Doc. 8278

11 December 1998

Europe: a continental design

Report

Committee on Parliamentary and Public Relations

Rapporteur: Mr Paul Staes, Belgium, Group of the European People's Party

Summary

      As we approach the year 2000 and as the Council of Europe prepares to celebrate its 50^th anniversary, the Assembly calls on the peoples of Europe to learn the lessons from the tragedies of the past.

      Having been founded on 5 May 1949 in the aftermath of the Second World War, the Council of Europe was faced with a huge new challenge when the Berlin Wall came down, namely finding a way of achieving greater unity between more and more European countries and building a European identity capable of holding together such a wide range of countries.

      As the democratic political organ that is the reflection of the national parliaments in the 40 member states, the Parliamentary Assembly must, for its part, offer a political framework for tomorrow’s Europe based on the development of civil society. Europe of the year 2000 must put in place a new social project that can offer real social prospects.

      The time has come to make an assessment of Europe and its institutions so that we can relaunch the European project for the whole continent.

I.       Draft recommendation

1.       As we approach the year 2000, the Assembly invites European peoples to draw the lessons of the tragedies which have affected their interlocking destinies and caused periods of peace to be no more than interludes.

2.       More recent factors, added to these lessons, have bestowed on the grand design for Europe a continental dimension because of:

i.       the globalisation of trade and the constitution of continent-wide groupings whose objective, at this point in time, is economic: Nafta¹, Asean² and Mercosur³; the development of sub-regional organisations throughout the European continent;

ii.       migration, which will give rise to regional imbalances affecting the whole of Europe;

iii.       interaction between the increasingly frequent crises affecting the economy and democratic malfunctioning throughout the continent, which mean that European peoples and their democratic institutions must assume their responsibilities towards society.

iv.       upheavals affecting societies in terms of individual as well as collective behaviour, for example, the legal nature of links between partners and of their children’s situation; the impact of inactivity resulting from unemployment, of greater longevity or of the decrease in the birth-rate;

Rising to meet the challenges of the third millennium

3.       As its fiftieth anniversary (5 May 1999) approaches, the Council of Europe must rise to meet these major challenges of the third millennium so as to safeguard the fundamental values it endeavours to uphold within all the countries of Europe and to adapt them to a rapidly changing situation. This is particularly true in the case of representative democracy, which must become more participatory. This entails strengthening civil society, giving citizens greater responsibility and extending their rights in terms of equality between men, women, races, religions and cultures.

4.       As the longest-standing European organisation, bringing together almost all the countries in Europe, the Council of Europe can legitimately take stock of the political integration of the continent and draw the necessary lessons with a view to strengthening the bonds uniting its peoples. Following the end of the Cold War, which obscured the vision of the Organisation’s mission expressed by certain of its founding fathers — a far broader unifying vision than the current one — consideration must once again be given to their pan-European ideal of a transnational political power based on a European constitution.

5.       The Assembly, while acknowledging the progress made by the European Union, observes that the difficulties encountered in the enlargement procedure involving those countries currently seeking membership mean that other candidatures will not be envisaged for many years. Without a framework within which all European countries can enter into dialogue and form institutionalised political links, co-operation between the European Union and the Council of Europe becomes uncertain.

6.       This co-operation, which is vital to Europe’s future, must take into account each institution’s own identity, even if it means that duplication of effort is inevitable: the economy, industry and finance in the case of the Union, democratic values, social cohesion, the fight against poverty, protection of landscapes and defence of minority cultures in the case of the Council of Europe.

7.       The Assembly wishes to point out that the Council of Europe, whose political goal is set forth in its statute, provides this framework, which is confirmed in the Declaration adopted at the first summit (Vienna, 9 October 1993): “The Council of Europe is the pre-eminent European political institution capable of welcoming, on an equal footing and in permanent structures, the democracies of Europe freed from communist oppression. For that reason the accession of those countries to the Council of Europe is a central factor in the process of European construction based on our Organisation’s values.”

8.       The Declaration adopted at the second summit (Strasbourg, 10-11 October 1997), however, simply redefines the Council of Europe’s main tasks. If the Council of Europe is not to become simply a specialised agency in certain fields, this rationalisation, whose efficiency is highly commendable, must take into account the Organisation's decisive political role in the process of European construction.

9.       The Assembly nevertheless observes that, in order to be lasting, the new-found continental unity within the Council of Europe must be part of a process of European integration based on:

i.       the peoples’ acknowledgement of a European identity — over and above their national identity — which places ethical principles at the heart of political action. Such an identity can only become palpable if it is embodied in a European institutional charter serving as a template for a European constitution. Without this fundamental text, the peoples of Europe will be unable to appreciate the ties which join them to a single European entity;

ii.       the democratic functioning of peoples’ representative systems so that all strive towards the same goal by adapting to new challenges and by promoting more direct participation of citizens in public affairs with a view to strengthening civil society, while taking account of specific national systems;

iii.       an area of social justice and solidarity;

iv.       a joint security policy.

10.       In order to be able to fulfil its political role, the Council of Europe must make internal reforms commensurate with this role, taking into account the ways in which Europe has evolved over the last fifty years;

Preparing for the 3rd Summit of the Council of Europe

11.       For these reasons, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

i.       consider the Council of Europe as a forum capable of meeting the global challenges of the 3rd millennium, such as the need to develop civil society, and not as an antechamber of the European Union;

ii.       foster the idea of a third summit of heads of state which would focus on a continental approach to European integration and which would, in particular:

a.       establish a link between the political vision of the Council of Europe’s role, as defined by the first summit, and the operational guidelines laid down for its activities by the Second Summit;

      b.       make the Council of Europe, in the light of its contribution to achieving peace and security, a place of dialogue on a security policy for the member states of the European Union and for Council of Europe member states which are not members of the European Union, in the context of the summit of heads of state and government;

      c.       entrust the Council of Europe with the tasks corresponding to its objective of European unification, in particular the drafting of a European institutional charter bringing together the principles and values that have been laid down by the Council of Europe, particularly in the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Social Charter, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the European Charter of Local Self-Government, the Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in Public Life at Local Level and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages;

      d.       associate the European Union in the drafting of such a text to ensure the development of a Europe in which the enlargement of the Union is a coherent process of evolution, within a single frame of reference.

iii.       make the Council of Europe a think-tank for a continent seeking a social model based on a European institutional charter which means continuing work on:

a. the various instruments used in representative systems for consulting citizens;

b. the responsibilities and prerogatives of local and regional authorities;

c. co-operation between the Council of Europe and non-governmental organisations –– an important aspect of the functioning of participatory democracy;

d. the quality of life, the introduction of a right to a healthy environment and of a code of conduct for businesses and the adoption of a global strategy for European spatial development;

iv.       prepare, on the subject of social rights, an additional protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights reflecting the priority given by the second summit to activities concerned with social cohesion;

Enhancing the Organisation’s resources

v.       promote reforms which would help the Organisation to better fulfil and publicise its role, in particular by:

a. granting the Parliamentary Assembly budgetary autonomy;

b. acknowledging the indispensable role of the Assembly in monitoring the enforcement of the judgments handed down by the European Court of Human Rights;

c. strengthening the role of the Secretary General by enabling him to intervene in situations of conflict that need to be immediately resolved so as to safeguard the values upheld by the Council of Europe;

d. improving the decision-making procedure of the Committee of Ministers by making wider use of the qualified majority voting system;

e. developing a spirit of openness and democratic transparency at all levels of the Organisation by improving the Council of Europe’s information policy and not seeking to disguise differences of opinion that emerge during the debates or hearings that usually precede the conclusion of agreements.

II.        Explanatory memorandum by Mr Staes

Table of contents

Page

A.        Introduction: the fall of the Berlin Wall       7

B.        A no-nonsense Europe, a Europe of values       9

a)        Common values for a European society that is culturally

and ethically coherent yet pluralist       10

b)        An economically balanced area in which solidarity and

social justice reign       12       c)       An ecologically viable Europe       15       d)        Security based on a common foreign policy       16

C.        What sort of institutional framework does this pan-European

project need? Or: working together means working better       17

a)        The European Union: reaching its natural limits?       19       b)        The Council of Europe: the poor relation?       20       c)       Mutual understanding?       21       d)        Other cornerstones for tomorrow's Europe       26

D.        The continental European design focused on the roots of society       28

a)        A common political culture in which the public is

genuinely involved       28

b)        Representative democracy, human rights and social rights       30

c)        Civil society       31

E.        Conclusions and suggestions       32

a)        Image and the internal balance of power       32

b)        The national parliaments       33

c)        The press and public opinion       34

d)        Working with the world       35

A.        INTRODUCTION: THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL

1.       A new Europe rose from the ruins of the Berlin Wall. Everything changed for all Europe's strategies and for all Europe's institutions.

2.       The Council of Europe was founded on 5 May 1949. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the major powers of the time learned their lessons from two devastating European conflicts: it was necessary to link the economies of France and Germany so that co-operation might become more profitable than fighting each other or, to put it differently, to make sure that the major powers no longer face off on the battlefield, but in the economic arena, and to lay down the ground rules as democratically as possible. So there was Germany with its coal and steel and France with its farming.

3.       This was how it all started, although the context and social understanding of the day were different from those of today. Who could have imagined then that the Council of Europe would still exist fifty years on or that the Council would be expected to operate in 1999 with a Statute dating from 1949?

4.       Some 40 years after it was created, Europe was forced to abandon its tried and trusted dual power bloc structure, with its "heroes" and "villains" depending on which side of the Wall one lived.

5.       But when the Wall came down it swept away all the clichés. Previously improbable forms of co-operation suddenly blossomed, and if the cold war gave way to a new situation which might best be described as a cold peace, nevertheless the whole social system has had to learn to think in terms of a peace economy instead of a war economy. This has called for quite an adjustment.

