As the Council of Europe is celebrating its 70th anniversary, over 30 Foreign Affairs Ministers from the 47 member states reaffirmed the importance of the Organisation as a unique platform for dialogue and co-operation.
Meeting in Helsinki for their annual session, the Ministers declared that:
- all member states should be entitled to participate on an equal basis in the Committee of Ministers and in the Parliamentary Assembly, the two statutory organs of the Council of Europe;
- one of the fundamental obligations of member states is to pay their obligatory contributions to the ordinary budget;
- they would welcome that delegations of all member states be able to take part in the next June partsession of the Parliamentary Assembly, considering the importance of the elections of the Secretary General and of judges to the European Court of Human Rights.
While dialogue between the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly has increased, the Ministers underlined the need for co-ordinated action, in order to strengthen the Organisation’s ability to react more effectively in situations where a member state violates its statutory obligations or does not respect the standards, fundamental principles and values upheld by the Council of Europe.
Press conference with Mr. Soini FI, Mr. Jagland CoE and Ms. de Montchalin FR @coe Ministerial meeting in #Helsinki https://t.co/Fk161fFRtE
— Ulkoministeriö (@Ulkoministerio) 17 mai 2019
- Read full press release: Council of Europe Foreign Affairs Ministers recall rights and duties of member states, define priority areas for future action
- Decisions
- Declaration on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Council of Europe
- The President of the Congress addresses the Foreign Ministers of the Council of Europe: “We need to imagine a new ‘socio-territorial pact’ for our territories”
- Website dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Council of Europe
