A jubilee in turbulent times with crises everywhere and members threatening to leave. But there is still hope for the “sister” of the EU. The first chancellor of post-war history once described it as the conscience of Europe Konrad Adenauer. However, 75 years later, the Council of Europe seems to be in a state of crisis. Several of its members are threatening to leave, the human rights it defends are still being persecuted, and many still confuse the Council of Europe with the EU after so many decades. How many more birthdays does the organization have ahead of it? History The Council of Europe was founded in 1949 as the first major post-war European organization and is committed to protecting human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

Its 46 members include all EU countries, the United Kingdom and Turkey. Therefore, its radius of action includes 680 million Europeans from Greenland to Azerbaijan. However, since the EU has become increasingly important, the importance of the Council of Europe has declined. It is very easy to confuse it with the European Council, which is made up of the 27 heads of state and government of the EU, especially since both the EU and the Council of Europe use the same flag and the same anthem.

Threats to leave

With the war in Ukraine the Council of Europe entered a turning point. Russia was expelled from the organization because of its war of aggression in Ukraine. However, other member states are seen as possibly facing the same fate and it is not entirely clear how unwavering their commitment to the principles of the Council of Europe really is. Serbia, for example, is threatening to leave if Kosovo joins as planned. Recently the Parliamentary Assembly gave the green light. Azerbaijan’s delegation was expelled from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for a year earlier this year because the country had refused to allow access to election observers. Turkey has not implemented important decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for years and continues to imprison, for example, the activist, businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala.

But the Court’s decisions are also being taken as a “thorn” for the UK, partly because the judges literally at the last minute at the end of 2022 with their decision prevented the country from sending asylum seekers by plane to Rwanda. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, while voting on the asylum agreement with Rwanda almost ten days ago, announced that he would ignore the temporary interim measures of the ECHR in the future.

“The Council of Europe should not just take into account threats to leave”, believes Frank Schwabe, head of the German delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly. “If a team in the German football league plays with the hand instead of the foot and when the referee blows his whistle, threatens to leave, then that’s not cool. But it’s his decision. No one is forced to play their hand”. The Social Democrat politician warns that the essence and meaning of the organization will be lost if the rules are weakened for everyone because of a single case.

Limited capabilities

The most important weapon of the Council of Europe is and remains the Court of Human Rights (ECHR) or Strasbourg Court, as it is commonly called. It monitors compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), to which all members of the Council of Europe have signed, and guarantees important rights such as the right to life, the prohibition of torture and freedom of expression. Anyone who believes that their rights have been violated can appeal to the ECHR. Its decisions are binding on the countries that are condemned. However, the court has a workload of over 50,000 new appeals a year, either transnational or between individuals.

Apart from that, however, its capabilities are limited. This is why the organization is often called a paper tiger. Schwabe sees it differently: “The EU has financial capabilities, yes of course, the Council of Europe does not. But the Council of Europe has reserved rights.” These include, for example, the right to send election monitoring missions or enter prisons unannounced.

The Council of Europe as a driving force

Julia Durhoff, Secretary General of Amnesty International in Germany, argues that without the institutional framework of the Council of Europe there would not be many positive developments in Europe, “for example, the right to abortion in Ireland, prison reforms in Russia and Turkey and the strengthening of the right to the family and for refugees”. Daniel Heltgen, Director of Communication of the Council of Europe, also recalls that “in Ukraine, Moldova and other EU candidate countries the influence of the Council of Europe, for example through its recommendations and the Greco Group of Experts against Corruption, undoubtedly leads to important reforms of the rule of law”. Heltgen also recalls that the Istanbul Convention, which creates the legal framework to prevent, protect and combat violence against women as a violation of human rights, remains the “most important international treaty to combat domestic violence with specific monitoring by the participating states”. In addition, the Damages Registry approved last year is seen as the first step on the road to possible reparations in war-torn Ukraine. The aim is to record the disasters, so that responsibility can be sought from Russia.

The future with confidence

“The Council of Europe is more important than ever in the face of growing nationalist, racist and anti-feminist trends,” says Amnesty International’s Durhoff. “However, more political will is needed from European states, especially in their bilateral relations”. Amnesty International also believes that the Council of Europe should create fewer new institutions and instead improve the existing system and make it more effective. Schwaber remains optimistic, however. “It is true, we have more and more countries moving away from values. But we will not be able to stop this with the Council of Europe. But we can stand firm as long as we can. The situation will change again.”

Editor: Irini Anastasopoulou