6.       The first European institution to have a parliamentary assembly, the Council of Europe has now been overtaken by the European Union, above all as a result of its own immobility, its lack of vitality and its inability to maintain a clear profile.

7.       But the European Union was somewhat difficult to accept. A number of European governments felt uneasy about the idea of a clearly federalist objective behind the Union, preferring the diplomatic quiet of national states to the democratic boisterousness of the Union and its directly elected Parliament. For them, a confederate framework was easier to accept. Also, the centralisation in Brussels would result in a call for greater regionalism as a counterbalance. Both the opaque and distant Brussels bureaucracy and the decentralised Europe of the regions made some government leaders rather nervous.

8.       Consequently, they preferred to entrust the parliamentary debate on European and international questions partly to the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, ie the representatives of national parliaments, thereby causing total confusion in the minds of the public, who already had difficulty distinguishing between the European Union and the Council of Europe, assuming they had heard of either of the two institutions in the first place.

9.       The list of national decisions which are a direct consequence of the Council of Europe's work is long, impressive and of enormous importance for democracy. The Council has always made its purpose and its usefulness clear, albeit seldom to the outside world.

10.       In actual fact, the Council and its institutions spent a number of years in the sort of dormant, politically almost unreal existence in which diplomats – and the Committee of Ministers – generally feel very much at home. It was a stage which opponents described as pre-terminal and which was of little use to the people of Europe.

11.        The collapse of the Wall suddenly changed all that: within a short time, a whole series of eastern European countries joined the Council, including the Russian Federation as the jewel in the crown. With its current membership of 40, soon to be 44 and eventually the entire continent, the Council and its institutions are now in a position to assume a political dimension which no-one can deny.

12.       Not even the European Union. Although the Union is expanding to include some eastern European countries, it will still total less than half the members of the Council of Europe. Moreover, the need to consolidate the Union has now taken on much greater political importance than further enlargement.

13.       At the same time, the Council of Europe has shed its unfortunate image as a sort of antechamber for countries in the process of becoming members of the European Union.

14.       The citizens of the former Soviet Union countries rapidly discovered that signing up to democracy and the free market also meant respecting the freedoms of others and working longer, harder and more efficiently. Democracy and well-being have to be worked for, day in, day out; they do not simply fall from the European heavens.

15.       Meanwhile, decolonisation had become a reality, considerably diminishing the power of national interests. Relations between former colonies were regulated in a more collective manner, at European level.

16.       But this sudden and totally unexpected turning-point in Europe's history and the development of its role also presented the Council with an enormous challenge: how to realise a vision and a project offering a future for every country in Europe, a project that is all-embracing and respects the characteristics of so many countries and nations, each with so many minorities within its national borders. How can a European identity be built which ensures the cohesion of such diversity so as to form a single political whole? Is the art of living together but with separate identities an asset or a curse?

17.       How to define Europe's mission in a world of increasingly close relations between countries? How to define the Council's role as it relates to the other European institutions? How to develop social coherence and solidarity, guarantee the quality of democracy in the context of modern information technologies, improve education, ensure that young people have at least some understanding of their own society and recent history, draw truly useful lessons from the past instead of always repeating the same mistakes, ensure equality for women, fight child abuse and organised crime, and combat increasing violence and its glorification? These are challenges throughout Europe for which we must at least find solutions at European level.

18.       Moreover, public opinion on Europe has changed. The time is long past when all you had to do was declare that you were in favour of European co-operation and integration to earn immediate and spontaneous applause from public opinion in most of Europe. What people want now in their everyday lives are clear choices and concrete decisions that make a difference in practice.

19.       The public is not just interested in material concerns. There is not only a rational aspect at play but also an emotional one: letting the heart rule the head and spiritual and ethical values. The era of great ideological debate also appears to be over.

Conclusion

20.       It is up to the Assembly, as the political arm of the Council of Europe democratically mandated by the national parliaments of its 40 member states, to develop a political vision for the continent of Europe tomorrow. Its first concern must be for the citizens of Europe: they want well-being (a delicate balance of material and spiritual values), so they are the ones most affected when Europe considers its tasks and responsibilities.

B.       A NO-NONSENSE EUROPE, A EUROPE OF VALUES

21.       The world economy is becoming so global that it will increasingly become a single international economic and financial unit operating according to the same model and the same system. When the Wall came down it was hailed as the triumph of capitalism, although that seems a rather premature conclusion. The world economy prefers to be disturbed as little as possible by national laws and court cases. Various groups are competing ever more fiercely, using cheap labour, more efficient production equipment and the most advanced technologies, even though the system has also sometimes lost control, of which the economic collapse in South-East Asia is one illustration. The international economy regards two thirds of the world as either a profitable trading partner (for example Latin America), or as an area which is largely out of the running (Africa).

22.       How can you work within the existing system in a continent whose inhabitants are trying to kill each other by the thousands, as could be seen in former Yugoslavia? How can you contend with crushing competition from a global system for which it seems that only money and profit count? Is there any chance that the free market and private enterprise can successfully meet the social, ecological, cultural and ethical challenges of tomorrow?

23.       Europe is the world's greatest economic power, greater than the economic might of the US and Japan combined: more capital, more goods, more trade. That gives it a heavy responsibility in a world in which economic values take precedence, which is squandering its resources in goods and raw materials at an alarming pace, as if there were no tomorrow, no future generations and no future industries, and which in general allows conflicts of an inhuman dimension to develop, which it then deeply regrets.

24.       Does Europe have to take part in this global economic game as efficiently and professionally as possible without paying attention to society's other needs? Must it really face the inevitable? Is the mechanism irreversible?

      If in addition to material and economic values there is also a whole range of democratic, cultural and spiritual values that determine people's happiness and well-being, then is it not high time for old (and wise?) Europe to throw its full weight onto the global stage, with a vision and a rather different list of priorities, geared more towards quality than towards calculating in terms of volume and market prices?

25.       Europe is fond of drawing attention to its rich history and cultural diversity. Who is better equipped to do this than the Council of Europe, which, for 50 years now, has placed society's deeper, intangible values in the limelight?

26.       So is this the no-nonsense Europe that younger Europeans urgently seek? Are young people not ultimately the ones most concerned because they will live in Europe for their whole lives? And does not the older generation in Europe believe that it has the responsibility to ally the wisdom of its experience with the belief, expectations and vitality of youth?

27.        Conclusion

      After so many centuries of predominantly military history in Europe, and now that the conflict between the world's two big military blocs has (temporarily) come to an end and the division of Europe has been overcome, it is time to consolidate and expand civil society, and this is exactly what the Council of Europe is all about.

      This is a Europe-wide project, a project of civil values.

      Europe must cast its full weight in the balance to influence increasingly global developments, notably to ensure that efforts by human civilisation do not confine themselves to a simple struggle for power and property, a post-modern bondage of a clearly economic kind in the service and at the orders of a minority which can show itself to be attentive to humanitarian and ethical norms but which by definition gives precedence to norms of production and profit and the laws of the market.

a)       Common values for a European society that is culturally and ethically coherent yet pluralist

28.        Whenever national economies join forces to form regional markets obeying particular rules, transnational groups emerge that acquire political significance. This has also increasingly proved to be the case at international level, as the examples of Asean and Mercosur show. Global economic pressure is one of the factors which have encouraged Europe to move ahead on the road to integration. It is noteworthy that such integration has transcended the boundaries of commercial markets, as the work of such important European institutions as the Council of Europe or the European Union and their parliamentary assemblies illustrates.

29.        It will take more than closely knit economies for a whole range of European nations with age-old cultures and legal traditions to be able to acquire a truly European dimension. A single market might be sufficient to avoid armed conflict, but that is quite different from establishing a common socio-political basis where nations are spontaneously and voluntarily ready to build a common future together.

30.       Social values are involved here which are more than the sum of the aspirations of individual citizens. There must be sufficient agreement on how society should be governed, what its ultimate aims are and where the border lies between what is possible and what is not, so that people can live alone or as part of the group and can decide, in a majority decision, what direction to take.

31.        The fact that creating such a society is no small matter can be seen from recent developments in a number of new states in eastern Europe. After 1989, they plunged headlong into "democracy", a system of which many had had no previous experience at all. Developing a representative democracy is proving particularly difficult, with threats coming from all sides at once, from the traditional bastions of military power, which found things a lot better and certainly a lot easier before, to the mafia, which is always on the look-out, "manages" the black market and is undermining the shaky economy at a spectacularly rapid rate through corruption and conflicts of interest, thereby deepening the deadlock in which a still fragile democracy finds itself.

32.        After the collapse of communism in eastern Europe, societies there did not immediately put democratic and individual rights and values at the top of their agenda. A substantial part of eastern Europe has been engulfed by an unbridled liberalism, with consumption and capitalism laying down the law in practice: 20% of the population are getting richer, while 80% are getting poorer. Try telling them about the triumph of democracy and the free market.

33.        Organised crime with its illegal trade of all kinds, its money-laundering and corruption, is an evil which is destabilising the economy and gradually undermining democracy, especially in eastern Europe.

34.       Meanwhile, there is a growing dissatisfaction among the people of Europe, who feel that democracy is not working properly and are making their aversion for politics increasingly clear, though this does not mean that they reject the democratic system itself.

35.       It seems likely that, after the social and spiritual challenges of the late 1800s and the free market and the economy-ecology conflict of the 1900s, European society will end up in the new millennium in a socio-political context facing a series of predominantly cultural and ethical challenges. This is one of the reasons why the Council of Europe is growing in importance: meeting these challenges is precisely what its role is all about.

36.       Even tomorrow's most advanced technologies will not be able to meet this challenge alone, which strikes at the very roots of civilisation. Meeting these challenges successfully will in fact be the most demanding test of the maturity which we can only hope that civil society, after so many thousands of years of "living together", has reached. Otherwise, we again face a disaster, with all the destructiveness and inhumanity that we know so well, and our only comfort will be that over the last two thousand years peace between human communities has never lasted so long before: more than fifty years, two whole generations. We will have to be content with that.

