Budgets and priorities of the Council of Europe for the period 2024-2027
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 21 June 2023
(17th sitting) (see Doc.
15780, report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities
and Institutional Affairs, rapporteur: Ms Ingjerd Schou). Text adopted by the Assembly on
21 June 2023 (17th sitting).
1. The Parliamentary
Assembly’s Opinion “Budgets and priorities of the Council of Europe
for the period 2024-2027” has been prepared under unprecedented
circumstances. The war of aggression waged since 24 February 2022
by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, a Council of Europe member
State, is a violation of international law and a grave violation
of the Statute of the Council of Europe (ETS No. 1), in particular
of the principles enshrined in Article 3.
2. As a result of this war, the Russian Federation was expelled
from the Council of Europe on 16 March 2022, by a unanimous decision
of the Committee of Ministers acting under Article 8 of the Statute
and on the basis of the Assembly’s
Opinion 300 (2022) “Consequences of the Russian Federation’s aggression
against Ukraine”, which was unanimously adopted.
3. The 2024-2027 programming and budgeting process is thus taking
place in the context of political, legal and international transformations
unfolding in Europe and beyond. These transformations require a
re-examination and reassertion of the place and role of the Council
of Europe in today’s European and global multilateral architecture,
and a new focus for its political and budgetary priorities.
4. In this context, the Assembly welcomed the 4th Summit of Heads
of State and Government of the Council of Europe held in Reykjavik
on 16 and 17 May 2023. It expresses its appreciation for the political commitment
of Council of Europe member States, demonstrated by the participation,
at the highest level, of their political leaders in the summit and
the adoption of the Reykjavik Declaration.
5. The Assembly endorses the Reykjavik Declaration and its appendices,
which set the priorities and direction of the Council of Europe’s
work. It welcomes the recommitment by member States to the fundamental values
enshrined in the Council of Europe Statute: democracy, human rights
and the rule of law.
6. The Assembly reiterates the importance of the member States’
commitment to the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5)
and their respect for the authority of the European Court of Human
Rights (the Court), whose judgments they are bound to implement.
The implementation of the Court’s judgments must remain one of the
key priorities of the Council of Europe during the next quadrennial
programme and budget period. For its part, the Assembly will continue
to strengthen the parliamentary dimension of the implementation of
judgments, in particular through high-level political dialogue and
its regular thematic reports.
7. The Assembly stands together with the leaders of Council of
Europe member States, united in support for Ukraine and in ensuring
accountability for the crimes committed against a member State.
It welcomes the establishment of an Enlarged Partial Agreement on
the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation
against Ukraine (the Register) and calls on all member and observer
States, as well as any other States that are eligible according
to the Register’s Statute, to join as a participant or an associate member.
At the same time, the Assembly believes that efforts to ensure accountability
and prevent impunity should be pursued, including through the establishment
of an international ad hoc tribunal, as recommended in
Resolution 2482 (2023) “Legal and human rights aspects of the Russian Federation’s
aggression against Ukraine”.
8. Particular attention should be paid to addressing the situation
of the children of Ukraine, in line with the declaration adopted
at the 4th Summit, and to ensuring the release of civilians, in
particular children, forcibly transferred or unlawfully deported
to the territory of the Russian Federation or areas under its temporary occupation
or control, in accordance with Assembly
Resolution 2495 (2023) and
Recommendation 2253 (2023) “Deportations and forcible transfers of Ukrainian children
and other civilians to the Russian Federation or to temporarily
occupied Ukrainian territories: create conditions for their safe
return, stop these crimes and punish the perpetrators”.
9. Equally, the Assembly supports the Council of Europe’s commitment
to provide concrete, tangible and targeted support to Ukraine through
the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery
and Reconstruction” (2023-2026). For its part, it will continue
to support the Verkhovna Rada in fulfilling Ukraine’s statutory
obligations and will provide relevant expertise and peer-to-peer
exchanges for parliamentarians. It calls on the governments and
parliaments of member States to support these co-operation activities
by providing additional extrabudgetary resources.
10. The Assembly welcomes the commitment of member States to strengthening
democracy and good governance at all levels, as well as to counteracting
democratic backsliding. It will support member States in delivering
on the Reykjavik Principles for Democracy. The Assembly believes,
moreover, that among the political priorities for the next quadrennial
cycle efforts should be continued to provide early warning and rapid reaction,
and to provide relevant and targeted support to member States.
