Accession of the European Union
to the European Convention on Human Rights

Presentation

Formal and informal talks and reflection on the ways to achieve the accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights have taken place within both organisations since the late 1970s.

This issue was brought to the forefront once again in the light of the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights. In 2001, the Working Group on the Legal and Technical Issues of a Possible EU Accession to the European Convention on Human Rights (GT-DH-EU) was instructed to carry out a study of the legal and technical issues that would have to be addressed by the Council of Europe in the event of possible accession by the European Union to the ECHR, as well as of the other means to avoid any contradiction between the legal system of the European Union and the system of the Convention.

After the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and of Protocol 14 to the ECHR, this is no longer merely a wish: it is a legal obligation. However, some adjustments to the Convention system are inevitable in order to welcome as the 48th High Contracting Party a non-state entity with a specific and complex legal system. The EU accession to the Convention is one of the highest priorities of the Organisation for the immediate future.

The accession of the EU to the Convention is as a historical step for several reasons:

As a result of acceding to the ECHR the Union will be integrated into its fundamental rights protection system. In addition to the internal protection of these rights by the internal law of the Union and the Court of Justice, which is strengthened by the incorporation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights into its primary law, the Union will be bound to respect the ECHR and placed under the external control of the European Court of Human Rights .

This will close a gap in human rights protection and enhance consistency between the Strasbourg and the Luxembourg human rights systems. Accession to the ECHR will afford citizens protection against the action of the Union similar to that which they already enjoy against action by all the Member States, thereby improving judicial protection of fundamental rights in Europe for the individuals.

The accession will also enhance the credibility of the Union in the eyes of third countries which it regularly calls upon in its bilateral relations to respect the ECHR.

To this aim, on 4 June 2010, the EU Justice Ministers gave the European Commission the mandate to conduct the negotiations on their behalf. On 26 May 2010, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe gave an ad-hoc mandate to its Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH) to elaborate with the EU the necessary legal instrument for the EU’s accession to the ECHR. An informal working group, composed of 14 experts from the member States of the Council of Europe (7 from EU member States and 7 from non-EU member States) has been entrusted to discuss and elaborate, together with the European Commission, the legal instruments for the accession. Among the questions discussed there is the scope of the accession (including questions related to the accession to the various protocols, to admissible reservations etc.), the technical adaptations needed to the ECHR text, the participation of the EU in CoE bodies involved in the ECHR system (including its financial participation to the system), and the possible further adaptations of the ECHR system to the specificities of the EU system.

Between July 2010 and June 2011, that informal working group held in total eight meetings with the European Commission during which a draft accession agreement, together with its explanatory report, was elaborated. At an extraordinary meeting (12-14 October 2011), the CDDH will consider the results of the informal working group. The CDDH is then expected to submit the draft accession agreement to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

Link to CDDH-UE documents

Link to CDDH-UE meetings reports