decides on the activities of the Council of Europe.
It also determines the action to be taken on recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe,
and on the proposals from various intergovernmental committees and conferences of specialised ministers.
It approves the Council's programme of activities and budget.
| | Dialogue
| The Committee of Ministers' discussions cover all questions of common political interest except defence: the political aspects of European integration,
developing co-operation,
safeguarding democratic institutions and protecting human rights - in other words,
all problems which require concerted pan-European solutions.
| | An active body
| The foreign affairs ministers of the member states meet at least twice a year to review political issues and matters of European co-operation and to give the necessary political impetus to the Council's activities.
They meet once a week at ambassador level and their deliberations are supplemented by meetings of rapporteur groups and working groups which consider certain issues in depth before decisions are taken.
Each minister chairs the Committee for a six-month term of office which traditionally changes in May and November.
| | Flexibility
| When projects are not supported by all member states,
the Committee of Ministers has the option of launching them under partial agreements which allow some members to pursue joint activities in certain areas.
On the other hand,
enlarged agreements enable member states (or some of them) to work with certain non member states,
giving them the benefit of the Council's permanent structure.
| | EUROPEAN SOLUTIONS | | Powerful instruments
| The Committee of Ministers' decisions are sent to governments in the form of recommendations,
or are embodied in European conventions and agreements which are legally binding on states that ratify them.
The Committee also adopts declarations and resolutions on current political issues.
Over 180 conventions have been drawn up to date.
They are concerned mainly with human rights but cover other areas which affirm and strengthen the Council of Europe's democratic,
social and cultural cohesion.
Most of the Committee of Ministers' decisions require a two-thirds majority of votes cast but a simple majority is sufficient for procedural questions.
| | Specialist preparation
| Conventions and recommendations are drafted by government experts responsible to the Committee of Ministers,
thereby providing for the interaction of political interests with technical and sectoral considerations.
Many political initiatives are also taken at regular conferences of specialised ministers.
| | Democracy and solidarity
| The Council of Europe has set up co-operation and assistance programmes for the new member states to allow them to draw on the Council's experience.
The programmes are based on the results of intergovernmental collaboration at the Council - its reference texts,
networks of experts and co-operation structures.
Their purpose is to consolidate,
strengthen and accelerate democratic reform in these countries so that they can integrate gradually and harmoniously into the processes and structures of European co-operation,
above all the Council of Europe.
The Confidence-Building Measures Programme has been established with a view to supporting civil society initiatives aimed at improving reciprocal knowledge and co-operation between majority and minority communities.
| | GUARDIAN OF VALUES | | Defending the Statute
| Countries joining the Council undertake to accept the principles of the rule of law and their people's prerogative to basic human rights and fundamental freedoms.
They also undertake to collaborate sincerely and effectively to achieve greater unity,
and to facilitate their economic and social progress.
Each member state is responsible for honouring these commitments and the Committee of Ministers ensures that they do so.
In the event of a serious violation by a member state of its obligations under the Statute,
the Committee of Ministers can suspend the state's right of representation,
invite it to withdraw or even decide that it has ceased to be a member of the Council.
| | Implementing conventions
| The Committee of Ministers also ensures that conventions and agreements between member states are implemented.
This is crucial in the case of human rights texts,
the most important of which (the European Convention on Human Rights,
the European Social Charter,
the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities) provide for supervisory machinery.
The Committee of Ministers' responsibilities with regard to the European Convention on Human Rights reflect the importance of this convention,
which is the cornerstone of the system of human rights protection in Europe.
In supervising the execution by member states of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights,
the Committee of Ministers plays an essential role in maintaining the credibility of a system without precedent in the world.
| | Respecting commitments
| In accordance with the philosophy that has governed the Council's enlargement since the fall of the Berlin Wall,
the Committee of Ministers has exercised its responsibilities in an impartial and constructive spirit,
emphasising dialogue and the gradual establishment of political and material conditions conducive to positive development.
To this end,
the Committee has introduced a monitoring system,
which ensures that all member states respect their obligations.
It offers all members the conditions and resources needed to nurture the Council's founding values.
The enlargement of the Council of Europe has led to significant changes in the organisation and role of the Committee of Ministers,
with considerable development in the political aspect of its work.
| | Dialogue and complementarity
| The Council of Europe has strengthened its dialogue with Europe's elected representatives at national and local levels and extended its political discussions to non-member states,
including a number of non-European states with observer status (the United States,
Holy See,
Canada,
Japan and Mexico).
