Motion for a resolution | Doc. 13895 | 30 September 2015

Towards a democratic approach to the issues of governance in European multinational States

Signatories: Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria, SOC ; Mr Vahan BABAYAN, Armenia, EC ; Mr Yves CRUCHTEN, Luxembourg, SOC ; Mr Zsolt CSENGER-ZALÁN, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Ms Daphné DUMERY, Belgium, NR ; Ms Adele GAMBARO, Italy, ALDE ; Mr Karl GARÐARSSON, Iceland, ALDE ; Mr Gerardo GIOVAGNOLI, San Marino, SOC ; Mr Andreas GROSS, Switzerland, SOC ; Ms Dzhema GROZDANOVA, Bulgaria, EPP/CD ; Mr Andres HERKEL, Estonia, EPP/CD ; Mr Johannes HÜBNER, Austria, NR ; Mr Gediminas JAKAVONIS, Lithuania, ALDE ; Mr Ögmundur JÓNASSON, Iceland, UEL ; Mr Carles JORDANA MADERO, Andorra, ALDE ; Ms Naira KARAPETYAN, Armenia, EPP/CD ; Ms Vasiliki KATRIVANOU, Greece, UEL ; Mr Tiny KOX, Netherlands, UEL ; Mr Terry LEYDEN, Ireland, ALDE ; Mr George LOUKAIDES, Cyprus, UEL ; Ms Meritxell MATEU PI, Andorra, ALDE ; Mr Michael McNAMARA, Ireland, SOC ; Ms Hermine NAGHDALYAN, Armenia, EC ; Ms Judith PALLARÉS CORTÉS, Andorra, ALDE ; Mr Luc RECORDON, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Attila TILKI, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Mr Snorre Serigstad VALEN, Norway, UEL ; Mr Egidijus VAREIKIS, Lithuania, EPP/CD ; Ms Birutė VĖSAITĖ, Lithuania, SOC ; Mr Nikolaj VILLUMSEN, Denmark, UEL ; Mr Tobias ZECH, Germany, EPP/CD ; Mr Levon ZOURABIAN, Armenia, ALDE

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 (Ets no. 157).

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 of European regions.

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