Future of European co-operation (General Policy of the Council of Europe)

Recommendation 994 (1984)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

Assembly debate on 2 and 3 October 1984 (18th, 19th and 20th Sittings) (see Doc. 5268, report of the Political Affairs Committee). Text adopted by the Assembly on 3 October 1984 (20th Sitting).

Thesaurus

The Assembly,

1. Recalling its past positions concerning the role of the Council of Europe and the future of European co-operation, and especially its Order No. 414 (1982) and its appended "guidelines", and its Resolution 805 (1983), on European co-operation in the 1980s ;

2. Reaffirming its determination to use its resources to the full in helping revitalise democratic Europe, a process in which it recognises the role played by the European Community ;

3. Determined likewise to play its own part in "unremitting efforts to achieve greater complementarity, reciprocity, coherence and effectiveness required in the interests of democratic Europe as a whole" (Resolution 805), in particular by seeking closer contact with the directly-elected European Parliament at the levels of Presidents, Bureaux, political groups, committee chairmen and rapporteurs, and secretariats ;

4. Welcoming the decisions reached at the European Council at Fontainebleau (25-26 June 1984), including those to set up ad hoc committees on the key fields of a "people's Europe" and "institutional affairs", the latter having the task of making suggestions for improving European co-operation both in the Community field and in other areas ;

5. Welcoming also the reaffirmation at Fontainebleau of the 1 January 1986 target date for the accession of Portugal and Spain to the European Communities ;

6. Expressing, however, its concern that a growing gap might develop between the Community of ten (or twelve) members and the other European democracies, which are also pledged under the terms of the Council of Europe Statute to the pursuit of greater European unity, and noting the outstanding contribution and as yet unfulfilled potential of these countries, for example in the context of Western Europe's dialogue with Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, and in the discussion of the development of democratic institutions ;

7. Welcoming the fact that the Committee of Ministers is discussing at regular intervals political questions affecting European East-West relations and North-South questions ;

8. Welcoming the spirit of dialogue shown by the Committee of Ministers, reflected most recently in exchanges of views between its Chairman-in-Office and the Political Affairs Committee in Paris on 13 September 1984, and in the Standing Committee in Oslo on 28 June 1984, with the Chairman of the Ministers' Deputies and the Chairman and Spokesman of the working parties, respectively on the improvement of working methods and on the role of the Council of Europe in the process of European integration, which were given added value by the fact that the working parties' reports, under preparation for the 75th Session of the Committee of Ministers (Strasbourg, 22 November 1984), had not yet found their final form,

9. Calls upon all governments of member states and the Committee of Ministers to explore the possibility of participation by Eastern European countries in the intergovernmental activities of the Council of Europe, such as culture, education and environment ;

10. Recognising that the ad hoc committees whose creation was decided at Fontainebleau consist of the representatives of heads of state and government of the Ten, but expressing the conviction that they will not wish to ignore the dimension of the wider Europe of twenty-one democracies to which all their countries belong,

11. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers, on the occasion of its 75th Session, take the following aspects into consideration, for the purpose of all further action it may decide :

a On complementarity with the European Community

11.1.1 Any blueprint for a "People's Europe" should take as a point of departure the need for broader European co-operation covering all European democracies and take into account the work of the (Council of Europe since its creation in 1949 ;

11.1.2 Welcome though they are, recent reaffirmations of complementarity and of lack of any intent to encroach where work programmes of different European institutions are concerned must be backed up in good time, that is at the planning stage, by continuous efforts to synchronise activities ;

11.1.3 Pending the desirable creation of pragmatic (rather than formal, institutionalised) liaison mechanisms to this end, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe must be encouraged and vested with all the necessary authority to negotiate in Brussels with a view to achieving genuinely complementary work programmes ;

11.1.4 The creation of new symbols of European identity such as a flag and an anthem, alongside those decided in 1955 and 1972 respectively by the member states of the Council of Europe, whether members of the Community or not, would seriously risk adding to the existing confusion of Europe's citizens ; the Committee of Ministers should therefore confirm that the Council of Europe flag and anthem are available for use by the Communities ;

11.1.5 The Committee of Ministers should approach the relevant Community authorities to ensure that suitable arrangements are made for liaison between the committees mentioned in paragraph 4 above and the Council of Europe- its Committee of Ministers and its Parliamentary Assembly ;

b On institutional developments

11.2.1 While the Council of Europe, with its flexible structures, plainly has an essential role to play in a "multi-speed, variable geometry" Europe, new institutional arrangements should not risk jeopardising or diluting the unique character of the European Community, which must continue to offer a prospect of the true solidarity which the term "Community" implies, also for the applicant countries, Spain and Portugal ;

