Council of Europe and Expo'98

REPORT(1)

Doc. 7729
17 January 1997

Rapporteur: Mr José NIZA, Portugal, Socialist Group

Summary

The last world exhibitionn of the 20th century will take place in Lisbon in 1998 on the theme "The oceans, a heritage for the future".

Alongside other major international organisations, the Council of Europe should be represented in Expo'98 in a stand of its own.

The Assembly proposes that the Committee of Ministers should start considering the modalities of such participation as soon as possible.

I. Draft recommendation

1.The Assembly notes that Expo'98 - the last major world exhibition of the 20th century - will be held in Lisbon (Portugal), from 22 May to 30 September 1998. It will mark the 500th anniversary of the meeting of civilisations that followed the discovery of the Indian sea route by the Portuguese navigator Vasco de Gama, in 1498.

2.The main theme of Expo'98 will be "The oceans - a heritage for the future". The theme will be analysed and debated from all angles: educational, cultural, scientific, ecological, economic and artistic. This debate will not only seek to evaluate existing knowledge of the subject but will above all contribute to the creation of new systems for managing the world's oceans and to sustained efforts to preserve the ecological balance, by laying down criteria for the rational use of marine resources.

3.The organisers have decided to build the pavilions and allow participating countries and international organisations to use them free of charge. Over 140 countries are ultimately expected to take part. 118 countries and several international organisations - such as the European Union, the United Nations and the International Olympic Committee - and non-governmental organisations have already confirmed that they will participate. Some 15 million visitors are expected.

4.The Assembly welcomes the interest shown by the Portuguese authorities in the presence of the Council of Europe. When addressing the Assembly on 23 September 1996, Mr Sampaio, President of the Republic of Portugal, said that he expected the Council of Europe to be represented at the exhibition.

5.In its Resolution 1025 (1994) on the future of international exhibitions the Assembly emphasised the role of such exhibitions in fostering cultural exchanges with a view to a better understanding between peoples and the strengthening of peace in the world. The theme of Expo'98 would appear to meet this criterion. The exhibition could also be an appropriate place for the Council of Europe to present its work in this field, not only at European but also at world level.

6.It would also seem desirable that the Council of Europe has its own stand at the exhibition. Consideration should be given to whether the Council of Europe could meet the costs involved in arranging and manning this stand. Further concessions could possibly be negotiated with the Portuguese organisers and contributions sought from the European Centre for Global Interdependence and Solidarity in Lisbon.

7.Therefore the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

  1. take, as soon as possible, a preliminary decision on the advisability of the presence of the Council of Europe at Expo'98 with an independent stand;

  2. consider the possibility of making available, if possible within such a stand, a space where Council of Europe meetings, both at intergovernmental and parliamentary level, could take place during the duration of the exhibition;

  3. consider other possible forms of actively contributing to the exhibition.

II. Explanatory memorandum by Mr José NIZA

Expo'98

The 1998 Lisbon International Exhibition - Expo'98 - will be the last great world exhibition of the 20th century. It will take place in Lisbon (Portugal). It will be officially inaugurated on 22 May 1998 and last for a period of around 5 months.

The central theme of Expo'98 is The Oceans, a heritage for the future. The objective is to enhance the knowledge of and the resources provided by the oceans. It is expected that it will further raise the international communities' awareness of the importance of this natural heritage and indeed the responsibility to preserve it for the coming generations.

Hence, Expo'98 aims to:

The theme chose by Portugal was warmly welcomed worldwide. The United Nations General Assembly held in December 1994 in New York declared 1998 as the International Year of the Oceans. This move had the unanimous support of the 185 countries bound to the Organisation.

1998 is also the year when the Quincentenary of the Discovery of the Sea Route to India by the Portuguese navigator Vasco de Gama is commemorated.

Thus, the year of Expo'98 will be ideal for putting on a series of ocean related political, cultural and scientific displays of worldwide interest. Two such events are scheduled to take place during the Exhibition itself:

42 well-known figures from 34 countries make up the CMIO, which is chaired by the former President of the Portuguese Republic, Mário Soares. The former President of the Philippines Corazon Aquino, the North-American Senator

Patrick Kennedy, the former Dutch Prime Minister Rudd Lubbers and the 1987 Peace Nobel Prize Winner Óscar Árias are some of the dignitaries who form part of this Commission.

