Romania's ForMin Mihai Razvan Ungureanu (L) and his counterpart from Portugal, Freitas do AmaralStrasbourg, Nov 17 -- On the occasion of its 115th Session held in Strasbourg, under the chairmanship of Freitas do Amaral, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Portugal, the Committee of Ministers reviewed the implementation of all the decisions adopted Europe at the Warsaw Summit (16-17 May 2005). Romania today took over the chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers with a pledge to carry out the political declaration and action plan of the summit.
Wishing to give concrete effect to the political impetus of the Summit as rapidly as possible, the session focused on the following political priorities: strengthening the Council of Europe’s system of human rights protection, stepping up its action to promote democracy, building a more humane Europe, strengthening co-operation between the Council of Europe, the European Union, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the United Nations. At the end of the session, Romania took over the Committee of Ministers chairmanship from Portugal for the next six months.
Romania announces priorities for Council of Europe Committee of Ministers
ChairmanshipRomania today took over the chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers with a pledge to carry out the political declaration and action plan of the 2005 Warsaw Summit.
Committing itself to stepping up consultation and co-operation with all Council member countries, and to a pragmatic and transparent programme, Romania proposed a four-point programme on democracy, human rights, social inclusivity and European cooperation for its six month presidency.
Plans to strengthen democracy include the launch of a new Black Sea Euro-region in Spring 2006; a conference in Bucharest in April 2006 to close the European Year of Citizenship through Education; the first ever conference of European political schools in April 2006 and further work on the newly-formed Forum on the Future of Democracy, launched in Warsaw in November 2005.
Work on human rights will concentrate on strengthening the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights and improving its effectiveness, supporting the Group of Wise Persons which is looking into ways to improve the Convention control mechanisms, and promoting ratification of Protocol no 14 so that it can enter into force by May 2006. Romania will organise a seminar on the excessive length of judicial proceedings, along with a debate on magistrate recruitment at European level. Romania attaches a great importance to the protection of the rights of the persons belonging to national minorities organising several events on the matter, including an international conference on consultative bodies in enhancing the participation of persons belonging to national minorities in decision-making processes. The Romanian Presidency also plans to strengthen the role of the Human Rights Commissioner and to launch a major campaign against trafficking in human beings.
The third pillar – social inclusivity – will focus on intercultural dialogue and strengthened social cohesion. Events include a seminar on cultural and natural heritage in south east Europe, and support for the European Social Charter, for Roma rights and for the Council of Europe campaign against violence to children, with a conference on children’s rights scheduled for January 2006.
Co-operation, cohesion and synergy with the main European institutions is the fourth pillar of the Romanian chairmanship, with the negotiation of a memorandum of organisation with the European Union, close work with the British and Austrian EU Presidencies and tighter links with the OSCE and the UN.
Source: Council of Europe releases
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