The Council of Europe and the European Union: different roles, shared values

 


The Council of Europe and the European Union share the same fundamental values – human rights, democracy and the rule of law – but are separate entities which perform different, yet complementary, roles.

Focusing on those core values, the Council of Europe brings together governments from across Europe – and beyond – to agree minimum legal standards in a wide range of areas. It then monitors how well countries apply the standards that they have chosen to sign up to. It also provides technical assistance, often working together with the European Union, to help them do so.

The European Union refers to those same European values as a key element of its deeper political and economic integration processes. It often builds upon Council of Europe standards when drawing up legal instruments and agreements which apply to its 27 member states. Furthermore, the European Union regularly refers to Council of Europe standards and monitoring work in its dealings with neighbouring countries, many of which are Council of Europe member states.

The Lisbon Treaty increased the scope for European Union action in many areas where the Council of Europe already has significant experience and expertise. This has led to increased cooperation on issues such as fighting human trafficking, the sexual exploitation of children and violence against women. It has also opened the way for the European Union itself to sign up to the European Convention on Human Rights, and to other Council of Europe agreements.

Relations between the Council of Europe and the European Union are set out in the:

Atrás Celebrating 10 years of stronger Council of Europe/EU relations

Celebrating 10 years of stronger Council of Europe/EU relations

Secretary General Jagland and the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, are launching a series of initiatives to mark the 10th anniversary of the 2007 Memorandum of Understanding between the Council of Europe and the European Union.

In the presence of High Representative Mogherini, the Secretary General said: “Our organisations today work together like never before. Faced with rising nationalism and populism, I believe that developing  a positive vision for Europe's future is our shared mission.“

The launch event, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, includes a high-level panel discussion on achievements over the last decade and perspectives for future cooperation, as well as the opening of a photo exhibition showing highlights from the last ten years.

The Council of Europe and the European Union have worked together for decades but the Memorandum of Understanding further strengthened the relationship by clearly defining the purposes and principles of cooperation and setting out shared priorities in the areas of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

See also:
The European Union and the Council of Europe

Council of Europe Strasbourg 23 November 2016
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The Annual Receipts on EU contributions under Joint Programmes between the Council of Europe and the European Union in 2019, amounted to €206.1 million. Co-funded by EU at 85%, by CoE at 15%

29 new Joint Programmes negotiated in 2019 for a total of €111.7 million.

Global Action on Cybercrime (GLACY), video report on a joint project between the Council of Europe and the European Union