It has intensified its co-operation with other European organisations,
particularly the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
| | In the new millennium
| In achieving this change of direction,
the Committee of Ministers has,
on occasion,
received the political impetus it needed from the highest level.
Two summits of heads of state and government have been held,
in Vienna (8-9 October 1993) and in Strasbourg (10-11 October 1997).
In adopting the "Budapest Declaration - For a Greater Europe Without Dividing Lines" in May 1999,
the ministers set the Organisation's agenda for the twenty-first century.
| | Select documentation
| Council of Europe Publishing:
- The Committee of Ministers: 100 sessions (1998),
ISBN 92-871-3756-0
- An action plan for united Europe (1997)
- The Challenges of a Greater Europe (1996),
ISBN 92-871-2952-5
- A decade which made history - The Council of Europe 1989-1999 (1999),
ISBN 92-871-3928-8
| | Websites:
| www..coe.int/cm |
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| The Parliamentary Assembly |
| The Parliamentary Assembly
| | The Parliamentary Assembly is one of the Council of Europe's two main statutory organs and represents the main political tendencies in its member states.
The Assembly sees itself as the driving force in extending European co-operation to all democratic states throughout Europe.
| | Europe's democratic conscience
| The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly was the first European assembly to be created in the history of our continent.
With delegations from over 40 national parliaments,
it is the most widely-based European assembly.
The Assembly is free to choose its own agenda; it deals with topics of current or potential importance including problems of contemporary society and aspects of international politics.
Its deliberations provide significant guidelines for the activities of the Committee of Ministers and the intergovernmental sectors of the Council of Europe,
and also influence governments when members relay them to their national parliaments.
The historic events in central and eastern Europe at the beginning of the 1990s set the Assembly a unique challenge,
that of helping to bring these countries into the fold of European democracies and encouraging genuine parliamentary co-operation between all European nations.
The Assembly thus contributes to building a greater Europe without dividing lines.
The special guest status created by the Parliamentary Assembly in 1989 allowed parliamentary delegations from the emerging pluralist democracies of central and eastern Europe which were not full members of the Organisation to attend the Assembly's plenary sessions and committee meetings.
The contacts and exchanges thus established encouraged the process of democratisation in these countries and facilitated their accession to the Council of Europe.
| | Structure and organisation: mirroring the European democracies
| The Parliamentary Assembly's 315 members and their 315 substitutes are elected or appointed by national parliaments from among their own members.
Each country has between 2 and 18 representatives depending on the size of its population.
National delegations to the Assembly are composed in such a way as to ensure a fair representation of the political parties or groups in their parliaments.
The Assembly has five political groups: Socialist Group (SOC),
Group of the European People's Party (EPP/CD),
European Democratic Group (EDG),
Liberal,
Democratic and Reformers' Group (LDR),
and Group of the Unified European Left (UEL).
Some members of the Assembly choose not to belong to any political group.
The Assembly meets quarterly for a week in plenary session in the Chamber of the Palais de l'Europe in Strasbourg.
Sittings are public.
It also holds a spring meeting in one of the member states.
The Assembly elects its president from among its members,
traditionally for three consecutive one-year terms.
The President,
Vice-Presidents (18 at present) and the Chairs of the 5 political groups form the Bureau of the Assembly.
The Assembly also elects the Council of Europe's Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General,
the Secretary General of the Assembly,
the judges of the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights.
Its work is prepared by specialist committees dealing with: political affairs,
legal affairs and human rights,
social,
health and family affairs,
culture,
science and education,
environment and agriculture,
economic affairs and development,
migration,
refugees and demography,
equal opportunities for women and men,
and the honouring of obligations and commitments by member states.
| | Debates on European and world events
| The agenda for each session features debates on European and world events and more generally,
matters where action at European level is needed.
Prominent dignitaries from all over the world have contributed to these debates (King Juan Carlos,
François Mitterrand,
John Paul II,
Helmut Kohl,
Mikhail Gorbachev,
Václav Havel,
Hosni Mubarak,
Yasser Arafat and many others).
The Assembly also provides a discussion forum for other international organisations such as the OECD,
the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD),
the European Space Agency and several specialised agencies of the United Nations.
