The Standing Committee is the governing body of the Bern Convention. The Bureau of the Standing Committee takes administrative and organisational decisions in between meetings of the Standing Committee. The Secretariat of the Bern Convention is provided by the Council of Europe and supplies administrative and other services that may be required by the Standing Committee.

The Standing Committee is the governing body of the Bern Convention. It includes all Contracting Parties as well as observer states and organisations, both governmental and non-governmental, at the national and international level. It usually meets annually at the Council of Europe premises in Strasbourg. The Standing Committee adopts recommendations concerning measures that should be taken to achieve the Convention’s objectives and improve its effectiveness. It also monitors the implementation of the Convention and provides guidance on its further development.

• Rules of Procedure of the Standing Committee - T-PVS(2022)29

The Bureau of the Standing Committee takes administrative and organisational decisions in between meetings of the Standing Committee. It includes the Chair of the Standing Committee, the Vice-chair, the previous Chair, and two additional Bureau members, and is assisted by the Secretariat. The reports of Bureau meetings are made available to Parties and observers.

Composition of the Bureau

• Chair: Ms Merike LINNAMÄGI (Estonia)
• Vice-Chair: Mr Carl AMIRGULASHVILI (Georgia)
• Member: Mr Andreas SCHEI (Norway)
• Member: Mr Claude ORIGER (Luxembourg)
• Previous Chair: Ms Jana DURKOŠOVÁ (Slovakia)