Motion for a recommendation | Doc. 14316 | 03 May 2017

The Council of Europe in the European political architecture

Signatories: Ms Dzhema GROZDANOVA, Bulgaria, EPP/CD ; Ms Boriana ÅBERG, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Ms Theodora BAKOYANNIS, Greece, EPP/CD ; Ms Mónika BARTOS, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Mr Tobias BILLSTRÖM, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Ms Milena DAMYANOVA, Bulgaria, EPP/CD ; Mr Samvel FARMANYAN, Armenia, EPP/CD ; Mr Marco GATTI, San Marino, EPP/CD ; Mr Valeriu GHILETCHI, Republic of Moldova, EPP/CD ; Mr Hamid HAMID, Bulgaria, ALDE ; Mr Dzheyhan IBRYAMOV, Bulgaria, ALDE ; Mr Valeri JABLIANOV, Bulgaria, SOC ; Mr Danail KIRILOV, Bulgaria, EPP/CD ; Mr Eduard KÖCK, Austria, EPP/CD ; Mr Filippo LOMBARDI, Switzerland, EPP/CD ; Mr Zsolt NÉMETH, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Mr Joseph O'REILLY, Ireland, EPP/CD ; Ms Liliana PALIHOVICI, Republic of Moldova, EPP/CD ; Mr Jordi ROCA, Spain, EPP/CD ; Mr Adão SILVA, Portugal, EPP/CD

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

The Parliamentary Assembly, taking into account its Sofia Declaration of 27 November 2015 and the support by eminent European leaders for the call for a Fourth Council of Europe Summit, reaffirms its position expressed in Recommendation 1567 (2002) for a parliamentary scrutiny of international institutions with a view to greater accountability of European institutions, so that the citizens of Europe acknowledge them as their own representatives.

The Assembly follows with interest the debates on the Future of the European Union initiated by the President of the European Commission and the ideas of European leaders on the same topic.

Despite the different membership of the Council of Europe and the European Union, both Organisations dedicate their activities to promoting the same values and especially to establishing a united Europe based on democracy, human rights and rule of law, as an area with boundaries between nation States, but without dividing lines.

The Assembly underlines that the Council of Europe is a unique forum where the European Union member States and non-European Union States engage in dialogue and co-operation based on common values and principles.

The Assembly therefore calls on the Committee of Ministers to organize, together with the Parliamentary Assembly and the European Parliament, a discussion about the future of Europe and the role of the Council of Europe within the European political architecture, to take place before the Fourth Summit.