11. In its support for more active engagement with civil society
and democracy stakeholders, the Assembly emphasises the need to
further invest in working with human rights defenders, democratic
forces, independent civil society and free media from Belarus and
the Russian Federation, who are fighting for the values and principles
of the Organisation, including the territorial integrity of sovereign
member States. Similarly, the Assembly believes that strengthening
the youth perspective in Council of Europe activities should be
given every priority as a means to revitalise democracy and enhance
young people’s participation in democratic and political processes.
12. Addressing new and emerging human rights challenges must be
among the Organisation’s priorities during the 2024-2027 programme
and budget cycle. Special attention should be paid to initiatives
to uphold the right to a clean, safe, healthy and sustainable environment
as a human right, including through the strengthening of the relevant
legal framework. Equally, the Assembly supports the commitment made
at the summit to initiating the Reykjavik process and looks forward
to contributing to it. Legal and human rights aspects of the use
of artificial intelligence and emerging digital technologies should
remain high on the Organisation’s agenda, including the finalisation
of the Council of Europe’s framework convention on artificial intelligence.
13. The Assembly is at the disposal of the Committee of Ministers
to contribute to the vision that will underpin the establishment
of the intergovernmental committee on environment and human rights
(Reykjavik committee), which the Assembly recommends be established
as of 1 January 2024. With a view to contributing to the realisation
of the human right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
at national, European and international levels, the Assembly recommends
that the Reykjavik committee benefit from multidisciplinary and
multisectoral expertise, start with a stock-taking exercise of existing
instruments and mechanisms at European and international levels
to create synergies and avoid duplication of work, and serve as
a platform for the exchange of good practice at all levels.
14. Combating inequalities and discrimination, as well as upholding
gender equality, including combating violence against women and
promoting the ratification and implementation of the Council of
Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women
and Domestic Violence (CETS No. 210, “Istanbul Convention”), must
remain at the forefront of the Council of Europe agenda. Alongside
its work on this topic, the Assembly is committed to enhancing equality
between women and men in its own structures and working arrangements.
15. The Council of Europe should continue to act as the United
Nations’ regional pillar working towards the Sustainable Development
Goals, which should continue to be mainstreamed in all its activities.
The Assembly welcomes the commitment made at the summit to strengthen
the institutional partnership with the European Union and calls
for a speedy completion of the process of accession of the European
Union to the European Convention on Human Rights.
16. Given the depth and ambition of the priorities set by the
leaders of the member States at the 4th Summit, it is clear that
the Council of Europe should be granted resources that are commensurate
with the level of member States’ political ambition for the Organisation.
To effectively deliver on the decisions taken at the summit, the
Organisation’s resources should be increased over and above the
budgetary perspective of zero real growth. The sustainability of
the Council of Europe’s activities requires unwavering commitment
and investment by our member States in terms of financial contributions.
17. Therefore, the Assembly calls upon the member States to invest
sufficient additional resources in the Organisation to allow it
to deliver on the outcomes of the 4th Summit. It is convinced that
the need to match resources with ambition will remain at the forefront
of the discussions in the Committee of Ministers during the 2024-2027
budgetary process.
18. The Assembly welcomes all the work put in over recent years
to modernise and reform the working methods and governance of the
Council of Europe, led by the Committee of Ministers, the Secretary
General and the Deputy Secretary General, including the introduction
of the Results-Based Management Strategy and the implementation
of the People Strategy. It welcomes the approval by the Committee
of Ministers of the Capital Master Plan which, inter alia provides for the refurbishment
and modernisation of the Assembly Chamber in 2023 and 2024.
19. The Assembly recalls its own initiatives to modernise its
tools and working methods, including through the PACE-Apps application,
with a view to attaining the objective of paperless operation, thus
reducing the Assembly’s – and the Council of Europe’s – costs as
well as its carbon footprint in an overall effort to address environmental
challenges. Digital modernisation will therefore continue to be
high on the Assembly’s own list of priorities during the 2024-2027
programme and budget period, as will the management of its staff
and budgetary resources according to best practices, in line with
the reforms put in place in the whole Organisation.