11.2.2 In view of the terms of the Fontainebleau mandate to an ad hoc committee to make suggestions to improve European co-operation, appropriate links should be established with the Commission of Eminent Statesmen (with the membership and mandate indicated in the appendix to this recommendation) which will be set up in pursuance of Resolution 805 (1983) where wider European co-operation is concerned ; the Assembly intends to pursue its reflections on the future of European integration, since the Council of Europe cannot limit itself in this matter to the role of spectator ;

11.2.3 If the Council of Europe's intergovernmental organ is to realise its full potential for solving problems affecting its own member states, the Committee of Ministers should review the "unanimity rule", as it affects its own decision-making in certain important fields ;

11.2.4 Especially if Western European Union takes on important new functions following the ministerial meeting in Rome at the end of October 1984, the Committee of Ministers should consider the situation created by the statutory texts, with a view to ensuring greater effectiveness for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in concertation with the authorities of WEU ;

12. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers agree to exchange views with the Assembly on the implementation of these proposals, more especially paragraph ll.B.ii above, during the Colloquy scheduled for 21 November 1984.

Appendix Commission of Eminent Statesmen-Membership and mandate

1. Pursuant to Assembly Resolution 805 (1983) on European co-operation in the 1980s (General policy of the Council of Europe), a commission of eminent statesmen will be established to work out future perspectives for European co-operation beyond the present decade.

2. The commission, which will comprise members from Community and non-Community countries serving in an individual capacity, is expected to contribute to the current debate and thinking about the future of European co-operation.

3. Following extensive consultations among members of the Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly, and with due regard to the criteria mentioned in Resolution 805, the membership of the commission will be as follows :

Mr Emilio Colombo (Italy), Chairman, former Foreign Minister (Christian Democrat) ;

Mr Jose-Maria de Areilza (Spain), former Minister for Foreign Affairs, former President of the Parliamentary Assembly (Independent Liberal) ;

Mr Pieter Dankert (Netherlands), former President of the European Parliament, former member of the Parliamentary Assembly (Socialist) ;

Mr Maurice Faure (France), former Minister, former member of the European Parliament (Socialist list), Movement of the Radical Left ;

Mr Knut Frydenlund (Norway), former Foreign Minister, member of the Parliamentary Assembly (Socialist) ;

Mr Kai Uwe von Hassel (Federal Republic of Germany), former Minister, former President of the Bundestag and of the Assembly of WEU (Christian Democrat) ;

Mr Alois Mock (Austria), Chairman of the International Democratic Union (Christian Democrat) ;

Mr Geoffrey Rippon (United Kingdom), former Minister for European Affairs (Conservative).

4. The members of the Commission of Eminent Statesmen will serve in their individual capacities, independent of national duties, interests or international affiliations. Their task will be :

to present views and proposals conducive to strengthening the co-operation between all the democratic states of Europe in order to avoid a widening gap between them ;

to present bold and realistic suggestions, encompassing major areas of the lives of European nationals, that might contribute towards the creation of a fully united Europe. The commission should also look into the adequacy of existing European institutions with a view to the realities and requirements of the Europe of tomorrow. The commission should present long-term proposals as well as proposals which lend themselves to immediate follow-up and implementation at a practical level, for the benefit of the European citizen. In their work, the members of the commission should keep in mind the broader perspective of Europe encompassing more than the Western European democracies. Their primary task should however be to strengthen the unity of the pluralistic democracies of Europe and to counter tendencies away from such unity.

5. The commission will prepare its own work programme and decide on its methods of work. Necessary secretariat assistance will be provided by the Secretariat General of the Council of Europe. The respective national parliaments could be invited to assume the expenses incurred by each of the eminent statesmen in connection with their work on the commission.

6. The commission will also decide how and when to submit reports and recommendations, while taking into account, inter alia, the work programme of the ad hoc Committees on a People's Europe and on Institutional Affairs set up by the European Council at the Fontainebleau summit in June 1984. The commission will liaise closely with these ad hoc committees as well as with the Political Affairs Committee of the Assembly of the Council of Europe through its General Rapporteur, who should be prepared to draw up an interim report for the 1985 autumn part-session at the latest.

7. The commission will be formally established by consensus at the Enlarged Joint Committee (Colloquy) at its meeting in November 1984 with a view to starting work in January 1985 at the latest.