The Palace of Europe in Strasbourg

The Council of Europe is an international organisation of 45 member states in the European region. (It is not to be confused with the Council of the European Union, nor with the European Council.) It was founded on 5 May, 1949 by the Treaty of London. Membership is open to all European states which accept the principle of the rule of law and guarantee fundamental human rights and freedoms to their citizens. One of the main successes of the Council was the European Convention on Human Rights in 1950, which serves as the basis for the European Court of Human Rights.

The seat of the Council of Europe is in Strasbourg on the Franco-German border. Originally meeting in Strasbourg's University Palace, it is now domiciled in the Palace of Europe on the outskirts of the city centre.

Founding

The Council of Europe was founded following a speech given by Winston Churchill at the University of Zurich on September 19, 1946 (text of speech (http://www.eurplace.org/federal/churdisco.html)) calling for a "United States of Europe", similar to the United States of America, in the wake of the events of World War II.

Aims

• Protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
• Promotion of Europe's cultural identity and diversity;
• Addressing problems facing European society including discrimination, xenophobia, environmental protection, AIDS, drugs and organised crime
• Encouraging democratic stability via reform.

Institutions

The institutions of the Council of Europe are:

• The Secretariat
• The Committee of Ministers
• The Parliamentary Assembly
• The European Court of Human Rights

Symbols

Main article: European symbols

European flag

The Council of Europe is responsible for the notable European flag with 12 golden stars (upward pointing) arranged in a circle on a blue background since 1955, and the anthem based on the Ode to Joy in the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's ninth symphony since 1972. In 1964, it established the anniversary of its founding on 5 May 1949 as Europe Day.

Membership

There are 45 member states today. Upon foundation on May 5, 1949 there were ten members:

• Belgium
• Denmark
• France
• Ireland
• Italy
• Luxembourg
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Sweden
• United Kingdom

Members with later admission dates (sorted by date of admission) :

• Greece (August 9, 1949)
• Turkey (August 9, 1949)
• Iceland (March 9, 1950)
• Federal Republic of Germany (July 13, 1950)
• Austria (April 16, 1956)
• Cyprus (May 24, 1961)
• Switzerland (May 6, 1963)
• Malta (April 29, 1965)
• Portugal (September 22, 1976)
• Spain (November 24, 1977)
• Liechtenstein (November 23, 1978)
• San Marino (November 16, 1988)
• Finland (May 5, 1989)
• Hungary (November 6, 1990)
• Poland (November 29, 1991)
• Bulgaria (May 7, 1992)
• Estonia (May 14, 1993)
• Lithuania (May 14, 1993)
• Slovenia (May 14, 1993)
• Czech Republic (June 30, 1993)
• Slovakia (June 30, 1993)
• Romania (October 7, 1993)
• Andorra (October 10, 1994)
• Latvia (February 10, 1995)
• Albania (July 13, 1995)
• Moldova (July 13, 1995)
• Macedonia (November 9, 1995)
• Ukraine (November 9, 1995)
• Russian Federation (February 28, 1996)
• Croatia (November 6, 1996)
• Georgia (April 27, 1999)
• Armenia (January 25, 2001)
• Azerbaijan (January 25, 2001)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina (April 24, 2002)
• Serbia and Montenegro (April 3, 2003)

Monaco has been a candidate for membership since 1998. Belarus formerly held special guest status, but this has been suspended since 1997.

Canada, Israel, the Vatican City, Japan, Mexico and the USA have observer status.

See also

• Europe
• European Union
• European Federation of National Engineering Associations
• Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

External link

• Council of Europe (http://www.coe.int/) - Official site