General policy of the Council of Europe
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 3 February 1993 (25th Sitting) (see Doc. 6744, report of the Political Affairs Committee, Rapporteur : Mr Szent-Iványi). Text adopted by the Assembly on 3 February 1993 (25th Sitting).
- Thesaurus
1. In
Recommendation 1193 (1992) on the future of European construction, the Assembly stressed the need to adapt the Council of Europe to the new situation created by the changes that have taken place in Europe.
2. A new policy should be defined to allow the Council of Europe to assume fully its pan-
European role, particularly since the opening of the Organisation to central and east European
countries is leading to the admission of a number of new members.
3. The Assembly endorses the position of the Committee of Ministers that states having applied
for Council of Europe membership should be gradually involved in the Organisation's
activities pending a decision on their request.
4. It considers that its own parliamentary co-operation programme forms an integral part of this
involvement.
5. It expresses its firm belief that, in the context of the new Europe, the Council of Europe's own
role as the guarantor of democracy should be reinforced.
6. The Assembly considers that it should not only examine the situation in states having applied
for membership, but that it has a duty regularly to monitor the human rights and democratic
and cultural development situation in all member states as well as in states whose legislative assemblies hold special guest status.
7. The Assembly reaffirms that the Council of Europe is the organisation best placed to develop
international legal instruments regarding the protection of minorities as well as on combating
racism and xenophobia and protecting social and economic rights in the new democracies.
8. The Assembly will continue to take a close interest in the proper establishment of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the CSCE to ensure that the work of both assemblies remains
complementary, and to avoid any unnecessary duplication.
9. The Assembly welcomes the readiness of the Committee of Ministers to establish a close cooperation
for the preparation of the summit of heads of state and government of member
states, to be held in Vienna on 8 and 9 October 1993.
10. It considers that this summit provides a singular opportunity to give the Organisation political
impetus, and to adapt its terms of reference to the challenges of the new Europe. This
adaptation should include institutional reforms to strengthen the democratic character of the
Organisation.
11. It also considers that this summit is a unique chance to strengthen human rights at European
level in two ways : firstly, through the adoption of a protocol on the rights of national
minorities to the European Convention on Human Rights ; and secondly, through an increase
in the effectiveness of the existing legal machinery for the protection of human rights,
including the setting up of transitional machinery for the protection of human rights in
European states which are not members of the Council of Europe.
12. The Assembly will endeavour to make specific proposals on the themes that will be on the
summit's agenda. It expects that its president will be given the opportunity to present these at
the summit itself.
