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Recommendation 1982 (2011) Final version
The impact of the Lisbon Treaty on the Council of Europe
1. The Parliamentary Assembly, referring
to its Resolution 1836
(2011) on the impact of the Lisbon Treaty on the Council
of Europe, notes that the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty
has opened up new opportunities for a reinforced partnership between
the Council of Europe and the European Union, based on their respective acquis and comparative advantages.
2. In the Assembly’s view, such a partnership should aim to ensure
coherence between the pan-European project promoted by the Council
of Europe and the integration process initiated by the European
Union, and ultimately lead to a common space for human rights protection
across the continent, in the interest of all people in Europe.
3. While welcoming the steps already taken in the right direction,
the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:
3.1. further consolidate the recently
reinforced partnership between the two organisations, building on the
2007 Memorandum of Understanding, on the opportunities created by
the Lisbon Treaty and on the perspectives opened up by the ongoing
reform of the Council of Europe;
3.2. ensure that regular policy co-ordination between the Council
of Europe and the European Union is further developed at all levels,
including through the Council of Europe Liaison Office in Brussels
and the European Union delegation to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg;
3.3. strengthen the role of the Council of Europe as “the guardian
for human rights, the rule of law and democracy in Europe” and,
in so doing, promote this fundamental role in its relations with
the institutions of the European Union.
4. For the purpose of building acommon
space for human rights protection at the pan-European level and ensuring
coherence of standards and the monitoring of their implementation
throughout the continent, the Assembly asks the Committee of Ministers
to:
4.1. take all measures necessary
to ensure the rapid conclusion of the accession agreement of the
European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No.
5), its endorsement and entry into force;
4.2. promote and facilitate European Union accession to other
key Council of Europe conventions, monitoring mechanisms and bodies,
in particular through the ongoing review of Council of Europe conventions,
while preserving the essence of each convention system and without prejudicing
the effective functioning of each mechanism and body;
4.3. co-ordinate action with the European Union in the areas
of migration and asylum and jointly ensure appropriate follow-up
to the high-level meeting on Roma issues organised by the Council
of Europe in October 2010;
4.4. promote coherence of normative activities within the two
organisations, in particular through prior consultations at as early
a stage as possible and at a high political level, in addition to
inter-secretariat information sharing at operational level;
4.5. develop appropriate synergies between Council of Europe
monitoring mechanisms and bodies and any new evaluation mechanisms
to be set up by the European Union.
5. The Assembly further notes that the Lisbon Treaty, as well
as recent events throughout the southern Mediterranean, have created
new opportunities for co-operation between the two organisations
in the context of a revised European Union European Neighbourhood Policy
and a new Council of Europe policy towards neighbouring regions
that proposes a demand-driven co-operation with the countries concerned,
of which an important element is the partnership for democracy status created
by the Assembly for parliaments in these regions.
6. Building, inter alia,
on these opportunities, the Assembly asks the Committee of Ministers
to enhancethe Council of
Europe’s expertise and standard-setting and advisory role in the
context of the European Neighbourhood Policy, in particular to the
extent that this policy applies to countries which are either Council
of Europe member states or belong to its neighbourhood.
7. Welcoming recent positive examples, the Assembly recommends
that the Committee of Ministers further develop joint actions and
joint programmes with the European Union and seek, in this context,
a broader and more stable financial partnership with the European Union
which would allow for increased strategic co-operation and joint
long-term planning.
8. The Assembly asks the Committee of Ministers to promote a
better understanding and visibility of the reinforced partnership
between the Council of Europe and the European Union in the present
post-Lisbon Treaty period and raise public awareness about the need
to further consolidate such a partnership in the interest of all people
in Europe.
9. The Assembly believes that the entry into force of the Lisbon
Treaty and the ongoing reshaping of the European architecture give
fresh topicality to the perspective of European Union accession
to the Council of Europe Statute (ETS No. 1), already recommended
in 2006 by the Juncker report, “Council of Europe – European Union:
‘a sole ambition for the European continent’”, and thus invites
the Committee of Ministers to give further consideration to this
question.