Council of Europe (CE)
The Council of Europe was founded in 1949 with the aim of working for democracy, respect for human rights and functioning legal systems in the member states. The overall goal of the Council of Europe is to safeguard peace and security in Europe. Its current issues include concentrating the organization’s activities on the core areas, supporting the continued development of Eastern and Central Europe and the Southern Caucasus, reducing the European Court’s excessive workload, dealing with insufficient funding from Member States and relations with the EU.
Introduction
Short for CE on abbreviationfinder, the Council of Europe is a co-operative organization founded in 1949 and today has 47 members. The organization works for democracy, human rights and functioning legal systems in the member states. A key tool is the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights. Violations of the Convention can be reported to the European Court of Justice, whose decisions all Member States have undertaken to comply with. In other respects, the Council of Europe, unlike the EU, does not have the right to decide, but draws up agreements that members are free to choose to follow.
The Council of Europe’s mission is to raise awareness of Europe’s cultural diversity, find common solutions to societal problems and strengthen democratic stability by supporting political and legal reforms. The work within the Council of Europe must take place on the basis of a common European set of values. The overall goal is to safeguard peace and security in Europe.
The basis for the work is the European Convention from 1950. It is based on the UN Declaration of Human Rights (1948).
The Council of Europe (CE) is essentially an intergovernmental organization. This means that the Council makes recommendations to the governments of the member states, but that they retain the right to make their own decisions. The exception is the supranational control mechanism that exists through the European Court of Justice. Individuals as well as groups of individuals and states can turn to it with complaints about violations of the European Convention committed in any member state. Supranationalism means that the member states have committed themselves to complying with the rulings. The court does this alone in its kind in international law (international law).
The Council of Europe (CE) was formed a few years after the end of World War II. Like other European organizations founded at the same time, the Council was characterized by the idea that cooperation between the states of Europe would prevent new wars, similar to what had just destroyed large parts of the continent.
The Council is often confused with the EU and its bodies. The objectives of the Council of Europe and the EU overlap to some extent. Both work with social issues and want to jointly safeguard freedoms and rights as well as cultural diversity. But the EU is more supranational, and works to a much greater extent on economic and security policy issues. The Council of Europe is primarily a forum for cooperation between governments and parliaments, with a focus on democracy and human rights.
In addition, unlike the EU, the Council of Europe covers almost the whole of Europe. Since 2007, the Council of Europe has 47 member states, with a total population of around 800 million. The number of member states had then more than doubled in 20 years, mainly through the accession of former communist states in Eastern and Central Europe. Enlargement put great economic and administrative strain on the Council, which in part took on a new role through this development: to assist the former communist states in the transition to democracy.
Cultural and social cooperation also plays an important role in the Council of Europe. Mass media, the environment and local and regional issues are other areas of cooperation.
The Council draws up special conventions and other agreements to ensure that legislation is similar in the Member States.
English and French are the official languages of the Council. German, Italian and Russian are counted as working languages.
The Council of Europe is based in the French city of Strasbourg.
The structure
The Council of Europe (CE) consists of several central bodies with different functions. Decisions are ultimately made by the Committee of Ministers, which consists of the foreign ministers of the Member States or their deputies. The Secretary General leads the day-to-day work and is an outward face. The European Court of Justice is otherwise independent of the Council.
The Council of Europe (CE) consists of several central bodies with different functions. Decisions are ultimately made by the Committee of Ministers, which consists of the foreign ministers of the Member States or their deputies. The Secretary General leads the day-to-day work and is an outward face. The European Court of Justice is otherwise independent of the Council.
The Parliamentary Assembly has an advisory role and does much of the preparatory work for the Committee of Ministers’ decision-making. The Municipal Congress is a forum for local and regional authorities. The international NGO conference brings together so-called voluntary organizations and provides an important link to civil society.
The European Court of Justice is investigating complaints against countries that are considered to have violated the Council of Europe Convention on Human Rights. The Commissioner for Human Rights is also an independent body working to promote human rights in the Member States. The Secretary-General heads the secretariat, which mainly handles the administrative work within the Council of Europe