37.        Conclusion

Europe in the year 2000 will have to put into place a common system of civil values, above all at ethical and cultural level, turning to account the potential that technology offers, learning from its past and turning its back on obsolete social models and outmoded institutions and ideologies in order to continue to guarantee the quality of its society and adapt to the realities of tomorrow. The fight against materialism and the pursuit of profit are an essential focus of this social project. Europe must make a fundamental choice of civilisation: either it opts for civic behaviour on the part of its citizens and institutions, or it gives way to anarchy, the injustice of the profit motive and the brutality of might makes right. The Council of Europe sees in this a challenge which is directly linked to issues it has long cherished.

b)       An economically balanced area in which solidarity and social justice reign

38.       Economic balance within a large, common area is a basic requirement if a European project is to be viable. Human history is replete with examples of how economic imbalance inevitably leads to rebellions, conflicts and wars between countries and between regions and cities within the same nation.

39.       The recent mass migrations from Albania and Kosovo are a further illustration of how such imbalances generate movements of entire populations. The solidarity within the European Union, based primarily on monetary and economic factors, is extremely important in linking peoples' and nations' fortunes and avoiding, through co-operation and agreement, conflicts which are impossible to control.

40.       But monetary and economic agreements alone will not be enough for the European Union and its 15 Member States to resist the pressure it faces, however solidly it builds its new economic walls. Just as West German television programmes had an irresistible attraction for the people of East Germany, so will modern information technologies and the internationalisation of society make the European Union enormously attractive.

41.       Justice depends on laws and rules, but the proper enforcement of the rules depends on the extent to which society succeeds in giving justice and solidarity tangible form. Developments in western Europe have shown that social solidarity involves a lot more than just regulations. The same applied, although in different economic circumstances, in eastern Europe: there, the result was a completely empty bureaucracy where one citizen, the official enforcing the rules, could make life so difficult for other citizens that the fabric of society began to fray; people were eventually forced to capitulate to "the system" and could only survive in an atmosphere of apathy, far removed from the living communication and involvement that should be part of any society.

42.       The economy has now become a global activity, and no country that withdraws into its shell can survive, as the famine in North Korea shows, where tragically people are dying of starvation. The globalisation of the economy is also resulting in world-wide profit redistribution. And a growing number of countries in other continents, still regarded exclusively as third world countries until recently, are now emerging from their second-class status and are playing their part in the global approach.

43.       But this does not necessarily mean a systematic improvement in the quality of society. Partly as a result of persistent conflicts, blind nationalism or ethnocentrism and privileged classes that cling jealously to the reins of power, poverty, famine and slaughter do not just still exist, but are actually on the increase, sometimes in dramatically terrible manifestations. Europe, too, has suffered in this respect.

44.       Employment and income have a crucial role to play here. A few years ago it was automatically assumed that a larger Europe and a larger market would by definition lead to more employment. The gloating predictions made by top European institutions until shortly before the single market was introduced in 1992 are a remarkable illustration of this. And even if it could be claimed that unemployment might have been even worse without the single market, these same European authorities has nevertheless brushed their reckless predictions under the carpet with more than their usual discretion following the massive increase in unemployment.

45.       Countries that tried to find a solution in extensive economic liberalism were also forced to tone down their assertions, which have since been dramatically overtaken by events.

46.       Whether the "technological revolution", which has become an integral part of our lives and can no longer be ignored, can provide a solution here is the question. Technology will certainly help to a considerable degree in making the labour market more flexible and creating new forms of employment, largely eliminating the 20th century distinction between blue and white collar workers and between white collar workers and executives, with its sometimes degrading social overtones. Workers will become more and more involved in their firms, which they will increasingly come to regard as their own rather than as belonging to some faceless "board of directors", so that even the distinction between employers and employees will gradually become blurred. All sorts of new careers, moves from one firm to another, career breaks, continuing training, changing working environments and a new work ethic will become possible. That is a key factor in a civil society which itself is undergoing enormous change.

47.       But whether this will lead to more jobs has yet to be shown. The evolution, which is currently in a transitional phase, has not gone far enough for us to be able to draw any firm conclusions in either direction yet.

48.       Company profits are booming, but employment is by no means keeping pace. This can hardly be allowed to end up in a sort of post-medieval society, where a substantial section of the population is left behind and tens of thousands of people, in spite of all their training, education and willingness to work, have to apologise for their very existence and for being a burden on the "system", which has to look after them without receiving much in return.

49.       Can we allow children to come into the world without guaranteeing them the fundamental right of being truly wanted and thus offering them a guarantee of a decent human existence in accordance with current socio-cultural criteria? Can social tension be tolerated, the result of too many people regarding themselves as totally useless and superfluous, without any place, role or worth of their own? Can society allow a situation where people get in each other's way? These questions go well beyond the working and production process and purely economic contingencies.

50.       In spite of its considerable social and sociological added value and its creative aspects, work is not an end in itself but a means of earning money and thus of living a dignified existence. If unpleasant or unsafe work can increasingly be left to machines, then human beings will have a better quality of life, better safety and more leisure time. And there is little chance that robots which work 24 hours a day will go on strike. So the problem of the link between work and income will become much more relevant in society in the new millennium.

51.       But this presents our changing society with the enormous challenge of what to do with its free time and how to achieve social cohesion. Is human society culturally mature and robust enough to be able to make intelligent use of so much leisure time and so many persons deprived of traditional "work" and to offer them the well-being they need without resorting to post-industrial equivalents of "bread and circuses" which, however technologically ingenious, are still basically the same as they were centuries ago? Boredom may present a greater problem in the new millennium than unemployment alone.

52.       There is a risk that society will end up in a pattern of consumption that is designed mainly to kill time instead of using it creatively to improve quality. On the other hand, this trend also offers an unprecedented opportunity for society to focus more on well-being instead of simply on the production of goods and services, essential or otherwise.

53.       This challenge will to a large extent determine the political and economic character of European society. Is it socially acceptable, let alone defensible, for the automation of society to bring extra profits to the private sector without any lightening of labour’s burden and without any requirement for the firms in question to be more socially responsible? Industry does not operate in splendid isolation but in the middle of human society, and the economy is ultimately there to serve people and society, not the other way round. Economic production and consumption are the material reflection of values resulting from a choice of society. The social substructure is what continues to make companies work.

54.        Europe will thus have to create new social and societal perspectives to produce a new renaissance for the old continent. If it fails to do so, the new society will inevitably give way to social tension, conflict, violence and crime.

55.        The necessary legal guarantees must be offered, including a legal framework for the new information and communications technologies, and a new European convention must be introduced for the civil service, with ethical standards for the provision of services, privacy, open information and government and service to the public in general.

56.       Moreover, a European social cohesion policy must also include a definition of the role of universities and researchers in public life: what are their responsibilities, what part do they play in society, are they accessible, how public is their research when it comes to aspects of vital importance to the community, can they conduct basic research and what rights of ownership do they have over organisms they have collected which have become rare ? Researchers in the private sector are also directly concerned here.

57.       A social cohesion policy also covers equal rights and equal pay for equal work for women. It advocates raising the standard of living in poorer regions of Europe (the Council of Europe’s Social Development Fund will have to take account of the new situation in Europe), addressing education and training for young people without jobs and the long-term unemployed and, given that 80% of the European population live in cities, improving the living conditions in inner city areas.

58.        Conclusion

Social cohesion must become the Council of Europe's third cornerstone alongside human rights and the protection of democracy. Consideration must be given to the possibility of setting up a court of social rights to be the guardian of Europe's social solidarity, seen in the overall context of global cohesion. The Council of Europe, given extra impetus by the Second European Summit, held in Strasbourg in 1997, must fully develop this dimension in order to ensure that its priorities, namely democracy and human rights, continue to have a framework in which they can flourish. Social cohesion is all about employment, social security systems, combating poverty and exclusion, equality for women and training for young people. In addition, there are broader social issues relating to social links between people, their creative development and place as valuable members of society, and their freedom and human dignity: challenges which go beyond the more material aspects of employment, social security and social solidarity.

c)       An ecologically viable Europe

59.       Social and ecological viability also go hand in hand: sufficient quantities of clean air and water are crucial to the quality of our urban and rural environment. Acid rain, climate change, the destruction of the ozone layer, the irrational rate at which both species and the remaining ecosystems, such as the tropical rainforests, are disappearing, even in Europe, are all symptoms of a terminal decline in the earth's system.

60.       Apart from its many cultural and ethical implications, this decline in ecological viability also raises purely economic challenges. Without clean air, water and soil, the economy has little chance of surviving. As increasing demand makes them increasingly scarce around the world, environmental assets have become crucial economic assets.

61.       Intensive farming, the plundering of raw materials, the destruction of landscape and species diversity, the exhaustion of natural resources and thwarted mobility are the very opposite of economically responsible management, which should emphasise frugality and sustainable use, thus leaving opportunities for tomorrow’s producers and consumers, who will also have to live on this planet.

62.       An inadequate supply of sufficiently clean environmental assets is likely to destabilise society: many violent conflicts have broken out because of a lack of drinking water or overcrowding; there would be serious threats to public health. The reckless environmental pollution in certain areas of Eastern Europe was one of the main, albeit less noticeable, reasons why entire populations started to move, escaping from a system that was looking less and less like a workers' paradise, and where life expectancy had fallen dramatically.

63.       It therefore seems perfectly justifiable to include the right to a viable and healthy environment in the European Declaration of Human Rights. Codes of conduct for European companies, regulating their modus operandi outside Europe, could produce results. Definition of the ethical criteria applicable to international trade would make it possible to combat rampant exploitation and excessive cultivation, as in the exploitation of the tropical forests. Here, I am thinking in particular of agreements on European or international seals of approval, indicating that goods are made from sustainable resources.