Non-governmental organisations take part in a certain number of committees as observers and provide a valuable input to important events organised by the Assembly.
| | Initiatives leading to concrete results
| Since 1989,
the Assembly has assisted in crisis management throughout Europe.
Its political debates have frequently been based on the findings of on-the-spot visits and ongoing dialogue with the states concerned.
In this way,
it has strengthened the Council of Europe's political role.
The texts adopted by the Assembly provide significant guidelines for the Committee of Ministers,
national governments,
parliaments,
political parties and other important areas of society.
The Assembly has also initiated many international treaties,
known as European conventions,
and other legal instruments,
forming the basis of a truly European system of legislation.
The best known of these is the European Convention on Human Rights,
opened for signature in 1950 (see section on "Human rights: protection,
promotion and prevention").
The Assembly is consulted by the Committeeof Ministers on all draft conventions before they are adopted.
The Assembly also holds regular conferences,
symposia and public parliamentary hearings on major topical issues such as: violence,
intolerance,
the environment,
immigration,
drugs,
bioethics and the media.
These hearings take the form of a dialogue between parliamentarians and specialists.
| | What's the difference?
| The Parliamentary Assembly comprises parliamentary representatives of all the Council of Europe's member states,
who are elected or appointed by national parliaments.
The European Parliament comprises the directly elected representatives of the 25 member countries of the European Union. | | Member states and their representation
| Albania (4),
Andorra (2),
Armenia (4),
Austria (6),
Azerbaijan (6),
Belgium (7),
Bosnia and Herzegovina (5),
Bulgaria (6),
Croatia (5),
Cyprus (3),
Czech Republic (7),
Denmark (5),
Estonia (3),
Finland (5),
France (18),
Georgia (5),
Germany (18),
Greece (7),
Hungary (7),
Iceland (3),
Ireland (4),
Italy (18),
Latvia (3),
Liechtenstein (2),
Lithuania (4),
Luxembourg (3),
Malta (3),
Moldova (5),
Monaco (2),
Montenegro (3),
Netherlands (7),
Norway (5),
Poland (12),
Portugal (7),
Romania (10),
Russian Federation (18),
San Marino (2),
Serbia (7),
Slovak Republic (5),
Slovenia (3),
Spain (12),
Sweden (6),
Switzerland (6),
"the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (3),
Turkey (12),
Ukraine (12),
United Kingdom (18). | | Observer status
| The parliaments of Canada,
Israel and Mexico enjoy observer status with the Parliamentary Assembly.
| | Special guest status
| The special guest status of the Parliament of Belarus was suspended on 13 January 1997.
| | Select documentation
| Council of Europe Publishing:
- The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (2000)
- Voices of Europe (Książka i CD,
1997),
ISBN 92-871-3093-0
- The Europeans (electronic newsletter of the Parliamentary Assembly)
- Humankind has no nationality: speeches made in 1999 by Lord Russell-Johnston,
President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (2000),
ISBN 92-871-4281-5
| | Websites
| assembly.coe.int/ |
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| The Secretary General |
| The Secretary General
| | The Secretary General of the Council of Europe,
the British Terry Davis,
elected in 2004 for a five-year term by the Parliamentary Assembly,
has overall responsibility for the strategic direction of the Council's work programme and budget and oversees the day-to-day management of the Organisation and Secretariat.
The Intergovermental Work Programme,
drawn up by the Secretary General on the basis of priority proposals,
is approved annually by the Committee of Ministers.
The Secretary General is responsible for the implementation of the programme with the assistance of the Secretariat.
Operational action for intergovernmental co-operation is co-ordinated primarily through directorates corresponding to the main fields of activity of the Organisation.
| | Seven point plan of action
| As part of a major campaign to promote a vision of a Greater Europe based on the core values of democracy,
the rule of law and respect for human rights,
the Secretary General has launched a seven-point plan of action for 2001-2005 to address the new challenges of building a fully democratic,
peaceful and stable Europe.
Key points of the programme focus on:
- promoting democratic principles by enhancing the Organisation's political impact;
- building a shared human rights area in Europe;
- developing democratic standards and making sure that states respect them;
- responding to European citizens' expectations with grass-roots projects;
- assessing the results of projects and action,
to improve effectiveness on the ground;
- forging closer working links with the European Union,
the OSCE and the United Nations;
- stepping up political co-operation with observer states.