The CMIO work programme includes topics such as: the enforcement of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the exploration of the soil and sub-soil lying beneath the oceans, pollution, fishing and the prevention of conflicts arising from the use of marine resources. Until 1998 and following from its first meeting in Japan, the Commission will hold plenary sessions in Brazil, the Netherlands, Africa and the United States and it will simultaneously consult with central governments all over the world.

The Oceans will be a source of inspiration for the architecture and the interiors of the buildings that shall occupy about 60 hectares of the Exhibition area:

By December 1996, 119 countries and 4 international organisations had already confirmed their participation at Expo'98: 40 from Europe, 25 from Africa, 25 from the Americas, 9 from the Middle East, 18 from Asia and 2 from Oceania. Of the 40 countries that make up the Council of Europe, only the Czech Republic, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein and Moldova have yet to announce their participation in Expo'98.

Expo'98 will take place in Lisbon. It will occupy 60 hectares of an area of 310 hectares (three million and one hundred thousand square metres), stretching over 5 kms along the River Tagus - the largest river in the Iberian Peninsula - where the once polluting and run-down industries have now been completely refurbished.

The international areas will house the participating countries. The onus of devising an original and creative presentation in their respective pavilions rests with each of the participants, who should adhere strictly to the Exhibition's theme The Oceans, a heritage for the future.

Expo'98 and the Council of Europe

This is not the first time the Assembly deals with international exhibitions and I should like to recall the Report on the future international exhibitions (Doc. 6986 of January 1994) and Resolution 1025 (1994) on the same subject. This followed a meeting of the Committee on Culture and Education in Seville on the occasion of the 1992 Universal Exhibition.

The contribution of the Council of Europe to the Seville exhibition was rather limited. A far broader pan-European presentation should be attempted in Lisbon.

In the final part of the above mentioned report and following a few reflections it is specifically stated that "These are some ideas that might be part of a scenario for a Council of Europe presentation at the inevitable future world exhibitions (Budapest, Lisbon or Hanover)".

On the other hand, the Resolution in its paragraph 7 relates the aims of international exhibitions to four well defined principles:

Expo'98 with its central theme The Oceans, a heritage for the future represents a clear and unequivocal answer to the objectives expressed in the Council of Europe's Resolution of 1994.

In May 1995 a group of Assembly parliamentarians from various countries signed a Written Declaration on Expo'98 (Doc. 7306) in which it is said that it is "of the greatest importance that the Council of Europe be present... at the last world exhibition of the 20th century." In it "the Council of Europe and the appropriate committees" were invited "to contribute to this initiative with its far-reaching effects, which will indicate new paths of hope for the Blue Planet".

In parallel with other diplomatic initiatives, both the present and the former Prime Ministers of Portugal, Mr António Guterres and Mr Anibal Cavaco Silva, have addressed letters to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe inviting it to officially participate in Expo'98.

In May 1996, another group of Assembly parliamentarians tabled a Motion for a Resolution on Expo'98. This was signed by the author of the present report and by other MPs from Portugal, Denmark, Italy, Norway, Spain, Poland, United Kingdom, Iceland and Switzerland (Doc. 7550). In it the importance of the Council of Europe being present at Expo'98 is again stressed and it is further suggested that "the essential organisation and logistical support could be provided by the European Centre for Global Interdependence and Solidarity" whose headquarters are in Lisbon.

As it had been the case for the future of international exhibitions, the above-mentioned motion was referred to the Parliamentary Assembly Committee on Culture and Education.

In welcoming the President of the Republic of Portugal on 23 September 1996, the President of the Assembly referred to Expo'98 and in his address to the Assembly Mr Sampaio confirmed that he expected the Council of Europe to be represented at the exhibition.

Your Rapporteur has been in touch with the Expo'98 Management with the aim not only of updating all the information on the Exhibition but also and especially of ensuring the material requirements for the Council of Europe's participation.

Hence the Organisation of Expo'98 guarantees participating countries and international organisations, including the Council of Europe, the allocation not only of space for putting up their pavilions but also of the building costs for such. This can be estimated at 80% of total participation costs.

Thus the costs to be borne by the Council of Europe for its participation in Expo'98 with a permanent pavilion of 342m˛ shall be limited to the decoration of such pavilion and naturally also to the logistics. According to estimations by the organisers these would include approximately 210.000US$ for staff (10 persons, ten hours a day, seven days a week for six months) and 60.000US$ for general services (insurance, telephone, water, electricity, etc). The total cost of Council of Europe participation should therefore amount to no more than 1.5 Million French Francs. This amount represents 5% of the Cultural Fund budget for 1996 and should be seen as a minimum.

