27/11/2007 President
Strasbourg, 27.11.2007 - Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President René van der Linden and European Parliament (EP) President Hans-Gert Pöttering will sign in Brussels on 28 November a cooperation agreement aimed at stepping up co-operation between the two bodies, fostering complementary initiatives and increasing synergies.
The agreement is a concrete follow-up to the report “Council of Europe – European Union: a sole ambition for the European continent”,prepared by Jean-Claude Juncker, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, and presented to the PACE in April 2006. The report makes a series of proposals for strengthening the partnership between the two European organisations – including a proposal that the EU could become a member of the Council of Europe by 2010. The cooperation agreement mirrors a similar agreement initialled in May this year for the intergovernmental branch of the Council of Europe.
Among specific items in the Agreement are regular meetings between the Presidents of the bodies and enhanced cooperation between respective committees as well as in election observation in the framework of international observation missions.
Contact: PACE Communication Unit, tél: + 33(0)3 88 41 31 93.