Council of Europe

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About Council of Europe (CoE)-

• It is an international organization founded in 1949 in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in Europe.
• The ten founding members of the CoE are Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
• It has 46 member states (including all 27 EU members)  and operates with an annual budget of approximately 500 million euros.
• The organization is distinct from the 27-nation European Union (EU), although it is sometimes confused with it, partly because the EU has adopted the original European Flag which was created by the Council of Europe in 1955, as well as the European Anthem.
• No country has ever joined the EU without first belonging to the Council of Europe.
• The headquarters of the Council of Europe is in Strasbourg, France. 

• English and French are its two official languages. 

• • The Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly, and the Congress of the Council of Europe also use German, Italian, and Russian for some of their work.

• This council is an official United Nations Observer.
• The CoE cannot make binding laws, but it does have the power to enforce select international agreements reached by European states on various topics. 
• It  is composed of four principal bodies: the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe, and the Secretariat. 
• The Committee of Ministers, which meets twice a year, is composed of the foreign ministers of all council members.
• It decides the council’s budget and its program of activities based on recommendations made to it by the Parliamentary Assembly and various expert committees. 
• The Parliamentary Assembly, which meets four times a year, is a deliberative body consisting of representatives from national parliaments. 
• The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe is a consultative body that represents local and regional (subnational) governments within the council. 
• The Secretariat, with a staff of about 1,000, serves the other three main organizations within the council.
• The CoE has established a number of special bodies and expert committees over the years, such as 
• • The European Committee on Crime Problems.
  • The European Commission of Human Rights.
  • The European Court of Human Rights.
  • The Cultural Heritage Committee.
  • The Council of Europe Social Development Fund (formerly the Council of Europe Resettlement Fund).
  • The European Committee on Legal Cooperation.
  • The Steering Committee on Local and Regional Authorities.

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