Reply to Recommendation 1265 (1995) on enlargement and European cultural co-operation
Doc. 7585
24 June 1996
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS
adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 19 June 1996 at the 569th meeting of the Ministers' Deputies
The Committee of Ministers has read Recommendation 1265 (1995) with interest and assures the Assembly that it agrees with it that the European Cultural Convention is a primary instrument for cultural co-operation in the Council of Europe.
The Committee of Ministers has recognised this role on numerous occasions. It recalls its Resolution (95) 38 on the Council of Europe's cultural strategy which, while stressing that the European Cultural Convention "constitutes the frame of reference for cooperation in defending and promoting the European identity and developing cultural cooperation between all the signatory states", invites them to play "an active part in framing and implementing effective and appropriate joint initiatives, which will be of significant value to participants".
As regards the individual points raised in Recommendation 1265, the Committee of Ministers wishes to convey the following information to the Assembly:
#5 - The trend in the grant in aid to the Cultural Fund as voted in the Organisation's annual budget, as well as in the Cultural Fund's budget as a whole, has been as follows:
Vote II Budget Cultural Fund
1994: 20,002,000 FF 31,675,000
1995: 18,000,000 FF 28,437,000
1996: 22,712,000 FF 29,625,000
The figures for the Sports Fund are as follows:
Vote II Budget Sports Fund
1994: 1,884,000 FF 3,467,812
1995: 2,100,000 FF 3,711,361
1996: 2,210,000 FF 3,155,242
In 1996, the ordinary budget appropriations allocated to the Cultural Fund and the Sports Fund were increased in the course of the year by re-allocating appropriations provisionally entered in Vote X of the same budget.
Since Ukraine and Russia joined the Council of Europe, their contributions to the Cultural Fund and the Sports Fund are included in the grant to the Cultural Fund and the Sports Fund approved each year by the Committee of Ministers.
With regard to the European Youth Centre in Budapest, the Deputies approved, in the ordinary budget for 1996 (Vote II), a grant of 4,250,000 FF of which 1,000,000 FF were frozen pending the adoption of a detailed programme. At their 562nd meeting, the Deputies decided to unfreeze this sum, increased the grant up to 4,500,000 FF and approved a final budget of 5,500,000 FF.
This sum is sufficient to finance the Budapest Centre's programme of activities given that two study sessions have been provisionally cancelled (and the corresponding expenditure frozen) in order to ensure that the receipts and expenditure shown in the budget are in balance. However, if the development of activities outside the programme made it possible to generate additional receipts, the two study sessions would be reinstated.
#6 - When the supplementary budget for 1996 was adopted (562nd meeting of the Deputies, 1-3 April 1996), the Committee of Ministers approved the creation of 17 new posts in view of the increased workload resulting from the enlargement of the Organisation and the consequent growth in its activities.
#7 - The Committee of Ministers points out that for many European States accession to Council of Europe Conventions, particularly the European Cultural Convention, has constituted their first experience of cooperation with the Council of Europe before becoming members. Furthermore, the Committee of Ministers has adopted Statutory Resolutions (93) 26 on observer status and (93) 28 on partial and enlarged agreements which under certain conditions enable non-member States to engage in close, structured cooperation with the Council of Europe.
#8 - Referring to the Assembly's wish concerning the European Cultural Convention, the Committee of Ministers wishes to point out that the following States are, to date, Contracting Parties to the said Convention: Slovenia, "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
#9 - As regards "requests from non-European States to be associated with the [European Cultural] Convention", the Committee of Ministers is able to inform the Assembly that at their 560th meeting, the Deputies decided, in accordance with paragraph 5 of Committee of Ministers Resolution (76) 3, to grant Israel observer status with the CDCC and the CDDS.
At their 562nd meeting, the Deputies adopted Resolution (96) 9 on observer status for Canada with the Council of Europe. This status enables Canada to send an observer to all the committees established under Article 17 of the Statute, in which all member States are entitled to participate. The CDCC (and its specialised committees: education, culture, cultural heritage and higher education and research) and the CDDS are among the committees falling into this category.
Furthermore, bearing in mind the Assembly's wish that "the process of European co-operation should operate in as open a manner as is practicable", the Committee of Ministers indicates that some countries of the Mediterranean shore have shown interest in co-operation with the Council of Europe. It refers in this respect to its reply to Assembly Recommendation 1249 (1994) on co-operation in the Mediterranean Basin, in which it asserted that "the status of observer or associate member of these legal instruments [European conventions] is probably the best formula for such co-operation in cases where this is legally possible". The Committee of Ministers also mentioned the common cultural heritage as one of the areas in which contacts and exchanges appeared useful.
#10 - The statute of the European Youth Foundation states (Article 10) that all member States of the Council of Europe are members of the Fund. Furthermore, other European States may ask to become members, without it being necessary for them to be members of the Council of Europe or Contracting Parties to the European Cultural Convention, subject to the favourable opinion of the Intergovernmental Committee.
As regards the European Youth Centre, its statute (Article X) allows States, Parties to the European Cultural Convention, to be invited to take part in the Centre's activities, following a decision by the Committee of Ministers.
The accession to the European Cultural Convention does not automatically bring access to the activities of the European Youth Centre, as implied in paragraph 10 of the Recommendation. In fact, the Fund's statute is even more generous than the Centre's insofar as it allows for the access by any European State, not even Party to the Cultural Convention. A reflection has been engaged on the Fund's evolution of which the Committee of Ministers will keep the Assembly informed.
#11 - Since this year, all the activities in the Intergovernmental Programme of Activities - including, therefore, those relating to the media - have been open to participation by central and east European non-member States, in accordance with the principles of the Council of Europe. Previously, only "Greater Europe" activities had been open to non-member States.
#12 - The Committee of Ministers refers to its decisions concerning the supplementary budget for 1996, whereby not only was the staff of the Office of the Clerk increased, but also additional appropriations were made for computerisation, investment expenditure, and the printing and distribution of documents - in addition, of course, to intergovernmental activities (Vote II) and assistance for developing and consolidating democratic security (Vote IX).