Council of Europe

The Council of Europe (CoE) is an international organisation founded in 1949 with the stated aim of upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Headquartered in Strasbourg, France, it comprises 46 member states, including all 27 members of the European Union, and covers a population of approximately 700 million people. The Council of Europe is distinct from the European Union and cannot make binding laws, but it has the power to enforce select international agreements through its most prominent body, the European Court of Human Rights.

History

The Council of Europe was created in the aftermath of the Second World War, driven by a desire to foster reconciliation and prevent future conflicts on the continent. The founding document, the Treaty of London (also known as the Statute of the Council of Europe), was signed on 5 May 1949 by ten states: Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The organisation held its first session in September 1949. Over the following decades, it expanded significantly, especially after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, welcoming Central and Eastern European countries as part of a broader democratic transition. The Russian Federation joined in 1996 but was suspended from its rights of representation in 2014 following the annexation of Crimea and was eventually expelled on 16 March 2022, following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This was the first time a member state had been expelled from the organisation. Belarus remains outside the Council of Europe, its application for membership stalled due to lack of democratic progress.

Aims and Mission

The core mandate of the Council of Europe is to defend human rights, parliamentary democracy, and the rule of law. Beyond these fundamental pillars, the organisation works to promote awareness of European cultural identity and diversity, and to seek common solutions to challenges facing European society, including discrimination against minorities, xenophobia, human trafficking, cybercrime, and bioethical issues. Its work is built on the premise that democratic stability requires constant maintenance and that the rights and dignity of the individual are the bedrock of a just society. The organisation does not deal with defence matters, which are left to NATO, or with economic integration, which is the domain of the EU.

Institutions

The Council of Europe comprises several key bodies, each playing a distinct role in its governance and operations.

Committee of Ministers

The Committee of Ministers is the organisation’s statutory decision-making body. It comprises the foreign ministers of all member states, or their permanent diplomatic representatives in Strasbourg. It is responsible for deciding on the CoE’s policy, budget, and admission of new members, and monitors the execution of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.

Parliamentary Assembly

The Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) is the deliberative body of the Council of Europe. Its members are not directly elected but are appointed by the national parliaments of each member state, mirroring the country’s political spectrum. The Assembly elects the Secretary General, the Human Rights Commissioner, and the judges of the European Court of Human Rights. It debates issues of current concern and makes recommendations to the Committee of Ministers. It also conducts election observation missions.

European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is the most visible and powerful institution of the Council of Europe. Established in 1959 under the European Convention on Human Rights, it rules on individual or state applications alleging violations of the civil and political rights set out in the Convention. Its judgments are binding on the countries concerned and have led to sweeping legal and policy changes across the continent. The Court sits permanently in Strasbourg.

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities

The Congress is a political assembly composed of representatives from over 130,000 local and regional authorities across the member states. It is responsible for strengthening local and regional democracy and monitoring the application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government.

Commissioner for Human Rights

The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent, non-judicial institution that promotes human rights awareness, identifies possible shortcomings in law and practice, and provides advice and recommendations to member states. The Commissioner conducts country visits and thematic reports.

Secretariat and Secretary General

The Secretariat, led by the Secretary General elected by the Parliamentary Assembly for a five-year term, provides administrative and executive support to all the organisation’s bodies. The Secretary General also has a problem-solving role, notably through political visits and quiet diplomacy.

Other Bodies

Other significant bodies include the European Commission for Democracy through Law, better known as the Venice Commission, which provides legal advice on constitutional engineering and democratic institutions; the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), which monitors anti-corruption compliance; and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), which inspects places of detention.

Key Achievements and Conventions

The Council of Europe’s primary normative instrument is the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which came into force in 1953. Its ratification and the acceptance of the compulsory jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights are prerequisites for membership. Beyond the ECHR, the CoE has drafted over 200 international treaties, including the European Social Charter (social and economic rights), the Convention for the Prevention of Torture, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, and the Convention on Cybercrime (the Budapest Convention), which is the only binding international treaty on the subject and has been ratified by many non-European states. The organisation has also played a pioneering role in the recognition of cultural and linguistic diversity, with instruments such as the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

Members and Observers

The Council of Europe has 46 member states, spanning from Iceland to Azerbaijan, including all European states except Belarus, Russia, and Kosovo, as well as the microstates of Vatican City (which has observer status). The Holy See holds observer status with the Committee of Ministers. Other observer states include Canada, Japan, Mexico, and the United States, which participate in select activities and have acceded to certain conventions like the Budapest Convention. Observer status allows these non-European states to follow the organisation’s work and potentially join specific legal instruments.

Relationship with the European Union

The Council of Europe and the European Union are distinct entities, though they share common symbols: the blue European flag with twelve stars and the anthem "Ode to Joy" were originally adopted by the Council of Europe in 1955 and 1972 respectively, and were later adopted by the European Communities. The two organisations maintain a close strategic partnership based on the pooling of standards and funding instruments, with the EU being the CoE’s most important institutional partner. While the EU is set to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights—a legal obligation under the Lisbon Treaty—formal accession has not yet been completed. Bringing the EU under the jurisdiction of the ECtHR would mean that EU legal acts could be directly challenged in the Strasbourg Court.

Headquarters

The organisation's headquarters are located in the "European Quarter" in Strasbourg, France, near the seat of the European Parliament. The main buildings include the Palace of Europe, the Agora Building (which houses the European Court of Human Rights), and the recently constructed general office building. The architectural ensemble stands as a symbol of the city’s status as a capital of European diplomacy and human rights.