Norway - a non member of the EU - was one of the ten founding members of the Council of Europe, which is the oldest organization for unity and cooperation in Europe. It has a particular emphasis on legal standards, human rights, democratic development, rule of law as well as cultural co-operation. It has 47 member states with some 800 million citizens.
Two candidates left
The 318 MPs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, meeting four times a year, will elect the Secretary General by secret vote during their September session based on a list drawn up by the Committee of Ministers. The Committee of Ministers has insisted that the next Secretary General should be a well-known politician and has short-listed two candidates for the post – Thorbjørn Jagland of Norway and Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz of Poland, both former prime ministers and foreign ministers.
The election process has been disrupted by controversy, which led the election to be postponed from June to September this year.
The Parliamentary Assembly and the Committee of Ministers recognise the need to strengthen the cooperation and dialogue between the two bodies, and a road map for enhanced cooperation has been elaborated during the past months, including a better consultation process for future elections of secretaries general. The Bureau of the Assembly now recommends proceeding with the elections in September.
Modernization needed
“The Parliamentary Assembly is one of the most valuable assets of the Council of Europe, and we need to make better use of its full potential,” Mr Jagland says. “There is a need to strengthen the position of the Council of Europe and modernise the organisation to make sure it remains politically relevant in today’s Europe. The different organs of the organisation, in full respect of their different roles and mandates, should work more closely together towards these common goals.”
During his one year campaign period, Mr Jagland has visited or held talks with most of the 47 national delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly as well as with government representatives. This has given valuable insight into the priorities of each member state and the challenges the Council is facing.
Pan-European organisation
“The Council of Europe is needed more than ever”, Jagland claims. “It is the only pan-European organisation for cooperation on such a broad basis. There is a need, however, to better clarify the cooperation and division of labour with the EU, and make sure we focus our efforts in areas where we really can make a difference”.