Establishment of a European Union mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights
Reply to Recommendation
| Doc. 15016
| 18 December 2019
- Author(s):
- Committee of Ministers
- Origin
- Adopted at the 1363rd meeting
of the Ministers’ Deputies (11 December 2019). 2020 - First part-session
- Reply to Recommendation
- : Recommendation 2151
(2019)
1 The Committee of
Ministers has taken note with interest of Parliamentary Assembly
Recommendation 2151 (2019) entitled “Establishment of a European Union mechanism
on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights”, which it
forwarded to the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission)
and to the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) for information
and possible comments.
2 The Committee of Ministers underlines, in general, the importance
of ensuring coherence and complementarity between the pan-European
Council of Europe and the European Union, as provided for in the 2007
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Council of Europe
and the European Union. This Memorandum of Understanding, which
continues to guide the co‑operation between the two organisations, also
provides that “the European Union regards the Council of Europe
as the Europe-wide reference source for human rights” and that “the
Council of Europe will remain the benchmark for human rights, the
rule of law and democracy in Europe”.
3 The Committee of Ministers recalls that the issue of co-operation
between the Council of Europe and the EU in the context of EU rule
of law initiatives has been regularly addressed in the annual reports
on co-operation between the Council of Europe and the EU submitted
to the annual Session of the Committee of Ministers. It allows the
Committee of Ministers to take stock, on a regular basis, of the
current state of various European Union rule of law initiatives
and assess them in the context of the MoU.
4 At its 129th Session held in Helsinki
on 17 May 2019, the Committee of Ministers took note with satisfaction
of the development in the co-operation between the Council of Europe
and the European Union and welcomed in particular the enhancement
of programmatic co‑operation on rule of law-related issues and the
shared commitment to effective multilateralism. The Committee of
Ministers also expressed its determination to further strengthen
co-operation between the Council of Europe and the European Union,
in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding, in order to
better protect and promote human rights, democracy and the rule
of law in Europe.
Note
5 As to developing further the institutionalised co-operation
between the two organisations
, the
Committee of Ministers recalls that, in practice, co-operation between
the Council of Europe and the European Union has developed through
political dialogue, legal co-operation and joint co-operation programmes.
As indicated in the report submitted to the Helsinki Ministerial
Session in May 2019,
Note as concerns developments in EU member States,
co-operation has increased in the context of rule of law initiatives
and assessments from the EU institutions, notably the European Commission’s
“Framework to strengthen the Rule of Law” and the annual rule of
law dialogue in the Council of the EU (General Affairs).
Note In
2018, such a dialogue was devoted to the topic “Trust in public
institutions and the rule of law” and the Council of Europe was
invited to take an active part in the preparatory discussions of
the dialogue. The Council of Europe has continued to provide a valuable input
in view of its well-established experience in this field, in particular
through the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, the
expertise provided by the Venice Commission,
Note GRECO, the European Commission
for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), MONEYVAL, the Consultative
Councils of European Judges (CCJE) and of European Prosecutors (CCPE),
as well as directly through co-operation projects. The report also notes
that “contacts between EU institutions and Council of Europe bodies,
in particular monitoring and advisory bodies, have intensified.
The latter, as well as the outcomes of their monitoring proceedings,
have also been regularly referred to by EU institutions, confirming
the benchmarking role of the Council of Europe and its unique expertise.
In addition, CEPEJ has continued to provide data on the functioning
of judicial systems in the 28 EU member States for the European
Commission’s annual “Justice Scoreboard”. This exemplary co-operation
is based on a multi‑year contract between the European Commission
and the Council of Europe (renewed in 2017 for a four-year period).
Such an arrangement avoids duplication, confirms CEPEJ’s status
as a common reference point for justice evaluation and increases
its visibility, as well as that of the Council of Europe.”
6 In this context, the Committee of Ministers recalls its decision
of 10 July 2019 to grant the EU observer status with the
GRECO and notes that the vast majority of EU member States
favours the EU’s full membership of GRECO. In addition, on 24 July
2019, the Council of Europe and the European Commission signed a contract
for using the Council of Europe’s undeniable expertise to assess
the concrete implementation and effective application of the 4th Anti-money
Laundering Directive in the EU member States.
Note The Committee of Ministers considers
that these two developments should further facilitate co‑operation
in the context of EU rule of law initiatives. It recalls that the
EU could also consider becoming a Party to the Council of Europe Convention
on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds
from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (CETS No. 198), signed
by the EU on 2 April 2009, to strengthen the coherence of common
action against money laundering and terrorist financing even more.
7 The Committee of Ministers underlines the need to ensure coherence
of the human rights protection system in Europe in the context of
EU rule of law initiatives and recalls that existing technical consultation mechanisms
offer an appropriate co-ordination framework to address this issue.
It has been, for example, on the agenda of the annual Senior Officials’
meetings, designed for planning and co-ordinating co‑operation at the
technical level. This annual meeting allows them to keep co‑operation
under review and make proposals for further action. Senior Officials
also act as focal points in this respect. In addition, the Council
of Europe Secretariat regularly meets the representative of the
EU Council Presidency through the chair of its competent Committee
(“CATS”).
Note Such meetings take place during each
EU Presidency, i.e. twice a year.
Note At these meetings, discussions towards
the harmonious development of standard-setting and policies on legal
issues and strategic topics, such as rule of law-related issues,
are taking place. Council of Europe/CATS consultation meeting reports
are examined by the Committee of Ministers’ Rapporteur Group on
External Relations (GR-EXT).
8 The Committee of Ministers notes that the communication of
the European Commission of 17 July 2019
Note makes prominent references to the
Council of Europe. In particular, the European Commission intends
to “strengthen co-operation” with the Council of Europe and “explore
further support to [the Council of Europe] in relation to EU priorities
on the rule of law”. There is also a will to “increase EU participation
in the Council of Europe bodies, making co-operation at service
level stronger and more systematic”. The communication acknowledges
that “the institutional and political responsibilities of both institutions”
has to be “full[y] respected”. The Communication also refers to
the EU obligation to accede to the European Convention on Human
Rights (ECHR).
9 The Committee of Ministers considers that implications of
the above-mentioned developments would be of a political, legal
and financial nature and will require further reflections and exchanges
in due time. The Committee of Ministers will meanwhile continue
to follow this question closely.
10 Recalling the benchmarking role of the Council of Europe in
the field of human rights, rule of law and democracy in Europe,
the Committee of Ministers welcomes the intention of the Secretary
General to deepen co-operation with the EU and to consider EU accession
to the ECHR as one of the highest priorities. In this respect, the
Committee of Ministers takes note of the letter from Mr Jean-Claude
Juncker, President of the European Commission, and Mr Frans Timmermans,
First Vice-President of the European Commission, addressed to the
Secretary General of the Council of Europe on 31 October 2019, informing
her about the readiness of the European Union to resume the negotiations
on its accession to the ECHR. EU accession to the ECHR would reinforce
our common values, improve the effectiveness of EU law and enhance
the coherence of fundamental rights’ protection in Europe.
11 The Committee of Ministers considers that the Council of Europe
Liaison Office in Brussels and the EU Delegation in Strasbourg have
significantly contributed to the developments of the partnership
at all levels and shall continue to play a key role in reinforcing
the dynamics of co-operation and its visibility.
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