Theme:Council of European Union and

The Council of Europe

Author:Calestru Cristina Bostan Cristina

Distinguish the EC from the CoE

Council of european union15 member states(14 pending)

Council of Europe45 member states

Brussels Strasbourg

C of EUMember States cede some of their sovereign rights to the

C of EU Thus, the C of EU is able to issue sovereign acts that have

the same force as laws in individual states.

CoEDecisions require unanimity, which means that every

country has a power of veto. The Council of Europe is therefore designed only with

international cooperation in mind.

The European flag represents both the Council of Europe and the European Union to strengthen the idea of solidarity between the different organizations for a united and

democratic Europe

.

The council of The council of european unioneuropean union

The Council of the European Union sometimes just called the Council and sometimes still referred to as the Council of

Ministers is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) as listed in the Treaty on European Union It is part of the

essentially  bicameral  EU legislature  the other legislative body being the  European Parliament and represents the executive

governments of the EU's member states

The  Presidency of the Council rotates every six months among the governments of EU member states, with the relevant ministers

of the respective country holding the Presidency at any given time ensuring the smooth running of the meetings and

setting the daily agendaThe Council first appeared in the  European Coal and Steel Community  (ECSC) as the "Special Council of

Ministers"

What does it do?1Passes EU laws.

2Coordinates the broad economic policies of EU member countries.

3Signs agreements between the EU and other countries.4Approves the annual EU budget

5Develops the EU's foreign and defence policies.6Coordinates cooperation between courts and police forces of

member countries.

The Council can be compared with similar institutions in federal states, such as the German Bundesrat, the Swiss Ständerat, or the

United States Senate

When the Council is meeting in Luxembourg, it meets in the Kirchberg Conference Centre  and its offices are based at the European Centre on the

plateau du Kirchberg.The Council has also met occasionally in Strasbourg, in various other cities, and also outside the Union: for example in 1974 when it

met in Tokyo and Washington while trade and energy talks were taking place. Under the Council's present rules of procedures the Council can, in

extraordinary circumstances, hold one of its meetings outside Brussels and Luxembourg.

Within the Council's debates, delegates may speak in any of the 24 official EU languages. Official documents are also translated

into Catalan/Valencian, Basque, and Galician Prior to the Lisbon Treaty, only minutes and voting records were made available when the Council is acting as a legislator (published in the Official Journal of the European Union). Since then all meetings where the Council is legislating are open to public viewing.

VotingDecisions in the Council of the EU are taken by qualified majority as a

general rule. The bigger a country’s population, the more votes it has, but in fact the numbers are weighted in favour of the less populous countries:

Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom: 29 votesSpain and Poland: 27

Romania: 14Netherlands: 13

Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary and Portugal: 12Austria, Bulgaria and Sweden: 10

Croatia, Denmark, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Finland: 7Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg and Slovenia: 4

Malta: 3TOTAL: 352

The Institutions of the EU

Council of the EU

15 Ministers

Tasks Include:

• Drawing up legislation

• Coordination of economic policy

• Budgetary control

• Appointments

• External relations

One representative of each Member State at ministerial level, with composition varying according to the subject discussed.

General Affairs Council

Economic and Financial Affairs

Transport Council Agriculture Council

Council of Europe

The Institutions of the EU

European Council

15 Heads of State and the President of the

Commission

• Function is to establish policy guidelines for European integration.

• Meet twice a year, accompanied by the Foreign Ministers and a Member of the Commission.

• Makes basic policy decisions and issues instructions and guidelines to the Council or the Representatives of the Member States meeting in the Council.

• Has directed work on economic and monetary union, the European Monetary System, direct elections to Parliament.

Creation of the Council of Europe1949 1950 1957 1959 1998

Treaty of London

Signature in Rome of the Council's Convention for

the Protection of Human Rights

and Fundamental Freedoms

- the first international legal

instrument safeguarding human rights.

Signature of the European Cultural

Convention, forming the

framework for the Council's work in

education, culture, youth and sport.

Established the Standing

Conference of Local and Regional

Authorities of Europe (now the

Congress of Local and Regional

Authorities of Europe)

to bring together local and

regional authority representatives.

Established the Council of Europe.

Signed by ten states:

Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland,

Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United

Kingdom.

Established the

European Court of Human Rights,

under the European

Convention on Human Rights,

to ensure observance of the obligations undertaken by

contracting states.

Single permanent European Court of Human Rights to be

established in Strasbourg under

Protocol No. 11 to the Council's European

Convention on Human Rights, replacing the

existing system.

