Secretariat - External Co-operation

Activities

The Council of Europe

The OSCE and the Council of Europe (CoE) pursue, on an equal footing and according to their own working methods, a common goal: the promotion of stability on the basis of democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights in Europe.
The OSCE and the Council of Europe (CoE) pursue, on an equal footing and according to their own working methods, a common goal: the promotion of stability on the basis of democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights in Europe.

The OSCE and the Council of Europe (CoE) pursue, according to their mandates, the promotion of stability and security on the basis of democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights in Europe. The Council of Europe's legally-based, norm-setting commitments are complemented by the OSCE's more political activities and strong field presence. The areas for enhanced OSCE-CoE co-operation currently are:

  • Fight against terrorism
  • Combating trafficking in human beings
  • Tolerance and non-discrimination 
  • National minorities

In addition, the two organizations co-operate in the fields of: 

  • Election observation
  • Legislation reform
  • Roma and Sinti
  • Human rights
  • Democratization
  • Local Government

Framework for co-operation

A number of decisions and meetings have contributed to granting the process of OSCE-CoE co-operation a prominent spot on the political agenda. Most recently, the efforts to create synergies have been reflected in the Declaration on Co-operation between the OSCE and the CoE at the Third CoE Summit of Heads of State and Government in Warsaw, 16 and 17 May 2005.

The OSCE/CoE Co-ordination Group was established in December 2004. It aims to move the process of co-operation forward by identifying areas for enhanced co-operation and appointing focal points for them. The results are reviewed bi-annually at meetings hosted alternately in Vienna and Strasbourg.

The general structure of institutional contacts between the OSCE and the Council of Europe has been laid out in the Common Catalogue of Co-operation Modalities, signed in 2000 between the respective Secretaries General. It lists meetings such as:

  • Annual "2+2/3+3" high- and senior-level meetings
  • Visits of the Secretaries General and the Chairmanships to sessions of the governing bodies of the two organizations, the Permanent Council in Vienna and the Committee of Ministers in Strasbourg, respectively
  • Meetings of the CoE Rapporteur Group on Relations with the OSCE (GR-OSCE)

The OSCE/ODIHR co-operates closely with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Venice Commission on election observation and review of legislation. In addition, the ODIHR works with the CoE in the area of human rights, democratization, fight against terrorism and combating trafficking in human beings.

The High Commissioner on National Minorities collaborates closely with the CoE in relation to existing and draft legislation relating to national minorities in a number of OSCE countries.

The Representative on Freedom of Media co-operates with the CoE on reviews of media legislation and on the campaign for the decriminalization of libel.

The mandates of many OSCE field operations include the monitoring of compliance with Council of Europe commitments. OSCE field operations work closely with the CoE on issues related to human rights, citizenship and democracy-building.