The Secretary General is visiting many of the Council's member state capitals in order to mobilise key members of national governments and parliaments to its political role and to highlight the significant work being carried out by the Council of Europe in ensuring human rights,
democracy and the rule of law are respected in the Greater Europe.
| | Websites:
| www.coe.int/SG |
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| The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe |
| The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe
| | Grass-roots democracy
| The Council of Europe has always recognised the overriding importance of democracy at local and regional level.
After all,
freedom is a neighbourhood issue as well as a national one.
Local self-government must meet the needs of all Europeans,
in towns and villages,
central and peripheral regions and across borders.
The Council took its first step towards local authority representation in 1957,
and since then its work has extended from Iceland to Russia and from Norway to the Balkans.
In 1994,
the Council of Europe established the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) as a consultative body to replace the former Standing Conference of Local and Regional Authorities.
The Congress helps new member states with practical aspects of their progress towards establishing effective local and regional self-government.
| | The role of the Congress
| The Congress:
- is the voice of Europe's regions and municipalities;
- provides a forum where local and regional elected representatives can discuss problems,
pool their experience and express their views to governments;
- advises the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on all aspects of local and regional policy;
- co-operates closely with national and international organisations representing local and regional government;
- organises hearings and conferences to reach a wider public whose involvement is essential to a working democracy;
- prepares regular country-by-country reports on the state of local and regional democracy in all the Council's member and applicant states and monitors,
in particular,
how the principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government are implemented.
| | Its changing role
| The emergence of new states from varying political and economic bases has necessitated reappraisal and reformulation of the Congress's objectives to include:
- promoting effective local and regional government structures in all Council of Europe member states,
especially in the new democracies;
- examining the state of local and regional democracy in member and applicant states;
- developing initiatives to enable citizens to participate effectively in local and regional democracy;
- representing the interests of local and regional government in the shapingof European policy;
- encouraging regional and transfrontier co-operation for peace,
toleranceand sustainable development;
- observing local and regional elections.
| | A two-chamber assembly
| The Congress is divided into two chambers: the Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions.
The two-chamber assembly comprises 315 titular members and 315 substitute members,
each of whom is an elected representative from one of over 200 000 local and regional authorities in the Council's member states.
The chambers alternate to elect the President of the Congress for a two-year term.
The Congress meets once a year in Strasbourg and welcomes delegations from approved European organisations and some non-member states as special guests or observers.
The Standing Committee,
drawn from all national delegations,
meets between the Congress plenary sessions.
The Congress organises its work around four statutory committees:
- the Institutional Committee,
which has the particular task of preparingreports on the progress of local and regional democracy in Europe;
- the Culture and Education Committee,
for media,
youth,
sport and communication;
- the Committee on Sustainable Development,
for environmental affairs and spatial and urban planning;
- the Committee on Social Cohesion,
for issues concerning employment,
citizenship,
inter-community relations,
public health and equality between women and men.
The Chief Executive of the Congress is responsible for day-to-day management with the support of the Secretariat,
drawn from the Council of Europe staff.
| | Practical help
| European Network of Training Organisations for Local and Regional Authorities (ENTO) This provides expert help and training for central and east European nations lacking managerial experience and technical skills.
The ENTO network promotes co-operation between local and regional government training centres,
linking national organisations with their counterparts in other countries.
Special support programme for local and regional democracy in central and eastern Europe.
This programme gives priority to assistance in drafting local government legislation.
It offers training and expert guidance in local institutional reform and includes workshops,
study visits and courses on health care in cities,
fiscal independence and local government funding.
| | Local Democracy Agencies (LDAs)
| Established in 1993 as part of the peace process in the former Yugoslavia,
LDAs form a partnership between a particular authority in the region and local authorities elsewhere in Europe.
They promote respect for human beings and democracy,
the establishment of civil society and confidence-building measures between different population groups.
| | Prix Europa
| In a cultural context,
the Congress supports the Prix Europa competition,
which promotes the best of European television across national boundaries,
illustrating Europe's cultural diversity and encouraging programme exchanges.
| | Participation in the Stability Pact
| The Congress plays an active part in the projects for strengthening local democracy and cross-border co-operation in South-Eastern Europe set out in the Council of Europe programme for the Stability Pact,
launched in June 1999.
| | The Congress's role in Kosovo
| From the outset,
the Congress has been part of the international presence in Kosovo.