64.       At the same time, as socially-aware consumers who are capable of defending themselves, citizens should also assume their responsibilities through critical citizens’ groups, which help to determine the relationship between the economy and civil society.

65.       At the same time, the Council of Europe could also consider setting up a European environmental planning body in conjunction with the EU, to draw up the broad outlines of environmental planning for the entire European continent, focusing in particular on policy implementation and monitoring in environmentally sensitive regions or regions already affected by environmental problems.

66.       Road traffic congestion and the totally one-sided nature of motorised (goods) transport development are not simply a threat to urban viability, they are also likely to compromise spatial viability and the right to mobility, through the storage and inter-urban trans-shipment sites associated with this mode of transport. Environmental planning policies should take full account of these aspects, particularly for the sake of a healthy economy.

67.       Conclusion

A high quality environment is thus by no means a luxury in periods of economic boom, but is one of the four basic elements - social, economic, ecological and cultural-ethical - on which society is founded. If one of these collapses, the whole structure loses its balance and democracy falls.

d)       Security based on a common foreign policy

68.       When the UN Secretary-General returned from his recent mission to Iraq having prevented a second Gulf war, he rightly received rapturous acclaim. The international community had avoided a conflict that threatened to have dire consequences for more than just the local population (who always bear the brunt in such cases). Any escalation of the conflict in this already explosive region would have cost Europe dear.

69.       When, a number of years before, the anticipated crisis in the former Yugoslavia finally broke out, "united" Europe could do little more than hang its head in shame at its own internal divisions. In doing so it took an enormous risk, since, in addition to the unacceptably high and tragic toll of human suffering already inflicted, the conflict could have spread much further and caused mass migration. In the end it was American and UN troops, with a very small European contingent, who saved Europe from further disaster.

70.       When the conflicts in Albania and Kosovo broke out in the very same region, Europe was again caught out, even if this time there has been a common European approach. Neither the Secretary General of the Council of Europe nor the President of the European Commission was there to conduct final negotiations.

71.       Such indecisiveness leads to a confused situation within the security organisations,(NATO, WEU and OSCE), in which Europe is constantly trying, with varying degrees of success, to establish a higher profile and occasionally to stand up to its American ally. With the exception of a few participating European countries, the co-operating European forces could not even maintain Europe's military balance during the expansion of NATO. The WEU wrote some fascinating reports about this process, in which other players had the upper hand.

72.       Both NATO and the OSCE operate in a transatlantic context, and it is certainly not European influence that primarily determines European security issues within NATO.

73.       Conclusion

When Europe considers its security and defence, this debate should have a continental dimension. It is natural for Europe to enter into alliances for this purpose with other powers that by and large share the same social vision. The development of democracy in the former Soviet states has been an important factor in this area.

Europe must bring order to its own security structures. To begin with, it must decide on a common foreign policy. This should be done step by step. The key question is knowing what we are defending. This requires a common vision of society’s development, based on open and democratic decision-making and direct participation by citizens. Such a society must be capable of developing new forms and systems of social cohesion, affording its citizens the protection and warmth they require in terms of solidarity, freedom and responsibility. Economic structures and consumption patterns should not undermine future viability. In the future, the notion of “national security” must be understood in a much wider context: for example, protection against lethal pollution of ground water is a valid form of national security.

C.       WHAT SORT OF INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK DOES THIS PAN-EUROPEAN PROJECT NEED? OR: WORKING TOGETHER MEANS WORKING BETTER

74.       The various European institutions are today all working towards their own Europe in their own very different ways. They consider “European colleagues” from other institutions as competitors rather than as additional collaborators. The goal of a vast European project can only succeed if these different institutions find a common framework in which they can redefine their own identity and pool their efforts, through the parallel existence of other European institutions carrying out similar but not overlapping work. The objective is to work together so that Europe can meet the challenges facing it.

75.       As a member of the European unit, a country can either spend all its time working out the best way to exploit the additional opportunities offered by Europe, so as to protect its own national interests regardless of which European partner foots the bill. Or we can sit down together around the European table, knowing that each country has its own strengths, and these separate qualities can be pooled to form a single Europe that will benefit each country individually and all countries and their populations together. If we work together, we work better.

76.       Clearly, decision-making with 40 member countries is no easy matter. It will only work if there is enough scope for individuality, if tasks, powers and responsibilities are limited and precisely defined and if decisions are presented as recommendations rather than compulsory measures.

77.       Furthermore, membership conditions and the commitments undertaken with regard to the organisation’s principles must be made crystal clear and strictly complied with. Membership of European decision-making bodies is not without obligations and commits nations and regions to co-operate in a specific democratic context. These clearly defined principles are what make the organisation so attractive and encourage applicant countries to join.

78.       The area concerned is the European socio-political area, whose territorial scope has not always been so clearly defined: the accession of the Russian Federation has meant that the Council of Europe now covers an enormous area stretching far into Asia, so that it is no longer easy to define its precise European scope. This means that for some countries lying at the boundary between two zones of influence there are choices to be made. This is especially true when we consider that for some time now Russia has been talking to its Asian neighbours about joint economic projects, which would give it the choice of defending its interests through either Europe or Asia, particularly since the recent developments within NATO.

79.       Europe comprises a rich diversity of countries, nations and cultures whose territory and influence scarcely coincide with those of the actual states. Europe’s history is one of centuries of power struggles and co-operation based on the economic, religious and strategic interests of nations, regions and city states, of royal houses, regimes, ideologies or related cultures. Europe is a mish-mash of identities and tensions, in which some states barely know each other. Mainly as a result of Europe‘s division into two blocs for the best part of a century, i.e., a good three generations, one part of Europe sometimes knows sadly little about the characteristics, qualities and interests of its European partners on the other side of the continent. It is therefore all the more remarkable that Europe and all its institutions have come so far in only 50 years.

80.       The creation of a larger European entity, that of the forty Council of Europe states, should always be primarily based on the most fundamental of all forms of co-operation between nations: political co-operation. While different parties can choose to co-operate on economic or security issues, the whole must be held together by a clear political basis.

81.       As it approaches its 50th anniversary, the Council of Europe must redefine its position in Europe for the next millennium: circumstances have changed too much between 1949 and 1999 for it to simply carry on offering the same aims and merits. There is a need for re-evaluation, so that the Council will be capable of meeting tomorrow’s challenges. Given its unique mission, the Council must reconsider its position with regard to the other European organisations operating within modern Europe.

82.       Conclusion

The European institutions cannot continue to operate side by side without close collaboration on this common Europe, each acting in accordance with its own particular qualities, experience and status. The last fifty years constitute a sufficiently long stretch of European history to enable the various institutions to determine their specific characters and individual missions in full, under the common banner of the same European future. In this respect, the Council of Europe must be well aware that its agenda of human rights, democracy and the rule of law cannot succeed if it is a multi-speed agenda. Honouring of the commitments made by all the member States, and monitoring of the execution of these commitments by the Council and its institutions must be carried out strictly, consistently and unanimously. This is the basis of its authority and credibility. In the event of a formal warning, the Council of Europe and its Assembly must therefore act in a resolute manner and not hesitate to take measures that may have serious consequences. The ultimate shared objective is to create a continental Europe where the same social values guarantee the freedom and happiness of its citizens, an objective that will be achieved by primarily political means. It is at this level that the various European organisations have a mission and responsibilities to assume.

a)       The European Union: reaching its natural limits?

83.       The ECSC, forerunner of the EEC and the EU, was founded by six countries in response to the political challenge thrown down by the Council of Europe. From its very outset, the European Union has been a political project, much more than a community on which to base a free trade area. But because it could not simply duplicate the work of the Council of Europe, which dealt with issues like democracy, human rights and the rule of law, the Union had to concentrate on areas where the Council of Europe was less active, namely economic and financial interests. The Union later added an ecological dimension to its work, but even this was purely in terms of its economic implications for the market, in order to avoid distorting competition between the countries of Europe. Recently the Union has added a monetary dimension too.

84.       The Members of the European Parliament are sometimes burdened by the fact that "their" Europe is principally associated with purely economic and monetary concerns, as if their powers were limited to trade agreements, far removed from "real" politics. Even apart from the fact that the Union's powers do in fact go much further than purely economic and commercial interests, there is no doubt that trade is very closely linked to politics, especially in a world that is increasingly defined by trading interests. The choice of products and production methods, with all the social and economic implications this entails, and the financial and tax conditions imposed by the relevant authorities are all closely related to political choices.

85.       The choice of trading partners also says a lot about a country’s international political standpoint. The ethical aspects of trade generate discussions and decisions of a purely political nature (e.g. should we turn a blind eye to human rights violations so as to avoid undermining trade relations, particularly when dealing with major countries that have large populations and considerable purchasing power?). Then again, a trade embargo is a highly effective political weapon (e.g. South Africa in former times, Serbia and Kosovo recently), as long as the embargo is actually enforced. However, the European Union, with its Commission and Parliament, wants to achieve fully-fledged political power as quickly as possible.

86.       The European Union is the dream project of the European militants. Ever since the Treaty of Rome, the Union has focused on integrating its Member States into a supranational entity. The results have been remarkable.

87.       However, it now faces major problems in trying to expand further, since it has clearly reached its natural borders. Every European observer knows that the Union, balancing on the wavering line between consolidation and enlargement and with all its special requirements, has just about reached its limits. The greater the number of members, the more obvious the Union's institutional problems become. Optimistic specialists predict that, even by to the most generous calculations, the Union will comprise at most barely half the countries of Europe ten years from now.

