General policy of the Council of Europe

Recommendation 521 (1968)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

Assembly debate on 6, 7 and 8 May 1968 (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Sittings) (see Doc. 2362, report of the Political Committee). Text adopted by the Assembly on 8 May 1968 (4th Sitting).

The Assembly,

1. Anxious that member governments should take a more active share in its endeavours to promote both political unification and fuller use of the Council of Europe especially also in East-West relations;

2. Whereas the movement towards liberalisation which is becoming noticeable in certain East European countries is such as to encourage this promising development;

3. Pointing out that the Council of Europe could act as a focal point for cooperatively-minded countries, whether Western or Eastern;

4. Stressing, in that context, the interest attached by European states not Members of the Council of Europe, to the Intergovernmental Work Programme;

5. Conscious that the movement towards liberalisation in Eastern Europe is largely the result of the development of an industrial civilisation in Eastern and Western Europe which raises - differences in the political and economic systems notwithstanding - similar problems, in particular as regards :

the school and university systems,

permanent education,

cultural advancement,

town planning and the improvement of living conditions;

6. Considering that the division of Europe can only be overcome if its peoples and, in particular, its young people can meet each other freely and unhindered;

7. Considering that the freedom of research and education and the unimpeded practice of any religious or philosophical creed not only represent the noblest European tradition but are also an essential condition of any truly democratic society;

8. Considering that freedom of information is likewise one of the fundamental rights and principles of democratic life,

9. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers :

a invite the governments of member states, in their bilateral contacts with East European countries, to promote possibilities of making fuller and more resolute use of the Council of Europe as an instrument of cooperation and as a forum between East and West Europeans, and to report to the Committee of Ministers which should inform the Assembly ultimately;

b to advocate an overall multilateral policy aimed at restoring the cultural unity of all Europe;

c to promote the holding of international seminars and meetings of scientists, artists and young people, not only from the member states but also from East European countries, and to encourage the exchange of books, reviews and newspapers.