At their Fourth Summit held in Reykjavík on 16-17 May 2023, Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe recognised that the European Union “is the main institutional partner of the Council of Europe in political, legal, and financial terms”. The “Reykjavík Declaration – United around our values” marked the prominence of the Council of Europe’s “strategic partnership” with the European Union and highlighted the importance of EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights and that of joint programmes. This very close partnership has been built up over more than two decades to support activities founded on common values and goals in order to advance human rights, democracy and rule of law in Europe and beyond.

The strategic approach to this partnership was strengthened by the signature of the “Statement of Intent for the co-operation between the Council of Europe and the European Commission in the EU enlargement region and the Eastern Partnership and Southern Mediterranean countries (EU Neighbourhood region)” in April 2014.

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The European Union and the Council of Europe collaborate through programmatic facilities, other structured frameworks and individual joint programmes implemented in South-East Europe and Türkiye, in Eastern Europe (Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova), countries of the South Caucasus, EU member States, the Southern Mediterranean and Central Asia, as well as in the thematic areas.

This framework of co-operation allows for increased co-ordination of actions and ensures more predictable and flexible long-term Council of Europe/European Union engagement.

The co-operation agreements are based on the Council of Europe “triangle” of standard-setting, monitoring and technical co-operation where applicable.

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EU-COE FRAMEWORKS
Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye

Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye

Total budget: €41 million (January 2023 – December 2026) for co-operation activities with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Türkiye. The programme is co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.

Films

Website

*All references to Kosovo, whether the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations' Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.

Partnership for Good Governance

Partnership for Good Governance

Total budget of €17.5 million (2019-2022) for co-operation activities with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus. The programme is co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.

Testimonies

Website

South Programme

South Programme

The programme "Protecting human rights, the rule of law and democracy through shared standards in the Southern Mediterranean" (South Programme V) has a total budget of € 5,556,000 (2022-2025) for co-operation activities in Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine** and Tunisia. The programme is co-funded by the European Union (90%) and the Council of Europe (10%) and implemented by the Council of Europe.

Brochure (upcoming)

Website 

Council of Europe Office Tunisia - PAII-T and AP-Just Programmes 

**This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of Council of Europe member States on this issue.

Central Asia Rule of Law Programme

Central Asia Rule of Law Programme

The "Central Asia Rule of Law Programme” (2020-2024*), with a total budget of €8.9 million, covers all five countries of the region – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – and is in line with the Council of Europe Policy for Neighbourhood Regions. The programme is co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.

Brochure (EN)

Brochure (RU)

Website 

*The Programme was extended until June 2024.

DG Reform

Co-operation between the European Commission's DG REFORM and the Council of Europe, structured through yearly framework agreements since 2019, provides joint support to EU member States to sustain their structural reforms in the fields of rule of law, human rights protection, and democratic governance.

More information 

 

Key Figures
  • €245.9 million: global (multiannual) financial volume of European Union/Council of Europe joint programmes active in 2023
  • Co-funded by the European Union at 85.5% (€210.2million ) and by the Council of Europe at 14.5% (€ 35.7 million)
  • 13 new joint programmes signed/negotiated  in 2023 for a total of € 53.1 million
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