88.       The federal nature of the Union is an absolute necessity as its only possible basis for survival.

89.       Conclusion

The role of a federally-inspired European Union in European unification is crucial across the whole continent. Without its presence and activity, the Council of Europe would never have been able to develop into what it is today and what it hopes to become in the future. The fact that the Union, which has been functioning for some time, particularly in western Europe, is currently acquiring more territorial importance strengthens not only its socio-economic influence, but also its political and social weight.

Moreover, its activities focus on a number of issues which affect the keystones of present-day society. However, considering the nature of its activities, its size and powers are still limited and will never cover the entire continent of Europe, even though its influence will also be clearly felt in countries which are not members of the Union.

b)       The Council of Europe: the weaker brother?

90.       The Council of Europe was given the fundamental task of safeguarding, consolidating and promoting the values of civil society throughout Europe. At least this was its remit when it was set up. But it immediately found its hands tied by two structural problems: it was not allowed to deal with defence issues and its Statute was, at the instigation of a number of countries, given a narrow interpretation from the very outset. The situation has not changed much since then. On top of that, the Council is suffering from a disease common to many top-level political fora: too much diplomacy and too little democracy in its procedures.

91.       This has not prevented the Council from becoming a body of fundamental importance for the future of the continent of Europe. It has assumed a pan-European identity which has expanded dramatically in recent years. The principle of free and pluralist elections at pre-arranged times, for example, is already established in each of the countries in question, irrespective of differences in electoral systems and periods of government.

92.       One of the Council's main advantages is, of course, the fact that it covers a whole continent, even if Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are not yet members, Belarus and Bosnia-Herzegovina are not expected to join in the near future, and the territory of the Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) is outside the territory of the Council of Europe as defined by the Assembly.

93.       The pan-European scale of the Council of Europe is the main point on which it differs from the European Union. Can members from democratic countries really be deemed to be debating Europe and European democracy in a parliament where only a minority of the nations and countries of Europe are represented?

94.       Even if the operation of the Council of Europe is clearly subject to certain restrictions, and although it kept a very low profile over a number of decades and allowed the EU to take over as the major European institution, a change has been taking place over the last few years which has given the Council renewed importance.

95.       It is up to the parliaments and governments of Europe, and primarily up to the Council of Europe and its Assembly, to recognise the enormous democratic significance of this. Not because the Council itself is important - it is merely an instrument - but because it has a vital role to play in consolidating civil society in Europe in the next millennium, a role which places the Council firmly back at the forefront of European continental integration.

96.       It is clear that the bonds which hold the 40 countries of the Council together are less close than those between the countries of the European Union. Not all the countries of Europe want economic and monetary union. For a considerable number of them it is enough to be able to belong to a major democratic body that operates on the basis of flexible structures and co-operation and power, and to strengthen their own economic and financial structures and alliances within that same body.

97.       A political unit of this kind based on principles can only survive on a confederal basis.

98.       Conclusion

Even though the financial weight of the European Union is so much greater than that of the Council - with the Union spending more in just a few hours than the Council spends in a year - and although the main attraction for some member countries is financial aid, the political dimension of the Council is, nevertheless, much more comprehensive than that of the Union on account of both the size of the territory it covers and the purely political issues it deals with. And it will be primarily in the specific domains covered by the Council of Europe that Europe will achieve further integration over the next few decades and thus achieve greater unity and greater stability. Indeed, it is not in the European Union's interests, either, for the European design to grind to a halt. The Union will therefore continue to function mainly in the context of economic and monetary interests. The Union is of tremendous significance for European society. However, even if the enlargement and consolidation of the Union are limited and will certainly take longer, the process of Europe integration as a whole must not suffer. For that reason, the Council of Europe and its Assembly must grow in strength.

As a body that brings together elected representatives from every European country, the Council is best placed to work towards the political unification of Europe.

c)       Mutual understanding?

99.       The European Union and the Council of Europe, each with its own parliamentary representation and Committee or Council of Ministers, which both assemblies complain about from time to time, have for many years co-existed rather uneasily.

100.       Co-operation between the two organisations is provided for in a 1987 agreement, supplemented by decisions adopted jointly in 1989 by the Council's Committee of Ministers and the EU’s Council of Ministers, which have since held regular meetings. In 1997 the higher organs of both organisations began to exchange correspondence. The two organisations regularly co-operate on the ground, especially in central and eastern Europe. The Council of Europe has contributed its network of experts to this work.

101.       The distribution and evolution of responsibilities between the two institutions is taking place without sufficient co-ordination. Thus, in recent years and especially since the Maastricht Treaty, the European Union has focused increasingly on justice, internal affairs and security, all policy areas that clearly pertain to the Council of Europe, partly because they are of major importance to countries which are not members of the European Union.

102.       Sometimes one institution is very noticeably not involved in an initiative taken by the other in an area that clearly relates to the activities of the first. For example, the Council of Europe was not involved in the conference on European countries in the Mediterranean region (the Euro-Mediterranean Conference, November 1995), although the Union was perfectly aware that the Council had already been working on Mediterranean co-operation for some time.

103.       When the European Union announced its intention of giving one of the European Commissioners responsibility for human rights, the opportunity for co-operation was obvious. In a resolution of 12.12.1996, the European Parliament pointed out that close co-operation was required with the Council of Europe. For its part, the Council of Europe stated clearly that, while it had no monopoly on the issue, it had always regarded it as important, and offered the Union its expertise in this field.

104.       In the report by Klaus Hänsch, MEP and former president of the European Parliament, on the links between the major European institutions at pan-European level, dated 20.1.1993, the European Parliament calls for much closer co-operation between the various institutions to meet the challenges of the future. Rather than fully acknowledging the Council of Europe's role in this area, it urges the European Union itself to introduce a "system of European confederal co-operation" that would cover the Council of Europe and the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, in addition to its own federal organisation.

105.       Referring to the Council of Europe, the Hänsch report suggests that it should consolidate its work on culture, health, urbanisation, private law, social policy and social ethics and emphasises its role as a European forum for dialogue between municipalities and regions and between public and other organisations. In other words, the Council of Europe is important and can carry on producing conventions and working on co-operation between municipalities and regions, but constructing the greater Europe is clearly a task for the Union. This is somewhat presumptuous, particularly as the clearly federal Union would be unable to govern a pan-European confederal body. Like the Council, it could only carry out its own distinctive role in such a structure.

106.       No sensible person would deny the importance of the economy, industry and finance, the market, trade and the single currency. Due in part to direct and close co-operation between the EU Member States, currently numbering 15, Europe has undergone a remarkable process of integration in the past ten years, the benefits of which have been enormous. The European Union also plays a vital role in the second major challenge of the 20th century: reunifying Europe beyond the borders of the earlier power blocs.

107.       The Council of Europe's identity lies on another level: human rights, the rule of law, protecting democracy, protecting minorities, culture. Together with the European Union, the Council of Europe provides an ideal European dimension, covering the most important areas of modern society. The two organisations are somewhat limited in their activities by the fact that security, defence, foreign policy and a genuine social and fiscal policy are not sufficiently developed at European level. The members of the European Parliament believe that once monetary union is complete they will almost automatically have to move on to fiscal and social union, so that their institution will finally come to be regarded as a fully-fledged political body.

108.       And then we have the mundane absurdities. For years, while sharing the same European home in Strasbourg, the two European institutions have taken decisions alongside each other in almost complete isolation, as if they were each dealing with their own separate Europe. They write reports, all translated into several European languages and sometimes unwittingly covering almost exactly the same subject, in spite of the opportunities offered by modern communications. Both institutions have committees working on politics, culture, agriculture and the environment.

109.       During my ten years as a member of the European Parliament, I had no significant contact with the Council of Europe or its Parliamentary Assembly, committees, officials or directorates, although these departments were housed in the same building. Even now, having been a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for several years, I still observe the almost generalised absence of any debate or dialogue with the European Union and the bodies to which I once belonged: I am again experiencing the almost total lack of co-operation, but this time from the other side. The systems that provide for automaticf consultation simply do not exist, in spite of the few tentative efforts at closer contact seen in recent years.

110.       It is as if there were two Europes, as if we could afford the luxury of playing off one European body against the other. Just who is primarily "to blame" for the lack of European co-operation is of little importance. The main thing is that there has been a slight improvement in recent years, and co-operation is gradually taking shape. For example, it seems obvious that the Bureaux of Committees on the same subject should at least meet regularly to share news of their activities and work programme, in the interests of both institutions.

111.       It is also of little importance that the public cannot tell the difference between the Union and the Council, or between the Members of the European Parliament and the members of the Parliamentary Assembly. What is important, however, is that both these major European institutions, each with its own perspective, system and profile, are working to achieve the same objectives for the same Europe through a broad range of issues, and that both understand that their ultimate purpose is the happiness and well-being of the people of Europe, whether their country is a member of the Union or of the Council, or both: this point is irrelevant.

112.       The average European in 2050 is more likely to wonder what Europe's political leaders did at the end of the 20th century to protect the world's energy resources, for example, to establish a genuine European foreign policy, or to combat mass killings, epidemics or the European mafia, rather than whether they chose Brussels or Strasbourg as the "capital" of Europe.

113.       Even the unavoidable duplication is not a real problem. The two institutions would be better if they limited themselves to areas that are clearly their own, instead of both trying to do everything with little co-operation. This would also make things a little easier to understand for the people of Europe. By tackling fewer issues in greater detail, each institution can raise its own profile. They may still find that they regularly get in each other's way, but this will not matter provided that each knows what the other is doing.

114.       Based on the two institutions’ priority action areas, an initial solution could be found if, to use general - and therefore inadequate - terms, the Union was seen primarily as the “head” and the Council as the “conscience” and “heart” of Europe.

115.       Some specific examples will illustrate this idea better:

- In the social arena, the preparation of laws and regulations defining the rights of workers and facilitating a successful fight against unemployment at European level could be assigned to the Union. Other social aspects, less directly related to the market and economy, such as the fight against poverty, the range of opportunities for appropriate and voluntary social commitment in favour of the unemployed, and the fight against social exclusion, especially in the cities, could be undertaken by the Council. There are clearly connections between these different aspects: the fight against unemployment is naturally and directly connected to the fight against poverty and social exclusion. However, this should not prevent the two institutions from identifying their priority areas.

