External
relations of the Assembly
i.Guidelines
on external relations of the Parliamentary Assembly
I. General
goals pursued by external relations
1. The main objectives
pursued by the external relations of the Assembly are to:
— promote fundamental values which the Assembly considers to
be universal;
— make the work of the Assembly and its positions on key international
issues better known, understood and accepted;
— promote Council of Europe instruments and tools available,
or serving as inspiration, to external players;
— promote signature and ratification of Council of Europe conventions
open to non-member states;
— seek co-operation, synergies and complementarity with external
partners;
— strengthen parliamentarism, parliamentary institutions in
non-member states and parliamentary dimension in international organisations.
2. The Assembly’s
external relations pursue one more goal, which is specific and limited
in scope and has now nearly been achieved: accession to the Council
of Europe.
3. The Assembly should
only consider establishing relations with external partners when these
relations can serve to develop and promote the three core values
of the Council of Europe: human rights, democracy and the rule of
law.
II. Scope
4. External relations
of the Assembly comprise relations with:
— national parliaments
of non-member states;
— international
parliamentary organisations/assemblies;
— (inter-governmental)
international organisations.
5. The following
should not be considered as part of “institutional” external relations
as such:
— relations with national parliaments of Council of Europe member
states;
— relations with Council
of Europe bodies/entities (eg. Venice Commission, North-South Centre,
etc.);
— relations with international
non-governmental organisations.
III. Competencies
6. The President
of the Parliamentary Assembly, in the context of his/her relations
with non-member states, can take initiatives and give political
impetus to prepare the establishment of potential new relations
or the development of existing co-operation with external partners.
7. The Presidential
Committee,
as a consultative body, provides advice and guidelines to the President
of the Parliamentary Assembly and to the Bureau in matters of external
relations.
8. Rule 14
of
the Parliamentary Assembly’s Rules of Procedure states that the
Bureau “guides
the external relations of the Assembly”. According to the Special
Rules of 2 July 1970 contained in the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure,
the Bureau is also responsible for relations with the parliamentary
and inter-parliamentary Assemblies of non-member States.
9. The Bureau’s responsibility
is complemented by the work of the Committee on Political Affairs
and Democracy which,
in line with its terms of reference, shall inter alia:
— consider requests for membership of the Council of Europe;
requests for granting observer status with the Council of Europe
and with the Parliamentary Assembly; requests for special guest
status with the Parliamentary Assembly; requests for partner for
democracy status with the Parliamentary Assembly, and its evaluation
to review the progress achieved in fulfilling the undertakings made
by the parliaments concerned when they requested this status;
— consider the situation
in states which are not member states of the Council of Europe in
the light of the fundamental values upheld by the Council of Europe,
make proposals and, subject to the approval by the Bureau, take
political action to promote these values;
— prepare reports on the
activities of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(EBRD). For the preparation of the reports and the debates in the
Assembly, the committee maintains relations with the OECD and the
EBRD, and with parliaments of non-member States participating in
these debates.
10. According to Assembly Order
500 (1994) on Relations between the Council of Europe and the United
Nations, the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy draws
up a report on the political challenges facing the United Nations
and its necessary restructuring; establishes regular dialogue with
the Director General of the United Nations Office in Geneva and
holds a meeting of its relevant Sub-Committee in principle once
a year in New York on the occasion of the United Nations General
Assembly. The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights is to
establish regular contacts with the United Nations Commission on
Human Rights, the United Nations Centre for Human Rights and the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
11. In addition, the Committee
on Political Affairs and Democracy “may propose to the Bureau the
conclusion of co-operation agreements, or other ways of stepping
up co-operation, with parliaments of non-member states and international
interparliamentary institutions”.
12. Furthermore, the Committee
on Political Affairs and Democracy can set up sub-committees dealing
with one or several aspects of the Assembly’s external relations
(for instance, the Sub-Committee on External Relations, the Sub-Committee
on the Middle East and the Arab world).
13. Other Assembly committees,
as appropriate, can also have a role to play in external relations,
in line with their respective terms of reference.
14. The Secretary General of
the Parliamentary Assembly has
regular contacts with external institutions and other assemblies.
In the framework of these contacts, he/she seeks to reinforce co-operation
and to enhance co-ordination in areas falling within the field of
competencies of the Assembly as well as to make its work better
known, understood and accepted. The Secretary General of the Parliamentary
Assembly is a member of the Association of Secretaries General of
Parliaments (ASGP). He/she regularly participates in joint meetings
with the Secretary Generals of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
OSCE and of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly to ensure better co-ordination
and exchange of information on the work of the three Parliamentary Assemblies.
IV. Relations with national parliaments
of non-member states
15. The Assembly
has established three distinct categories of institutional relations
with national parliaments of non-member states: special guests,
partners for democracy (as established by Resolution 1680 (2009))
and observers (as established by Resolution 195 (1961)).
16. Relevant General
Rules are Rule 14
of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure
and the Special Rules governing relations between the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe and the parliamentary and inter-parliamentary
assemblies of non-member states.
17. Special guest
status:
— Aim of this status: to facilitate the process of accession
of the European countries which are not yet members of the Council
of Europe.
— Eligibility: the status is open to parliaments whose member
States have applied for membership to the Council of Europe.
— Relevant Rule: Rule 63
of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure.
