Application by Canada for observer status with the Council of Europe
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- See Doc. 7543, report of the Political Affairs Committee, rapporteurs: Mr Cem and Lord Finsberg Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 29 May 1996.
- Thesaurus
1. The Government of Canada, on 1 February 1996, made a formal request for observer status with the Council of Europe under the terms of Statutory Resolution (93) 26.
2. On several occasions, leading members of the Canadian Parliament also expressed an interest in strengthening links with the Council of Europe.
3. On 3 April 1996, the Committee of Ministers decided to invite Canada to become an observer with the Council of Europe pending confirmation of the positive opinion of the Parliamentary Assembly.
4. Canada has close historical, cultural and political ties with Europe. In this century, it has contributed to the liberation and reconstruction of our continent, and to the preservation of peace and stability.
5. Canada has signed and ratified Council of Europe conventions. It enjoys observer status with several intergovernmental and expert committees.
6. A delegation of the Canadian Parliament already regularly takes part in the Assembly's enlarged debates on the activities of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
7. Dialogue with the Council of Europe has also been developed through the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE, ex-CSCE) and its Parliamentary Assembly.
8. The Assembly, therefore, is of the opinion that Canada meets the requirements for observer status as set forth in Statutory Resolution (93) 26. In due course it will consider the separate issue of appropriate status for the Canadian Parliament.