The European Centre for Global Interdependence and Solidarity of the Council of Europe (North-South Centre) is in an ideal situation to play a major role in the Council of Europe's participation in Expo'98. The theme of "The Oceans - an Heritage for the Future" fits very well the theme of Global Interdependence, which is the motto of the North-South Centre and its location in Lisbon allows the Centre to provide organisational and logistic support.

If it is decided that the Council of Europe will participate at Expo'98 with an independent stand, such stand could include a space where Council of Europe meetings, both at intergovernmental and parliamentary level, could take place during the duration of the exhibition. If that is not the case, other possible forms of actively contributing to at the exhibition should be considered, bearing in mind the experience of Seville 1992.

One way or the other a decision must be reached fast, as the deadline for inscriptions in the Lisbon exhibition and for submission of a detailed programme is 22 May 1997.

The European Union announced on 14 November 1996 that it would participate in Expo'98 with a 2400m˛ pavilion. Its participation costs have been estimated at 8.690 Million ECU (10 Million US$).

Appendix

Countries and international organisations that have already confirmed their participation in Expo'98

Europe

Africa

America

Albania

Andorra

Armenia

Austria

Belarus

Belgium

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Croatia

Cyprus

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Holy See

Hungary

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta

Monaco

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

San Marino

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

South Africa

Angola

Algeria

Cape Verde

Congo

Ivory Coast

Eritrea

Guinea Bissau

Equatorial Guinea

Madagascar

Malawi

Mali

Mauritania

Morocco

Mozambique

Namibia

Kenya

Săo Tomé e Príncipe

Senegal

Seychelles

Sudan

Swaziland

Tunisia

Zaire

Zambia

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Bolivia

Brazil

Chile

Canada

Colombia

Costa Rica

Cuba

Domenica

Ecuador

El Salvador

Grenada

Jamaica

Mexico

Nicaragua

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

St Kitts and Nevis

St Lucia

St Vincent

United States

Uruguay

Venezuela

Middle East

Asia

Oceania

Saudi Arabia

Bahrein

Egypt

United Arab Emirates

Iran

Israel

Kuwait

Oman

Palestinian Authority

Bangladesh

Cambodia

China

India

Japan

Kazakhstan

Kyrghyzistan

North Korea

South Korea

Malasia

Maldives

Mongolia

Nepal

Pakistan

Philippines

Sri Lanka

Thailand

Vietnam

Papua New Guinea

Cook Islands

International organisations

European Union (European Parliament and Commission)

International Olympic Committee

Order of Malta

United Nations

Reporting committee: Committee on Culture and Education

Budgetary implications for the Assembly: None.

Reference to committee: Doc. 7550 and Ref. No. 2080 of 29 May 1996.

Draft recommendation: adopted unanimously by the committee on 17 December 1996.

Members of the committee: Sir Russell Johnston, (Chairperson), MM. Berg, de Puig (Vice-Chairpersons), Arnason, Asciak, Banks (Alternate: Sir Keith Speed), Bartumeu Cassany, Bauer, Baumel, Berti, Mrs Bielikova, MM. Cem, Corrao, De Decker (Alternate: Staes), Decagny, Diaz de Mera (Alternate: Varela), Domljan, Dovgan, Mrs Fleeetwood, MM. Gellért Kis, Mrs Groenver, Baroness Hooper, Mrs Isohookana-Asunmaa, Mrs Katseli, MM. Kirsteins, Kollwelter, Koucky, Kriedner, Kyprianou, Legendre, Leoni, Malachowski, Mrs Maximus, MM. Melnikov, Melo, Mrs Mihaylova, MM. Mocanu, Mocioi, Mrs Naoumova, MM. Paunescu, Pereira Marques (Alternate: Niza), Polydoras, Probst, Prokop, Ragno, Rhinow (Alternate: Mrs Fehr), Roseta, Mrs Schicker, MM. Siwiec, Skolc, Sudarenkov, Szakŕl, Tanik, Mrs Terborg, Mr Vangelov, Mrs Veidemann, Mr Verbeek, Mrs Vermot-Mangold (Alternate: Caccia), Mrs Verspaget, MM. Vogt, Walsh, Ms Wärnersson, MM Yaroshynsky (Alternate: Kapustyan), Zingeris.

NB: The names of those who took part in the meeting are in italics.

Secretaries to the committee: MM. Grayson and Ary

Note: 1by the Committee on Culture and Education