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Resolution 1880 (2012) Final version
Follow-up by the Committee of Ministers to the work of the Parliamentary Assembly
1. Under Article 1 of the Statute
of the Council of Europe, the Organisation performs its work through
two organs: the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly.
These two institutions have a joint responsibility with regard to
the Organisation and their interaction is essential to ensure that
it operates effectively and harmoniously.
2. The Assembly welcomes the improvement in inter-institutional
dialogue marked by the agreement on “Enhanced dialogue between the
Parliamentary Assembly and the Committee of Ministers” jointly adopted
by both organs in 2009. The proposals it contains, supplemented
by those of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in his
2010 report “Enhanced dialogue and co-operation between the Parliamentary
Assembly and the Committee of Ministers”, constitute a firm basis
for promoting active, open and transparent dialogue. They must now
be put into practice.
3. As stated in Resolution
1689 (2009) and Recommendation
1886 (2009) on the future of the Council of Europe in
the light of its 60 years of experience, a change in working methods
and the introduction of new practices do not necessarily entail
changes to the Rules of Procedure, but depend on political will
and action.
4. In the light of the above, with regard to improving its working
methods, the Assembly resolves to establish a number of good practices
and procedures to strengthen interaction between the Parliamentary Assembly
and the Committee of Ministers and to optimise the impact, effectiveness
and complementary nature of their work in order to raise the profile
of the Organisation as a whole.
5. Accordingly, the Assembly undertakes:
5.1. with regard to recommendations addressed to the Committee
of Ministers, to:
5.1.1. ensure that the issues referred
to committees are of political relevance to the Organisation and
its member States;
5.1.2. without prejudice to its role of exploring new issues
and initiating ideas, adopt recommendations, drafted clearly and
succinctly, which set out coherent proposals in keeping with Council
of Europe priorities, as defined, for example, in the action plan
of the 3rd Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council
of Europe in 2005, and limited to areas where joint intergovernmental
action is required;
5.2. with regard to written questions addressed to the Committee
of Ministers, ensure that its members make responsible use of them,
consistent with the Assembly’s interests; it therefore resolves that
the admissibility criteria laid down by the guidelines for questions
to guest speakers adopted in Resolution
1658 (2009) on questions to the Committee of Ministers
will apply to written questions for the Committee of Ministers,
and in particular that they must be of general interest and fall
within the competence of the Organisation and the sphere of responsibility
of the Committee of Ministers;
5.3. with regard to the follow-up by the Committee of Ministers
to the Assembly’s recommendations and opinions, to:
5.3.1. make
it a matter of course for the committees to examine in detail the
Committee of Ministers’ replies to Assembly recommendations and
the follow-up to opinions, in particular by:
5.3.1.1. employing
the method used by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights
and the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy when they examine replies
from the Committee of Ministers;
5.3.1.2. preparing a report, where appropriate, on the follow-up
to a statutory opinion or recommendation;
5.3.2. develop genuine dialogue with the Committee of Ministers
by taking advantage of the avenues open to parliamentarians and
committees, whether formal (written questions to the Committee of
Ministers and oral questions to the Chair of the Committee of Ministers)
or informal (letter from the committee chairperson, committee statement
or press release), to seek clarification of its replies from the
Committee of Ministers;
5.4. with regard to working relations with the Committee of
Ministers and the intergovernmental committees, to:
5.4.1. promote
a proactive approach within Assembly committees towards developing
working relationships with the relevant subsidiary bodies of the
Committee of Ministers (rapporteur groups, thematic co-ordinators,
working parties) by encouraging the Assembly committee chairpersons,
rapporteurs and general rapporteurs to establish regular contacts
with these bodies and follow their work;
5.4.2. develop working relations with intergovernmental steering
committees and groups of experts, and the participation in their
work by the Assembly’s rapporteurs and general rapporteurs, in particular
so that the Assembly can put forward its views at an early stage, especially
on the matter of draft treaties;
5.5. with regard to developing institutional synergies and
maximising the Council of Europe’s work at national level, to:
5.5.1. call on the national delegations to the Assembly in member
States due to take over the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers
of the Council of Europe, to initiate, within their own parliaments,
debates with their governments on the setting of priorities and
the follow-up thereto;
5.5.2. call on its members to promote and raise the profile of
the Assembly’s work and, in general, to support Council of Europe
activities in their own national parliaments, bearing in mind Resolution 1640 (2008) on
use by Assembly members of their dual parliamentary role – both national
and European, as well as its members’ commitments as part of the
reform of the Assembly.
6. At the same time, the Assembly expects the Committee of Ministers
to:
6.1. undertake to establish
a formal procedure for consulting the Assembly on new draft legal instruments.
It is important that the Assembly be asked for a statutory opinion
at least three months before the date of a draft’s adoption. It
must also be informed in writing of the follow-up to the amendments
contained in the statutory opinion;
6.2. undertake to actively examine the Assembly’s recommendations
in depth and in detail, give them concrete follow-up and give an
early and substantial reply within a period of no more than six
months;
6.3. participate substantively in the work of the Joint Committee
in order to reach a common position on issues of importance for
the functioning of the Organisation and enhancement of the Council
of Europe’s external action.