Council of Europe Membership

Cyprus, L iechtenstein,

Malta, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland F inland, San Marino,

Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland,

Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands,

Norway, Sweden, United K ingdom

Austria, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Turkey,

States that are current members of the EU=

1949-Original 10

1961-78

1949-56

1988-89

1990-2003

Albania, Andorra, Armenia and

Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina,

Bulgaria, the Czech Republic , Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, L ithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russian

Federation and Croatia, Serbia and

Montenegro, Slovakia,Slovenia,

Ukraine

Council of EuropeThe Principles

The Council of Europe is an intergovernmental organisation which aims:

• to protect human rights, pluralist democracy and the rule of law;

• to promote awareness and encourage the development of Europe's cultural identity and diversity;

• to seek solutions to problems facing European society (discrimination against minorities, xenophobia, intolerance, environmental protection, human cloning, Aids, drugs, organised crime, etc.);

• to help consolidate democratic stability in Europe by backing political, legislative and constitutional reform.

The Institutions of the Council of Europe

Committee of Ministers

45 Ministers

Parliamentary Assembly

313 Members

European Court of Human Rights

43 Judges

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of

Europe

Convention for the Protection of Human

Rights and Fundamental

Freedoms

The Institutions of the Council of Europe

Committee of Ministers

45 Ministers

• Decision-making body comprised of ministers of the 45 member states.

• Decides on the action to be taken on recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe, and on the proposals from various intergovernmental

committees and conferences of specialized ministers.

The Institutions of the Council of Europe

Parliamentary Assembly

313 Members

• One of 2 main statutory organs.

• 313 members elected or appointed by national parliaments.

• Each country has between 2 and 18 members, depending on size of population.

• The Assembly has 5 political groups: Socialist Group (SOC), Group of the European People’s Party (EPP/CD), European Democratic Group (EDG), liberal, Democratic and Reformer’s Group (LDR), and Group of the Unified European Left (UEL).

• Some members of the Assembly choose not to belong to any political group.

Compare the Parliamentary Assembly, which is comprised of representatives elected or appointed by national parliaments of all the Council of Europe’s Member States, with the EU’s European Parliament, comprised of the

directly elected representatives of the 15 member countries of the EU.

The Institutions of the Council of Europe

European Court of Human Rights

43 Judges

• Based in Strasbourg, this is the only truly judicial organ established by the European Convention on Human Rights.

• It is composed of 43 judges* and ensures, in the last instance, that contracting states observe their obligations under the Convention.

• Since November 1998, the Court has operated on a full-time basis.

Compare with:

Court of Justice of the European Communities:Meets in Luxembourg and ensures compliance with the law in the interpretation and

application of the European Treaties of the European Union.

International Court of Justice :Judicial body of the United Nations which meets in The Hague.

Policy Tools of the Council of Europe

Binding Authority?

European treaties or Conventions • Charters• Codes• Framework convention• Outline convention

Binding agreements on states that ratify them; requiring ratification or acceptance.

Agreements May be signed with or without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval.

Judgments of the Court Binding for the parties involved.

Recommendations Non-binding missives to governments; set out policy guidelines on such issues as legal matters, health, education, culture and sport.

Declarations and Resolutions Non-binding missive on current political issues.

Policy Process of the Council of Europe

• European Conventions and Agreements are prepared and negotiated within the institutional framework of the Council of Europe.

• Negotiation culminates in a decision of the Committee of Ministers Monitoring systems have been set up for the main treaties.

• It is then agreed to open the treaty for signature by member States of the Council.

• European Conventions and Agreements, however, are not statutory acts of the Organisation; they owe their legal existence simply to the expression of the will of those States that may become Parties thereto, as manifested inter alia by the signature and ratification of the treaty.

The Treaty on the European Communities recommends that the European Community establish all appropriate forms of co-operation with the Council of Europe and more specifically that co-operation with the Council of Europe should be fostered in the fields of education and culture.

To further these aims, there are:

• “Quadripartite” meetings at which the leaders of the two institutions meet• Joint Council of Europe/European Commission technical assistance programmes.

The “Joint Declaration on Co-operation and Partnership between the Council of Europe and the European Commission” (2001), aimed at giving fresh impetus to efforts to strengthen co-operation between the Council of Europe and the European Community.

Collaboration between the EU and the Council of Europe

One example of cooperation between the two is:

The European Commission adaptation of a draft decision to sign Convention 180 of the Council of Europe on behalf of the EU. Convention 180 establishes an international mechanism for the prior notification of national rules on online services, based on the EU system of legislative transparency in this area.