- In the environmental sector, production norms, the fight against pollution or the introduction of non-polluting transport could be assigned to the Union, since these aspects are principally linked to the economy, the market and industry. The protection of natural sites and landscapes, the well-being of fauna and European environmental planning are more specifically areas for the Council. Here again, the reciprocal links are clear and point yet again to the need for co-operation.

- In the area of co-operation with the third world, international trade and industrial agreements on products and sale would be matters for the Union, while humanitarian aid and actual development co-operation would come under the Council’s remit.

- With regard to cultural matters, trade agreements on royalties, agreements referring to new broadcasting techniques and the sale of programmes are mainly matters for the Union, while education, cultural identity and the protection of cultural minorities and their languages could be assigned to the Council.

- Issues related to taxation and to the economic and monetary operations of the European market clearly belong to the Union, while the monitoring of democratic institutions, citizens’ right of appeal and the democratic aspects of the information highways are more a matter for the Council.

116.       In this case, there is no question of “pinching” each other’s areas of responsibility. Rather, this is a matter of mutually strengthening distinct identities and responsibilities, avoiding unnecessary efforts and expenditure, stimulating a sense of responsibility for certain themes in the head official of the institution that is mainly responsible for them, encouraging co-operation and increasing citizens’ knowledge so that they can find their way in the European maze.

117.        This is also a sign of respect for the decisions made by the member States who choose to join one or both of the institutions: they will be better informed of what political co-operation they are opting for. For example, those who choose to join the Union are aware that they must also be prepared to bring their industrial and financial rules, and probably at a later stage their tax rules, working conditions and production norms, into line with those of other members of the Union. Other countries will feel that it is enough to belong to a political and parliamentary grouping that lays stress on the civic, democratic, cultural and humanitarian aspects of society. For some of these countries, this in itself will be the culmination of a long and difficult process. For them therefore, complete fusion of their systems is not immediately necessary.

118.       Such a theoretical definition of a distinct framework, which is not exhaustive and does not need to be, could also imply a limited reform of the existing areas of interest. For example, it seems self-evident that responsibility for the fight against racism and xenophobia ties in perfectly with the Council of Europe’s mission, and that the Union could leave this task to the Council with complete confidence, acknowledging that is always better to conduct this fight across almost all of Europe rather than in only fifteen countries.

119.       Furthermore, it is absolutely essential to place certain issues in a pan-European context. Thus, it is hardly logical to fight against the mafia in the fifteen countries of the Union alone, without extending this struggle to states such as Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Turkey, former Yugoslavia and Russia. Human rights is another example: by excluding the central and eastern European countries, one of the key elements of this task is left off the European scene.

120.       Co-operation between committees with similar responsibilities should be self-evident. When one institution prepares a report on an issue that has already been dealt with in the other, the rapporteur involved should automatically present the issue to the other assembly, if that assembly still requires its own report. The two institutions could also appoint a permanent joint rapporteur, who would periodically report on the development of co-operation between them.

121.       In conjunction with the European Union and, in any event, in those countries that are members of the two organisations, the Council of Europe could also set up joint programmes funded by both institutions: as well as going some way to compensate for the Council’s lack of resources, this would be a clear demonstration of their shared European vision.

122.       Conclusion

Only a pan-continental view of Europe includes all of European society and is capable of meeting the challenges facing tomorrow’s Europe. Through the existence and specific characteristics of both the Council and the Union, the various countries concerned are being offered an opportunity to participate at different levels of European integration. Prosperity, respect for civil values and confidence in the democratic nature of tomorrow’s Europe can only be guaranteed if, in a spirit of mutual respect for their distinctive features and respective missions, the various major European organisations assume their responsibilities with mutual openness and collaboration, and realise that better co-ordination of their respective activities can only strengthen their effectiveness.

This is what European citizens primarily expect from their elected representatives and civil servants. The range of activities and issues dealt with will have to be limited, so that they can be tackled more effectively.

d)       Other cornerstones for tomorrow’s Europe

123.       Both the OSCE and the WEU concern the USA in different ways: while the OSCE has specifically included the USA among its 54 member states, the WEU was set up alongside NATO to create a specifically European defence organisation. Not all the members of the European Union or the Council of Europe are members of the WEU. This organisation’s development indicates that it will eventually be incorporated into the European Union. Should the WEU one day become the defence arm of a European Union with 20 or more members, many of them in Eastern Europe, it will have to reconsider its name, since Western European Union would no longer be accurate.

124.       The OSCE, on the other hand, cannot be regarded as a truly European institution, despite the large number of European countries among its members. It seems likely that the role of the OSCE will focus increasingly on civil responsibilities such as peacekeeping and conflict management and prevention, along the lines of the St Petersburg tasks. These should preferably be carried out in conjunction with the Council of Europe’s human rights departments, and should also be extended to include conflict prevention, since so many elements of this tie in with the Council of Europe’s mission.

The OSCE’s Parliamentary Assembly regularly duplicates the work of the Council of Europe's Assembly, and although there is direct consultation between the two organisations twice a year, greater efforts are still needed to prevent unnecessary overlapping. The three fields in which the OSCE is active - defending democracy, the economy and security - are clearly geared towards the current situation in Europe, and thus the OSCE performs an essentially European function.

125.       With regard to the mission and purpose of the WEU and the OSCE in future European defence policy, as well as their ideal position in comparison with the other European institutions, the reader is referred to recent reports by the Council’s Parliamentary Assembly.

126.       A whole range of sub-regional and parallel organisations flesh out the framework of European co-operation: Benelux, the Nordic Council, the North-South Centre, the European Environment Agency, the Central-European Initiative, the Black Sea Council and its parliamentary assembly, PAPSEC, the Caspian Council, the Baltic co-operation organisation, the Barents Sea Council, the Co-ordinating Committee for Eastern Europe, etc. There are also organisations covering a range of sectoral aspects at multinational level and which support European integration, such as the OECD and the EBRD. Regular debates are organised and reports drawn up on issues which these organisations deal with, and they are constantly urging the various European institutions to ensure that their policies are right for Europe.

127.       Two organisations that do not immediately spring to mind in this context but which are active at European level are COSAC and the Interparliamentary Union. The Interparliamentary Union is a useful instrument which brings members of various parliaments together to discuss areas of the world outside Europe, though it does not itself wish to play an active role, preferring to operate in the background. COSAC, on the other hand, seems to be largely out-dated in its current form. However, it could be expanded to become a sort of advisory council for national parliaments, advising the European institutions on matters of subsidiarity, justice and internal affairs.

128.       Apart from its greater economic weight, Europe contains the richest cultural diversity in the world. This diversity either leads to inhuman conflicts and ethnic aggression, or is the foundation for social harmony based on openness and tolerance; on the other hand, a culture that is too closed in on itself becomes impoverished and eventually declines. Consolidating the foundations of regional diversity is one way of ensuring that this cultural specificity remains sufficiently strong, since a person who is confident in his own cultural identity will not be easily attracted by other, stronger, cultures, because these will be perceived as a threat to his own cultural identity. The fight against intolerance should therefore be based, among other things, on consolidating one’s own culture and traditions. This is only one of the justifications for an emphasis on the regional dimension of Europe.

129.       The Council of Europe has fully understood the importance of this regional dimension, and created the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe to give expression to this aspect of European political life. Different political approaches concerning local government (the closest to the public), have been developed by the Congress and serve as a basis for strengthening local society and for co-operation initiatives between local authorities. This is particularly important in border areas. Within the Congress, regional issues can be addressed in a more in-depth manner. Perhaps closer co-operation between the Council’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe and the Union’s Committee of the Regions would stimulate both bodies and ensure that the regional dimension is firmly established in the overall European scheme.

130.       In addition, the Council of Europe must pay more attention to its relations with regional parliaments, particularly since many of them have direct jurisdiction in areas that interest the Council, such as social exclusion, children’s rights, culture, media and communications.

131.       Conclusion

In the long term, the areas of foreign policy, defence and regional policy should be dealt with in a fuller and more integrated manner by the major European political organisations. Everything seems to indicate that tasks related to defence should be mainly carried out by the Union. The role of regional and local policy is crucially important in preventing continental Europe from becoming an enormous, unrecognisable, bureaucratic, inaccessible and cumbersome machine, whose civil values may perhaps still shine from the solemn declarations displayed in entry halls, but which the European citizen no longer sees in action. This regional and local policy is the Council of Europe’s particular responsibility. Europe is clearly becoming a social entity, balanced between a common European policy, which determines the general directions, the national level, which applies and implements these directions, and regional and local policy, the principal task of which is to interpret them correctly, taking specific local characteristics into account. For this purpose, various levels of national and regional self-government should be strengthened, particularly to bridge the gulf between public authorities and citizens, and to respect the specific characteristics of peoples and cultures, characteristics which lie at the heart of European civilisation. As for whether this will result in a European constitution and genuine European government, there are no certainties, although this would be the logical development of the European momentum.

D.       THE CONTINENTAL EUROPEAN DESIGN FOCUSED

      ON THE ROOTS OF SOCIETY

a)       A common political culture based on participative democracy.

132.       In the 50 years since it was created, the Council of Europe has made considerable efforts not just to defend democratic principles but to strengthen and extend them. The debates of the Council and its Assembly, the bodies it has set up in the course of its 50 years, the texts it has adopted and the reports that it produces for the national parliaments of member states all concern the very roots of society.

