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Recommendation 1886 (2009)
The future of the Council of Europe in the light of its 60 years of experience
1. At this point,
when the Council of Europe is commemorating its 60th anniversary,
we are celebrating the undeniable achievements the Organisation
has made during its six decades of activities and the role that
it has played in the democratic transformation of the continent
of Europe. At the same time, this occasion provides us with an opportunity
to reflect on and analyse, in a frank and objective way, the position
of the Council of Europe in the European institutional system, its
strengths and its potential, not forgetting its flaws, weaknesses and
limitations. This is essential if we wish to adapt the Council of
Europe to new challenges so that it remains a key institution in
the process of building a united Europe based on the principles
and values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and continues
to guarantee the effective promotion and protection of these principles
and values.
2. The Parliamentary Assembly and the Committee of Ministers,
the two statutory organs having general responsibility for the Council
of Europe, have a duty to undertake this reflection together. In
this context, the Assembly refers to Resolution 1689 (2009) on the future of the Council of Europe in the light
of its sixty years of experience, and invites the Committee of Ministers
to take due account of the ideas, concerns and proposals contained
in that text.
3. The Assembly is convinced that the effectiveness of the Council
of Europe and its position in the European institutional architecture
primarily depend on its member states’ degree of commitment to the Organisation.
It believes that it is essential to ensure that this commitment
leaves no room for doubt and is confirmed by tangible acts. To this
end, it urges the Committee of Ministers to:
3.1. strengthen the political scope of the Committee of Ministers’
ministerial sessions, so that each session becomes a major political
event at which substantive political decisions are taken;
3.2. study the advisability of holding, at regular intervals,
Council of Europe summits, to decide on the strategic direction
to be taken, with due consideration being given to the momentum
they give to the Organisation’s activities;
3.3. promote more actively the legal instruments drawn up at
the Council of Europe and encourage the signature and ratification
of these instruments by member states;
3.4. avoid any possibility of new dividing lines emerging within
the Council of Europe itself on account of the fact that some of
its member states may belong to other organisations, and in particular
to seek to reduce the influence of the European Union and its presidency
on decision making within the Committee of Ministers;
3.5. review the Council of Europe’s budgetary strategy in order
to provide it with the resources it needs to carry out its tasks;
3.6. give greater significance to the Council of Europe’s conferences
of specialised ministers and their links with, and impact on, the
Organisation’s day-to-day activities, and in particular to consider
the possibility for the specialised ministries to contribute to
the financing of certain Council of Europe activities within their
areas of responsibility in exchange for delegating some of the Committee
of Ministers’ powers to a given conference, notably with regard
to the choice of priorities for the Council of Europe’s intergovernmental
activities, as proposed in Committee of Ministers Resolution (89)
40 on the future role of the Council of Europe in European construction.
4. The Assembly considers that greater prominence should be given
to the various activities of the Council of Europe in the field
of democracy. It recommends that the Committee of Ministers study
with it the setting up – on the basis of the different mechanisms
and structures existing in this field such as the annual Forum for
the Future of Democracy, the Assembly’s biennial debates on the
state of democracy in Europe, the Venice Commission, the Summer
University for Democracy and the Schools of Political Studies network
– of a “Davos of democracy”, a real laboratory for ideas, thoughts
and expertise which could become a high-profile model of excellence
and an international reference in the field of democracy.
5. The Assembly is convinced that the Council of Europe cannot
function properly unless there is genuine, substantive and ongoing
dialogue between its two statutory organs. The channels of dialogue
and consultation between the Assembly and the Committee of Ministers
must be revitalised. In this context, the Assembly welcomes the
positive spirit prevailing in the recent informal meetings between
its Presidential Committee and the Bureau of the Committee of Ministers.
It urges the Committee of Ministers to:
5.1. review its working methods regarding the preparation of
replies to Assembly recommendations to ensure that these replies
are drafted more speedily (in principle, within six months) and
with greater attention being paid to substance;
5.2. pay more attention to promoting the implementation of
positions contained in its recommendations;
5.3. provide for a reasonable timeframe (in principle, not
less than three months) for the statutory consultation of the Assembly
on draft conventions, and to keep the Assembly regularly informed
of the follow-up given to the draft amendments contained in its
statutory opinions;
5.4. study, together with the Assembly, the ways and means
of making the Joint Committee a genuine forum for substantive dialogue
and effective consultation between the two organs, for example by convening
it only when necessary and at the level of political decision makers;
5.5. study, together with the Assembly, how to give a higher
profile and greater political substance to the traditional exchanges
of views between the Assembly’s Standing Committee and the chairmanship of
the Committee of Ministers;
5.6. step up dialogue with the Assembly in all the ways that
have proved effective, such as the contacts between the President
of the Assembly and the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
the informal meetings between the Presidential Committee of the
Assembly and the Bureau of the Committee of Ministers, the working
contacts between the Assembly committees and the Committee of Ministers’
rapporteur groups;
5.7. consider establishing mechanisms for co-operation between
the Assembly and the Committee of Ministers and, if appropriate,
other Council of Europe bodies, to ensure a co-ordinated response
in the field of crisis prevention and conflict resolution;
5.8. consider setting up an appropriate framework for exchanges
of views between the Assembly and the Committee of Ministers regarding
the Council of Europe’s priorities for the coming year and the results
obtained the previous year.
6. The Assembly considers, therefore, that the Council of Europe’s
internal functioning, particularly as regards relations between
its statutory organs, should be brought more fully into line with
the democratic principles and values it defends. It reiterates its
proposals set out in Recommendation
1763 (2006) on the institutional balance at the Council of Europe,
and urges the Committee of Ministers to:
6.1. pursue dialogue with the Assembly on the institutional
aspects of the functioning of the Organisation;
6.2. reflect in greater depth on substantive follow-up to all
the proposals contained in Recommendation
1763 (2006).