Doc. 9124

14 June 2001

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

Recommendation 1479 (2000)

Reply from the Committee of Ministers

adopted at the 754th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (6, 7 & 8 June 2001)

1.       The Committee of Ministers took note with interest of the remarks and requests formulated by the Parliamentary Assembly in Recommendation 1479, which concern the event of possible accession by the European Communities / European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights and the question of social rights guaranteed in the European Union Charter on fundamental rights.

2.       In this regard, it draws the attention of the Parliamentary Assembly to the opinion formulated by the Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH) reproduced in the Appendix.

3.       The Committee of Ministers stresses that any decision on applying for accession by the European Communities / European Union to the Convention is exclusively a matter for the competent bodies of the European Communities / European Union. This being said, the Committee of Ministers draws the Assembly’s attention to the fact that, for the reasons mentioned by the CDDH in its opinion, the Ministers’ Deputies decided at their 747th meeting (28 March 2001, item 2.3b) to assign the following ad hoc terms of reference to the CDDH:

4.       The CDDH is called to complete these ad hoc terms of reference by 31 December 2002.

5.       The Committee of Ministers will inform the Parliamentary Assembly of the results of this work and the follow-up which will be given to it.

Appendix

Opinion of the CDDH

concerning Recommendation 1479 (2000) of the Parliamentary Assembly on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

1.       The Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH) stresses the importance of the work of the Parliamentary Assembly which led to Recommendation 1479 (2000), the subject of the present opinion. The CDDH wishes to point out that this Recommendation was drawn up at a time when it was still under discussion whether the text which was to become the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union should be adopted in the form of a legally binding text at the Nice Summit. The CDDH recalls that, since then, the Charter was proclaimed by the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the Commission (Nice, 7 December 2000) as a non-binding text. It should also be recalled that it was agreed in Nice that the question of the future status of the Charter will form part of a deeper and wider debate on the future development of the European Union, to be launched this year, as part of the preparations for the Intergovernmental Conference planned for 2004.

2.       The CDDH takes note that the Parliamentary Assembly concentrates on two issues: the accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights (paragraphs 3-5 and 7) and the social rights guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (paragraph 6).

3.       The Assembly first expresses its concern – which is shared by the Committee of Ministers – over a possible competition between two systems of human rights protection in Europe, which may lead to new dividing lines as well as a weakening of the system for the protection of human rights on our Continent (paragraphs 2-3). These ideas can also be found – in almost identical terms – in the Declaration adopted by the European Ministerial Conference on Human Rights in Rome on 3-4 November 2000.

Accession of the European Communities/European Union1

4.       The Assembly stresses that, confronted with such a risk, the accession of the European Union to the Convention is a solution which has, on several occasions, been supported, not only by the Assembly itself, but also by the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European Court of Human Rights, although the Committee of Ministers has not yet given an opinion (paragraph 3). In fact, the main aim of the present Recommendation is that the Committee of Ministers takes a stand in favour of accession, by taking the necessary steps without delay (paragraph 7).

5.       The CDDH agrees that, from a legal point of view, the accession of the European Communities/European Union to the Convention is certainly one of the best means to avoid any contradiction between the two systems and that there are other arguments which militate in favour of accession. It would add that this accession could be made possible from a legal point of view, while taking into due account the autonomy of the Community legal order and without substantially altering the mechanism for the protection of human rights set up by the Convention.

6.       The CDDH nevertheless notes that, besides accession, other means do exist. It notes that the Charter itself, in Article 52, paragraph 3, aims to avoid conflict by providing that “insofar as this Charter contains rights which correspond to rights guaranteed by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the meaning and scope of those rights shall be the same as those laid down by the said Convention”. The above-mentioned Declaration adopted by the Ministerial Conference which marked the 50th anniversary of the Convention, did not address the issue of accession as such, but referred in general terms to the need to find means to avoid a situation in which there are competing systems of human rights protection in Europe.

7.       The CDDH therefore feels that the question remains open as to the advisability of accession or other measures. It would add that the question of accession is not linked solely to the European Union Charter; there are also other considerations to be borne in mind quite independently from the Charter. As this question is of a political nature, it is in the first place for the member states of the European Union to decide whether they wish to apply to accede, and subsequently for the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to respond. However, a prior examination of the various technical and legal aspects of this question could provide information which would certainly be of interest to the political decision-makers.

Social rights

8.       The CDDH shares the Assembly’s view that the Committee of Ministers should support the principle whereby the social rights guaranteed by the Charter as adopted by the European Council must correspond to those in the Revised Social Charter (paragraph 6).

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9.       In conclusion, the CDDH believes that it would be useful to examine the technical and legal aspects concerning a possible accession of the European Communities / European Union to the Convention. It expresses its availability to carry out such an examination, should the Committee of Ministers so wish. It notes that the Ministers’ Deputies will soon consider this precise question.

1 Although the Assembly refers to accession by the European Union, it should be borne in mind that, at this stage and notwithstanding any future developments in the EU, only the European Communities enjoy legal personality and can conclude international agreements. The CDDH therefore prefers to refer to “European Communities/European Union” in this context.