— Procedure: upon formal request addressed by the President
of the parliament concerned to the President of the Assembly, the
Bureau of the Assembly may grant special guest status, after consultation
of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy.
18. Partner for democracy
status:
— Aim of this status: this status aims at developing co-operation
with parliaments of non-member states of neighbouring regions as
a means of consolidating democratic transformations and promoting
stability, good governance, respect for human rights and the rule
of law. This advanced co-operation status with the Assembly is accompanied
by a number of rights in the Assembly as well as by political commitments undertaken
by the Partners and followed-up by the Assembly.
— Eligibility: the national parliaments of all southern Mediterranean
and Middle Eastern countries participating in the Union for the
Mediterranean-Barcelona Process (including the Palestinian Legislative
Council) and of central Asian countries participating in the OSCE
(Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan)
are eligible to request partner for democracy status with the Assembly. This
geographical scope of eligibility has been defined by the Assembly
in Resolution 1680 (2009), however the Assembly also states that
“requests from parliaments of other States may also be considered
if the Bureau of the Assembly so decides.”
— Relevant Rule: Rule 65
of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure.
— Procedure: any formal request for partner for democracy status
shall be addressed to the President of the Parliamentary Assembly
by the President or Speaker of the parliament concerned. The decision
to grant, suspend or withdraw partner for democracy status shall
be taken by a resolution of the Assembly following a report by the
Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, with an opinion by
the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights and an opinion by
the Committee on Equality and Non-discrimination and, where appropriate,
an opinion by any other relevant Assembly committee. These committees,
in the fields within their specific terms of reference, review the
progress achieved in fulfilling the undertakings made by the parliaments
concerned when they requested this status.
19. Observer status:
— Aim of this status: the main objective is to bring to the
observers’ attention the Assembly’s work and to provide the Assembly
with information on action taken in national parliaments on issues
related to the Council of Europe.
— Eligibility: observer status with the Parliamentary Assembly
is meant for parliaments of non-European states which are considered
to be established democracies which are willing to contribute (including
financially) to democratic transformations in Europe.
— Relevant Rule: Rule 64
of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure.
— Procedure: the Assembly may, on the proposal of the Bureau,
grant observer status to national parliaments of non-member states
of the Council of Europe which meet the conditions set out in §1
of Statutory Resolution (93) 26 of the Committee of Ministers on
observer status. Any request for observer status shall be referred
to the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy for report and
to other relevant committees for opinion.
— Any new applications for observer status may only be considered
in light of Resolution 1600 (2008) on “The Council of Europe and
its observer states – the current situation and a way forward”.
20. Co-operation agreements
with parliaments from non-member states:
— Aim: exceptionally, the Assembly may, upon the proposal of
the Bureau, decide to enter into co-operation agreements with parliaments
from non-member states to establish a political dialogue with a
view to promoting, in the country concerned, the principles of parliamentary
democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights as well
as fundamental freedoms.
— Eligibility: such agreements should only be formalised if
they have a measurable added value for the work of the Assembly.
— Relevant Rules: Rule 14
of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure;
terms of reference of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy.
V. Relations
with parliamentary organisations/assemblies
21. With regard to co-operation
with international parliamentary organisations/assemblies:
— Aim: to develop parliamentary diplomacy and to promote the
parliamentary dimension of international organisations.
— Relevant Rules: Rule 14 of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure;
terms of reference of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy;
Rule 66 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly which states that
the arrangements for co-operation with the European Parliament are
decided by the Bureau.
— Eligibility: in the exercise of its competencies, the Bureau
should limit the conclusion of written co-operation agreements to
cases where such an agreement presents a measurable added value
for the work of the Assembly.
— The absence of a written co-operation agreement between the
Parliamentary Assembly and another parliamentary organisation/assembly
should not per se impede their potential co-operation, to be decided
by the Bureau.
VI. Relations
with international organisations
22. The Assembly establishes
relations with several international organisations who “are actively
involved in promoting their values through outside activities, especially
in areas bordering the territories of Council of Europe member states”
(Resolution 1506 (2006)).
— Aim: to reinforce co-ordination and to avoid duplications
of efforts with the Council of Europe’s main institutional partners,
in particular the European Union, the OSCE and the UN and its specialised
agencies, whose activities are often amongst the field of expertise
of the Council of Europe.
— Relevant Rules: Rule 66
of
the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure states that the Assembly may,
on the proposal of the Bureau, invite national or international
organisations to present reports or communications.
VII. The European
Conference of Presidents of Parliaments
23. The European Conference
of Presidents of Parliaments is organised under the auspices of the
Parliamentary Assembly. The Conference normally meets every two
years. The venue of its meetings alternates in principle between
Strasbourg and a capital of a Council of Europe member state.
24. The Conference is composed
of the Speakers and Presidents of parliaments of the member states
of the Council of Europe as well as of the Presidents of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. The
Speakers and Presidents of parliaments having special guests, observer
or partner for democracy status with the Parliamentary Assembly
are invited as observers. Other parliamentary assemblies may be
invited by the host country or Assembly to attend as observers.
The Parliamentary Assembly systematically invites Presidents of
international parliamentary bodies with whom the Assembly has signed
co-operation agreements to attend the Conference as observers.
— Relevant Rules: Rules of the Conference.