Its activities include:
- helping to recruit international administrators in Kosovo's 30 municipalities;
- helping to draft legal texts (known as "regulations") on municipalities and elections;
- observing the municipal election process;
- co-operating with the Venice Commission (see section on "Legal co-operation") to study Kosovo's temporary status on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 1244;
- organising visits by the President of the Congress and maintaining dialoguewith representatives of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK),the OSCE and local Albanian and Serb political parties; - supporting initiatives with municipalities in Kosovo;
- co-operating with the ENTO in helping the OSCE to set up a local government training institute.
| | Clear legislative guidelines and policies
| The European Charter of Local Self-Government (1985) specifies that effective local self-government is essential to democracy.
The Charter serves as a model for legislative reform in new democracies.
Some states have already incorporated its principles into their constitutions.
The European Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation (1980) and its two Additional Protocols recognise the right of local and regional authorities to co-operate across frontiers in providing public services and environmental protection.
The European Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in Public Life at Local Level (1992) puts forward the principle of progressively granting civil and political rights to foreign residents,
including the right to vote.
The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (1992) aims to preserve regional and minority languages as a unique component of Europe's cultural heritage,
extending their use in law,
in schools,
in public,
cultural,
economic and social life,
and in the media.
The European Urban Charter (1992) defines citizens' rights in European towns.
It provides a practical guide to good urban management,
covering housing,
urban architecture,
transport,
energy,
sport and leisure,
pollution and street security.
The Charter on the Participation of Young People in Municipal and Regional Life (1992) sets out guidelines to encourage young people to share in decisions affecting them and to be active in social changes in their neighbourhood,
municipality or region.
The European Landscape Convention was adopted in Florence in October 2000.
It sets forth the requirement for public authorities to adopt policies and measures at local,
regional,
national and international level for protecting,
managing and planning landscapes throughout Europe.
The Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers is currently examining the draft European charter of regional self-government,
as a counterpart to the European Charter of Local Self-Government.
| | Member states and their representation
| Albania (4),
Andorra (2),
Armenia (4),
Austria (6),
Azerbaijan (6),
Belgium (7),
Bosnia and Herzegovina (5),
Bulgaria (6),
Croatia (5),
Cyprus (3),
Czech Republic (7),
Denmark (5),
Estonia (3),
Finland (5),
France (18),
Georgia (5),
Germany (18),
Greece (7),
Hungary (7),
Iceland (3),
Ireland (4),
Italy (18),
Latvia (3),
Liechtenstein (2),
Lithuania (4),
Luxembourg (3),
Malta (3),
Moldova (5),
Monaco (2),
Montenegro (3),
Netherlands (7),
Norway (5),
Poland (12),
Portugal (7),
Romania (10),
Russian Federation (18),
San Marino (2),
Serbia (7),
Slovak Republic (5),
Slovenia (3),
Spain (12),
Sweden (6),
Switzerland (6),
"the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (3),
Turkey (12),
Ukraine (12),
United Kingdom (18).
| | Select documentation
| Council of Europe Publishing:
- European Charter of Local Self-Government (ETS No.122) (1985),
ISBN 92-871-0804-8
- Draft European Charter of Regional Self-Government (Recommendation 34 (1997))
- European Outline Convention on transfrontier co-operation between territorial communities or authorities (ETS No.
106) (1989),
ISBN 92-871-0021-7
- Draft European Charter of Mountain Regions (Recommendation 14 (1995))
- European Landscape Convention - Florence (ETS No.
176) (2000)
- European Urban Charter(1993),
ISBN 92-871-2345-4
- Charter on the participation of young people in municipal and regional life (Resolution 237 (1992))
- The Bulletin - CLRAE Newsletter (5 issues per year)
- CLRAE "Studies and texts series
| | Websites:
| For further information,
please contact:
Secretariat of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe
Council of Europe
F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex
Tel.: +33 3 88 41 20 00
Fax: +33 3 88 41 27 51 lub 37 47
E-mail:
www.coe.int/congress |
|
|
| Contact us |
Information Office of the Council of Europe
Al. Niepodległości 22,
02-653 Warszawa
tel. (48 22) 845 20 84, 853 57 73
fax (48 22) 853 57 74
www.coe.org.pl
e-mail: |
| Special events |
Fryderyk Chopin's 200th birth anniversary
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Death is not a justice
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Raise your hand against smacking
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Building Europe
for and with children
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Wild Web Woods
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All Different,
All Equal
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