eDiscours_20090518_Helsinki

18 May 2009

Final

SPEECH BY MR LLUÍS MARIA DE PUIG,

PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY,

ON THE OCCASION OF THE COMMEMORATION CEREMONY

TO MARK THE 60^th ANNIVERSARY OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE AND

THE 20^th ANNIVERSARY OF THE ACCESSION OF FINLAND

TO THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE

Eduskunta – Parliament of Finland, Helsinki, 18 May 2009

President Halonen,

Excellencies,

Fellow parliamentarians, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased and honoured to be your guest a few weeks after President Halonen visited the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. During her visit, President Halonen delivered a strong message of support for the work of the Council of Europe.

I should thank our Finnish hosts for having invited us all to contribute to the Helsinki celebration of two closely linked events: the 60^th anniversary of the Council of Europe and the 20^th anniversary of Finland’s accession to the Council of Europe.

Looking back to the origins of the Council of Europe and the years that preceded this country’s accession to the Organisation, we had many reasons to be cautious. From the end of the World War Two, the European reconciliation and integration advanced slowly, sometimes hesitantly, against the backdrop of the “cold war”. The East-West tensions went up and down, reaching new highs before the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Finland was caught in the swirl and had to manage carefully its delicate relationship with a giant Eastern neighbour. Yet the Finns managed to turn the climate of adversity into a strategy of gradual de-escalation, adding to the multilateral efforts that helped to crack the Berlin Wall.

It is highly symbolic that, following Finland’s accession to the Council of Europe in 1989, the next new member was Hungary that became the first country to join from the “Eastern Block”. Growing rapidly from that moment, we have continued to work – together – for building a more inclusive, more cohesive Europe.

I wish to recall on this occasion that, even before its accession, Finland adopted a series of Council of Europe conventions – starting with the Cultural Convention in 1970 – and its parliamentarians regularly attended debates of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe since 1977.

Today, with a sense of pride, we can review the many achievements of the Council of Europe. They include, to mention but a few, a common democratic and legal area for 800 million Europeans and a Europe-wide Court of Human Rights, as well as the abolition of the death penalty on our continent and the widely recognised moral authority of the Council of Europe. Let us not forget that the Council of Europe created the European flag (in 1955) and adopted the European anthem (in 1972) that are high symbols of our unity.

Last week in Strasbourg, a journalist asked me to single out two of the most important acts of the Council of Europe since its creation 60 years ago. As he only asked for two such acts, I felt I should first of all highlight, among the most salient moments, the creation of the human rights protection system based on the signing of the European Convention on Human Rights – international treaty of unprecedented scope – with its 14 protocols and the Court of Human Rights, as well as all the activities and institutions linked to the notion of fundamental rights: the European Social Charter, the Venice Commission for Democracy through Law, the Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and the many resolutions and recommendations adopted in that sense. In this field, the Council of Europe’s contribution was indeed tremendous.

The second memorable act of Council of Europe action was its opening to the East, the enlargement to include states from central and eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin wall and the integration of these countries into our pan-European institution. No other organisation could assume the task of assisting the democratisation of these new states that needed help to join the family of free and democratic countries. Neither the European Union, nor the OSCE, nor the United Nations could take on this task. It was the Council of Europe that took responsibility for the integration and democratisation of these countries. This was a particularly significant process in the last two decades. Let us hope that the last country still outside of our Organisation – Belarus – will be able to join us soon.

We owe this huge European acquis to the sense of responsibility, political will and the perseverance of our member states. And, as states are represented by their people through elected representatives, I should stress the role of parliamentarians in defending our shared values and bringing forward new ideas for helping the European society embrace new challenges. We, parliamentarians, help cultivate democracy and peace across the continent by fostering dialogue, citizen participation and cooperation among our countries at all levels.

Our values crystallise the aspirations of millions of Europeans in quest for genuine progress and dignity in both material and spiritual sense. Europe has always been at the forefront of this complex endeavour and we should continue to lead by example. I therefore welcome the reflection launched in our Parliamentary Assembly concerning a need for a broader interpretation of human rights. In addition to the fundamental civil and political rights explicitly laid down in the European Convention of Human Rights, these also comprise economic, social, environmental and cultural rights that are essential to human development and meaningful life in dignity.

It may not be easy to seek the extended protection of human rights at the times of shrinking budgetary resources in our member states. Moreover, pressures unleashed by globalisation make our countries more vulnerable and render their action in isolation more difficult. However, this reality also confronts us with the need to seek greater solidarity and the synergy of efforts by our countries.

I am convinced that the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly offer an ideal framework for cooperation towards realising this ambitious goal – the extended protection of human rights – in Greater Europe. What we need is a greater confidence in our capacities and a renewed commitment to the ideal of a united, more cohesive Europe – our driving force since the founding of the Council of Europe.

Our work is far from finished, our mission continues with new challenges ahead. Whilst remaining true to our principles, we must search for innovative ideas in order to stimulate progress and human development in Europe and beyond. We should think about new ways that will enable the Council of Europe to assert itself more in the member countries and on the international scene.

In the Council of Europe we possess a power of which we are not always fully aware. Sixty years ago, the founders of this Organisation had the power of their dreams. Today our power is quite real – the power and the creative energy of 47 countries joined together. Let us use it fully.

Allow me to take this opportunity to thank all the parliamentarians – of our Parliamentary Assembly and Finland – working with devotion and perseverance for the cause of Europe and the enhanced wellbeing of Europeans.