Report: Council of Europe

The first step on our European Excursion to Strasbourg led us to the Council of Europe.

The Council of Europe is an international organization founded in 1949 and  aims to promote democracy, human rights, and the rule of law across its 46 member states, which include most European countries.

The Council of Europe is best known for its role in developing the European Convention on Human Rights, which establishes fundamental rights and freedoms that member states are obligated to uphold. The European Court of Human Rights, also located in Strasbourg, adjudicates cases brought by individuals and states alleging violations of the Convention.

In our guided tour in English we learned to our surprise that the Council of Europe is NOT part of the European Union. It operates independently from the EU, although they share similar goals obviously. Furthermore, the entire annual budget of the EU is adopted in accordance with the Council of Europe.

We also learned that the Council of Europe represents almost 700 Million citizens and that the Council has drawn up more than 200 treaties. They include a wide range of topics including Animal Protection, Wildlife, Child Care, Corruption, Cybercrime, Minority Rights etc.

After our visit we can confidently say that the Europarat plays a crucial role in shaping a democratic and just Europe, making Strasbourg a significant hub for international diplomacy and human rights advocacy.

 

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Our European Excursion to Strasbourg is supported by the state initiative Europe Checks of the Minister for Federal and European Affairs, International Affairs and the Media and
Head of the State Chancellery of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

#europaschecks