Motion for a resolution | Doc. 13846 | 02 July 2015

The situation of nations without State in Europe

Signatories: Mr Jacob LUND, Denmark, SOC ; Lord Donald ANDERSON, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Pascale CROZON, France, SOC ; Mr Gvozden Srećko FLEGO, Croatia, SOC ; Mr Paul FLYNN, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Hans FRANKEN, Netherlands, EPP/CD ; Ms Adele GAMBARO, Italy, ALDE ; Ms Geneviève GOSSELIN-FLEURY, France, SOC ; Mr Andreas GROSS, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Hans Fredrik GRØVAN, Norway, EPP/CD ; Ms Maria GUZENINA, Finland, SOC ; Mr Hannes HANSO, Estonia, SOC ; Mr Gábor HARANGOZÓ, Hungary, SOC ; Mr Ögmundur JÓNASSON, Iceland, UEL ; Mr Tiny KOX, Netherlands, UEL ; Mr Pierre-Yves LE BORGN', France, SOC ; Ms Milica MARKOVIĆ, Bosnia and Herzegovina, SOC ; Ms Liliane MAURY PASQUIER, Switzerland, SOC ; Sir Alan MEALE, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Attila MESTERHÁZY, Hungary, SOC ; Ms Olivia MITCHELL, Ireland, EPP/CD ; Mr Luc RECORDON, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr René ROUQUET, France, SOC ; Mr Àlex SÁEZ, Spain, SOC ; Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria, SOC ; Ms Petra De SUTTER, Belgium, SOC ; Lord John E. TOMLINSON, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Dimitris VITSAS, Greece, UEL ; Mr Eric VORUZ, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Klaas de VRIES, Netherlands, SOC

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

The right to self-determination is recognised as an essential principle of international law. It is established in the United Nations Charter and associated Covenants; in recent years, the Council of Europe has led the way in standard-setting with the development of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

Council of Europe member States such as the United Kingdom, where a referendum on the independence of Scotland was held in 2014, and Denmark, where the government has made it clear that the Faroe Islands and Greenland have the right to self-determination and would be allowed a referendum on independence if they requested one, are recent examples of how Europe leads the way on this issue.

Self-determination movements are active across the Council of Europe region; they base their legitimacy on the broad support of the populations in their territories and their own internal democratic standards, including a rejection of violence.

They have been instrumental in establishing protection for minorities and more representative democratic governance in many Council of Europe member States.

The Parliamentary Assembly should examine the question of self-determination for Catalonia and other European regions, including any attempts to prevent populations from exercising their right to self-determination.

Also discussion of independence should take place in a peaceful and democratic dialogue between the relevant region and the State government.

A peaceful and democratic dialogue and other constructive response to the situation should be encouraged as was the case with Council of Europe member States like the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

Europe should be applying the best practices on self-determination across the continent, not the worst.