Secretary General Jagland and European Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans met today in Brussels. They made the following statement:

“On the occasion of our meeting today, we have confirmed our shared commitment to the protection of fundamental rights and the rule of law in Europe.

The cooperation between the Council of Europe and the European Union is strong and has provided excellent results. We should further intensify this cooperation in a spirit of complementarity and mutual support.

We also confirm our conviction that the European Union should accede rapidly to the European Convention of Human Rights. We hope that the accession agreement negotiated in April 2013 can enter into force rapidly”.