133.       The Council of Europe has set itself some ambitious goals. Solemnly declaring a vocation to protect human rights and the rule of law is one thing, but acting on this in practice is quite another: fighting corruption and the mafia, combating trafficking in children, women, human organs, arms, drugs, waste and so on. Or take the idea of public participation. In practice this will mean things like public enquiries, referenda and televoting. Try developing models and recommendations that respect democracy and the rule of law, without resorting to demagogy, over-simplifying questions that cannot really be answered with a simple "yes" or "no", or threatening the rights of minorities such as immigrants. Culture also includes the right for a number of groups to have their own identity and cultural autonomy within one state, although the central authorities are not always in favour of this. Ethical challenges in the medical field have become much more complicated than they were and demand enormous democratic maturity if the debate around them is to be carried out calmly and carefully. Guaranteeing human rights would appear to be fairly straightforward, until you have to decide on the cases of individual refugees who want a place in society. Although practical implementation is a matter for national and regional authorities, it is no easy matter to present the principles of such a direct democratic policy in mature and reasoned forms and procedures.

134.       Let us consider a few specific issues that the Council of Europe works on, although the list is by no means exhaustive.

• Pluralist democracy, which should emphasise local policy regarding the right to information and participation, and access to modern information technologies; political dialogue between 40 countries without interfering in any country's internal affairs; and the political monitoring of countries which have joined the Council of Europe, in order to see whether they are honouring the commitments given on accession.

• Respect for human rights, which covers civilian victims in areas of conflict; equal rights for women; conflict prevention and management; attempting to eliminate torture; and guaranteeing the social rights of workers.

• The rule of law, which includes combating corruption and the mafia; consolidating the European legal area; and a code of ethics for civil servants.

• Freedom of expression and information, which covers regulating open government, guaranteeing press freedom and protecting the status of (minority) languages in Europe.

• Cultural diversity, which involves: protecting regional cultures from being lost as a result of over-centralisation in Europe; protecting the education and the rights of children and young people; and sustaining the ethnic minorities from the Basque country to the Siberian north.

• Equality for all human beings guaranteeing equal access to today's technologies for everyone; combating child abuse; and ensuring that the elderly are not hidden away as society's cast-offs: providing them with a decent level of material comfort would be a start.

• Tolerance, to tackle xenophobia; to ensure that people's own cultures are developed as much as possible so that they become more tolerant of other cultures; and to combat deep-rooted racist prejudices.

• Protecting minorities in the many areas where this is becoming a particular cultural and ethnic problem.

• Social cohesion, to enable us to determine what tomorrow's society will be like: a system of new social agreements that will discard a range of so-called benefits in favour of the justice and solidarity which are so vital for the future.

• Quality of life, with codes of behaviour for multinational companies, in an increasingly international world of anonymous joint ventures and a very weak international justice system; including nuclear safety, waste transport, transfrontier environmental protection and sustainable production standards.

• Solidarity between the nations of the north and south and at global level, taking account of the problems of refugees and asylum-seekers.

• Ethical challenges including the right to privacy, bioethics and ground rules for

business ethics.

135.       As we gradually move ahead, we will develop a collective European culture which entails special responsibilities for citizens, for elected politicians and for diplomats, a culture that touches on all the fundamental areas of society and without which no form of well-being or peace is possible.

136.       The traditional mindset, according to which politics are the concern of politicians, the economy and consumption that of individual citizens, schools that of teachers and national defence that of soldiers, has thus been overturned. The new approach is also a response to the fact that people see the work of the institutions as completely inadequate; it broadens society's horizons and entails a vibrant appeal to the responsibility of society as a whole. This is what is called civil society.

137.       This also means that people can no longer avoid their civil obligations by saying "politics don't interest me". If they want to achieve anything, they will have to commit themselves politically in some way, making a clear distinction between politics and party politics.

138.       At the Second Summit in Strasbourg, the European heads of government identified four main areas of political activity for the Council of Europe, the objective being to determine the contours of a modern European society: making the system of representation more open so that citizens can be consulted; adapting the way parliaments work to meet people's needs; promoting the democratic use of new technologies; and guarding against the risk of undemocratic manipulation.

139.        The Parliamentary Assembly has examined the options for more direct public involvement, and its proposals establish basic principles for using referendums as a means of public consultation. The same principles should also ensure that referendums are not used irresponsibly as plebiscites to violate human rights or misused by governments to give themselves more power.

140.       Local and regional authorities play a crucial role when it comes to public involvement, since they are the levels of government closest to the people. This was why in 1957 the Council set up the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe. Democracy and civil society are thus not just about electoral systems and the right to vote every few years: they cover the whole spectrum of collective human existence. People need to have more contact with their elected representatives. They must change from being the silent witnesses of political life to actively taking part in it.

b)       Representative democracy, human rights and social rights

141.       The national parliaments are one of the main means of combating the democratic deficit in Europe. The Assembly calls for national parliaments to be run more effectively so as to increase their power.

142.       The Council of Europe has published documents which serve as a reference throughout the continent and which help to provide a sounder basis for representative democracy: the European Charter of Local Self-Government, the European Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in Public Life at Local Level, the European Urban Charter and the Charter on the Participation of Young People in Municipal and Regional Life. Work is currently being done on a European Charter of Regional Self-Government.

143.       The European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter are two of the fundamental documents on which Europe's identity is based, but they only serve a purpose if they are applied together. The Convention on Human Rights alone is not enough to guarantee social peace. If such instruments are applied in an extreme or radical manner, they can increase social conflict and play into the hands of group interests.

144.       To ensure social cohesion, the rights of the individual must go hand in hand with social justice. The European Social Charter is specifically designed to establish an even balance between the two. However, that balance has yet to be achieved, because the Charter has been signed by only a minority of countries, indicating that there is no political will to apply a European social policy in practice.

145.       Conclusion

The growing imbalance between executive and legislative power to the detriment of parliaments as legislative bodies, which are increasingly outflanked by governments, is one of the main shortcomings in the democratic system in both national and European institutions. The Council of Europe is the prime example of an international assembly where representatives of the various national parliaments meet. This assembly gives them greater responsibilities while also ensuring that the humanitarian and social dimensions of European society are implemented and respected in all the countries of Europe.

c)       Civil society

146.       In many cases, civil society's efforts will depend on associations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), whose development is therefore of vital importance. They must promote a spirit of solidarity between citizens and appeal to the conscience of civil society in order to achieve a workable balance between an affirmation of individual rights and an awareness of the collective interest.

147.       Full participation in society on a social and cultural level involves more than just having a job. In the post-commercial age, what the free market has to offer is no longer enough to guarantee people a full place in society. There is a need to think about a new social contract and new forms of social solidarity.

148.       The Council of Europe has set up a network of some 400 NGOs with consultative status - a sort of NGO board of governors within the Council - and it has been trying for a number of years to make the various governments more aware of the help they can offer. A convention regulating the international status of these organisation has been drawn up, but up to now there has not been enough government support to make it a statutory document.

149.       The sorts of organisations involved are private associations, consumer organisations and co-operative associations which also produce goods and services sold on the free market but which are different from other firms because of the nature of their ownership and non-profit-making status. They are commercial undertakings with social objectives: for example, some non-profit-making associations market the usual products, but send profits directly to Third World producers. They constitute a direct form of ethics in business that can provide a cogent commercial argument. There are also commercial initiatives for ethical banking which guarantee that customer capital will not be invested in socially or ecologically unsound projects or sectors.

150.       Then there is a whole range of associations in, say, cultural or sporting fields which operate in a humanitarian or social context but at the same time are entities with considerable capital, goods and services. People particularly appreciate their work in social emergencies such as natural disasters or armed conflict, which attracts substantial capital and services, with the traditional commercial sector also playing its part, for example through the sale of medical products. The fact that there are occasional scandals associated with these humanitarian initiatives because certain criminals abuse people's solidarity makes no difference to their overall importance.

151.       Voluntary work in general is becoming increasingly important, and it can help cater for vital social needs which the traditional private sector tends to ignore and which have to do with guaranteeing quality of life in society. It is clear that for the large numbers of people who no longer have a job or are retired but still active, there is a whole range of opportunities here which can stop them from feeling insecure and useless in society.

152.       All in all this means that large numbers of research and pilot projects will generate inventiveness, new services and new relationships and will require a sound legal footing. The result will be an official status for volunteers and social allowances for services provided by people who have no other income.

153.       A civil society must also be based on equality of sex, belief, race and religion. The Council should adapt Article 14 of its Statute in this respect.

154.       Conclusion

The public authorities have a duty to encourage social commitment on the part of individuals and associations, particularly in a society where the authorities have less and less influence over the traditional private sector. This is a most appropriate field for the Council of Europe and one where it can recommend all sorts of initiatives and principles, especially in relation to tax, in order to maintain the balance between consumption and social rights. That forms part of the new social contract which is sought for future society and which is fully in keeping with the Council of Europe's objectives and identity. Non-governmental organisations have a key role to play here.

E.       CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

a)       Image and the internal balance of power

155.       After 50 years of work, the Council and its Assembly should also undertake an assessment of their internal functioning.

156.       The European Union with its 15 Member States is finding its vitality heavily undermined by the need for unanimous decisions. If progress is to be made in the decision-making process, and thus in Europe, the unanimity rule will have to be replaced by that of a simple or qualified majority, except on questions of a constitutional nature. This also applies to the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers.

157.       If the Council wants to project a stronger image, the balance of power between the Assembly and the Committee of Ministers will have to be more carefully defined so that the Assembly is given more power and influence. This should mean that there is a better balance in decision-making and that the Assembly has the right to draw up and adopt its own budget.

158.       The Assembly should also send observers when the Committee of Ministers holds debates and takes decisions as a legislative body. The reverse is also true. The Joint Committee should be given a stronger role as the contact body between the Assembly and the intergovernmental level.

