New Council of Europe/EU cooperation agreement for the Western Balkans and Turkey

Back New Council of Europe/EU cooperation agreement for the Western Balkans and Turkey

The Secretary General of the 47-nation Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, and the European Union’s Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, today made the following statement:

“We are happy to announce that the European Commission and the Council of Europe are launching a joint initiative to assist partners in the Western Balkans and Turkey in addressing challenges in the areas of rule of law and human rights.

“The initiative will support reforms of the judiciary, fight against corruption and organised crime, protection of the rights of vulnerable groups and the promotion of anti-discrimination policies.

“These are all issues of fundamental significance for citizens, as well as key elements in securing the commitments of the Western Balkans and Turkey to European standards.”

The European Commission will provide €20 million and the Council of Europe €5 million to support the initiative for the period of three years.

The initiative will help the beneficiaries to work towards the above mentioned objectives by undertaking several activities such as:

strengthening the organisational and management capacity of penitentiary systems

improving the framework for political party funding and the organisational development of courts

helping authorities to appropriately deal with the recovery of criminal assets

reviewing legislation and strategies according to new international standards on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism

systemising the collection of information on intolerance and discrimination

setting up inter-ministerial working groups on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues

In addition, the initiative will provide Council of Europe expertise for legislative analysis and policy advice on request from the beneficiaries.

Contacts :

Council of Europe: Andrew Cutting, Spokesperson/Media Officer in Brussels, Tel. +32 485 217 202

European Commission: Maja Kocijancic, Spokesperson, Tel.+32 229-86570 and Alceo Smerilli, Press Officer, Tel +32 229-64887

Brussels 11/04/2016

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Albania became member of the Council of Europe on 13 July 1995. Following its accession, a Council of Europe presence headed by the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe was established in Albania, and succeeded, in June 2003, by the establishment of the Information Office of the Council of Europe. Since January 2011, a Council of Europe Office in Tirana is set up as a new institutional form of co-operation.

As representative of the Secretary General in Albania, the Office works to promote the Council of Europe values and standards pertaining to human rights, rule of law and democracy. It facilitates the effective co-operation between the various Council of Europe bodies located in its Headquarters in Strasbourg and the domestic and international partner institutions in Albania.

The work of the Council of Europe in Albania is dedicated to assisting the Albanian authorities to continue bringing the Albanian legislation, its institutional practices and policies fully in line with its obligations stemming from its Council of Europe membership.

European Court of Human Rights