159.       If the democratic input which comes mainly via the Assembly is to be a true reflection of the importance that the Council of Europe as a whole attaches to safeguarding democracy, it would seem appropriate for the Assembly and its members, rather than the Committee of Ministers, to be entrusted with the task of monitoring the implementation of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. Such scrutiny is hardly a luxury in an area of such crucial importance for the Council of Europe.

160.       For its part, the Assembly must ensure that its independent decision-making powers are not undermined by a tendency to allow the political groups too much influence. It is of no benefit to the Assembly to allow itself to be reduced to the situation in which the European Parliament finds itself, with the political parties' groups setting the agenda and determining the decisions. Although the European Parliament surely has its reasons for organising itself in this way, the Council of Europe's Assembly must ensure that it maintains its identity as a parliamentary body where the representatives of the member states meet to discuss and take decisions as groups organised on a national basis. Otherwise, the balance between the European institutions would be disrupted.

161.       Conclusion

The Council of Europe and its Assembly must conserve their specific character as bodies in which the members of national parliaments meet and take decisions which go beyond the interest of their own national institutions. Confederative in nature, the Council must continue to guarantee a balance with the Union, which has a federative structure. In this connection, an open and democratic approach must guide the Committee of Minister's mode of decision-making, which is more a matter of diplomacy.

b)       The national parliaments

162.       The Council must ensure that its results reach the national parliaments:

*       through the committees responsible for the subject in question;

*       through a special annual meeting on the work of the European institutions of which the countries concerned are members; this could provide a very useful opportunity to discuss and compare the work of all the major European institutions seen in the pan-European context.

and are brought to the attention of the other European institutions, again through the relevant committees and by making greater use of modern information technologies.

163.       The national parliaments must ensure that the representatives they send to the Council of Europe are people who are prepared to put time and energy into finding European solutions to European problems, in other words people who are committed to Europe. The Assembly can pride itself on the fact that many of its members have in the past held major responsibilities at national and international levels, and their depth of experience and political wisdom has been of particular benefit to the work of the Council. If the Council of Europe is not to be an antechamber for countries wishing to join the European Union, then the Assembly must not be a waiting room for politicians between posts in their political careers. members should also be expected to be more than just representatives of their countries: their political affinity must lie directly with the Council of Europe and its Assembly and with the interests of Europe as a whole.

164.       In addition to the national parliaments, national governments obviously also bear a substantial part of each country's responsibilities towards the Council of Europe. It is clear that the national delegations to the Assembly have a major role to play here, together with their members of parliament at home, by being aware that the interest shown within the national parliaments is small or virtually non-existent and that more needs to be done than simply forwarding reports and decisions or reporting on meetings.

165.       Conclusion

The European dimension is becoming an increasingly prominent factor in national election campaigns: the recent elections in France and the UK, and even in the German Länder, clearly show that the subject of Europe has become an important part of the national campaigns and an election issue. Committees in the national parliaments should therefore be advised no longer to regard European integration as a matter of foreign policy: once foreign affairs do not begin until the outer borders of the European continent, Europe will no longer be an external issue for the states of Europe, but a domestic one. For this reason, separate bodies need to be set up at national level alongside the traditional foreign affairs committees to deal specifically with European integration, and they should give balanced coverage to the work of the various major European institutions.

c)       The press and public opinion

166.       The Council of Europe clearly has an image problem. Although it has existed for 50 years, the average person in Europe - and the average politician - has very little idea what the Council of Europe and its Assembly actually do. Hence the inevitable accusing question "What do they do with their - or rather our - money?".

167. The Council must ensure that its various bodies and their members do not simply

discuss reports and resolutions, but that its work and its decisions:

• are followed up on the ground, by sending rapporteurs from the various committees to offer their services should a major event occur in one of the fields covered by the Council of Europe and by the committee in question, such as if there is a threat to an important building or section of countryside forming part of Europe's heritage;

• are also taken into account outside the strictly political and academic world. The Council's various bodies have an important role to play here in attending conferences and seminars organised by government authorities, universities and NGOs. In addition, the Council must above all make its presence felt in the field, helping to solve specific, identifiable problems where the people concerned are themselves standing up for the values the Council represents;

• are disseminated among the people of Europe by means of an efficient press and information policy, including the use of modern communication channels. Short reports could be prepared for the audiovisual media on the main issues that the Council is dealing with currently or will be in the near future. Publicity could be given to important field trips by its committees, and, relying on appropriate and diversified publications, the Council's activities could be disseminated in the member states by using various local and regional information centres (libraries, meeting centres) and networks (municipal authorities, relevant NGOs, schools) where there is a significant multiplier effect;

• have some political effect in practice, by ensuring that its Secretary-General or the heads of its various bodies are clearly seen to intervene in major problems in Europe directly related to the Council's purpose, such as the conflicts in former Yugoslavia. The Assembly elected the Secretary-General itself and could make his job much easier (which would also be in the Council's interest) by ensuring that he is given broader powers, which would also put him in a better position to defend the Council's objectives in the outside world;

• are brought to the attention of public opinion, by focusing on issues of direct, practical relevance to the daily lives of Europe's citizens;

• are reflected in an annual programme, by addressing a different major theme each year and targeting individual groups, such as young people.

168.       In general, the Assembly will have to concentrate more on the population’s everyday quality of life, with all its social, ecological, cultural and ethical aspects, and less exclusively on "foreign policy".

169.       Because internal disagreements and national susceptibilities are to be avoided at all costs, the Council of Europe's press policy has quickly led to more secrecy than openness, which is fatal to any effort to promote communication. Would it be so terrible to let the outside world see that 40 countries cannot always work like a well-oiled machine or be in perfect agreement on everything? The press is unlikely to harbour any illusions about this anyway, nor is it out to condemn European policy: it prefers to report on facts, trends, comments and initiatives in practice rather than in the debating chamber, and it is by definition more interested in disagreements than agreements. So if the Council of Europe wants more press coverage, it should not always try to brush its disagreements under the carpet.

170.       People might also wonder why the Council and the Assembly mark so many of their documents "confidential". This is hardly conducive to co-operation with other institutions or a more open policy in general. It would also seem to be a form of self-conceit.

171.       Conclusion

      The Council of Europe is not news in itself, but any achievements which have a direct impact on society are. The fact that Europe is actually doing something is not news either, at least we hope not. It is what it is doing that is news, preferably something affecting everyday life. The press is not there to give the Council of Europe its raison d'être in the eyes of public opinion. It is the Council itself which is there for the public. The aim must be to ensure that the tasks the Council carries out and the values it defends are realised in practice. If the Council of Europe, with its various bodies, instruments and potential, tries to achieve this with as much conviction as possible, the press will quite naturally report it.

d)       Working with the world

172.       Apart from its relations with the European Union, the Council of Europe must also try to make co-operation with the United Nations and its subsidiary bodies, such as UNESCO and the FAO, more pertinent and effective, as is already the case with the OECD and the EBRD. There is already consultation and mutual involvement in a number of activities, but co-operation could be more direct and practical.

173.       Co-operation with the United Nations is the best way for Europe to take its proper place in the world community. Here, too, there is a choice of principle: either the united European states prefer above all bilateral co-operation with what are regarded as the most important individual states outside Europe, or they would rather work, through their joint European institutions, with similar organisations elsewhere in the world in which a number of states join forces to make one democratic consultation body. The Assembly recently voted, for example, to co-operate with the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

174.       The Council of Europe might also conclude co-operation agreements with the G-7 countries for projects in eastern Europe.

175.       Co-operation with various major private foundations could also provide the Council with a wide range of know-how and expertise in areas that it covers, which is what the Council will need in the event of an obvious lack of financial resources.

176.       Conclusion

It is clear that European integration is not the only item on the agenda for the next millennium. Co-operation is growing in many areas of the world, and this will either mean the formation of new and larger blocs in competition with each other, or it will bring the world closer to a collective global approach to challenges that are likewise becoming increasingly global in nature and scope. This is in everyone's interest. Those who believe that there is greater potential in world-wide, peaceful co-existence between large, cohesive units should help promote co-operation through multinational bodies rather than with individual countries.

*****

177.       The ultimate purpose which all this should serve is to help a European continent take root - in a manner that is clearly visible to its own citizens - that respects regional and national identities, that is more than just the sum of its constituent parts and that has learned the lessons of its past. The major European institutions, each according to its responsibilities, experience and nature, will need to serve as a springboard to this end, by working towards the creation of a single, more rational unit in which Europe will draw upon the resources needed for assuming its responsibilities in the world community of the future.

Reporting committee: Committee on Parliamentary and Public Relations

Budgetary implications for the Assembly: nonte

Reference to committee: Doc. 7606 and Reference No. 2115 of 7 November 1996

Draft recommendation adopted by the committee on 20 November 1998

Members of the Committee: MM Jansson (Chairman), Kelam (Vice-Chairman), Browne (Alternate: Kiely), Brunhart, Mrs Calleja, Cardona, Sir Sydney Chapman (Alternate: Hancock), MM. Christodoulides, Dagys, Dokle, Eversdijk, Mrs Frahm, MM. Gross, Henry (Alternate: Staes), Horn, Jónsson, Kotlar, Koulouris, Kuptsov, Lauricella (Alternate: Mrs Squarcialupi, Vice-Chairperson), Lekberg, Likhachev, Loutfi, Lummer, Michel (Alternate: Dreyfus-Schmidt), Mignon, Mularoni, Myrvoll, Nagy, Nedelciuc, Niculescu (Alternate: Glavan), Pahor, Pantelejevs, Pereira Marques, Popesku, Radoš (Alternate: Mrs Busic), Regenwetter, Mrs Schicker, Mrs G. Smith, MM. Speroni, Tanik, Wielowieyski, N... (Alternate: Fico).

N.B. The names of those members who were present at the meeting are printed in italics

Secretary to the committee: Mr La Porta

¹ Nafta: North American Free Trade Agreement.

² Asean: Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

³ Mercosur: Mercado común de América del Sur (South-American Common Market).