The new complementary procedure between the Committee of Ministers (CM) and the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) of the Council of Europe (COE), in case of a serious violation by a Member State of its statutory obligations, has now been validated by both parties concerned: PACE expressed itself clearly in favour of it on 29 January (see EUROPE 12414/17) and the CM formally adopted it on Wednesday 5 February.
Launched at the Helsinki Conference of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe in May 2019 (see EUROPE 12257/22), this new procedure may be initiated either by the CM, PACE or the COE Secretary General, but will be carried out jointly by these three statutory bodies.
Based on “constructive dialogue and cooperation” with the Member State concerned, it is intended to be “credible, predictable, reactive and reversible”. The aim is to “make the organisation's actions more consistent and effective”, said Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić.
Fundamentally, it is a question of preventing the COE from reliving the near institutional crisis it experienced during the so-called 'Russian crisis' (2014-2019). PACE had then sanctioned the Russian delegation for boycotting the chamber while the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation continued to sit on the Committee of Ministers.
Attacked, but unsuccessfully, by members of the Ukrainian, Georgian and British delegations during the PACE vote, this procedure was not called into question by the Permanent Representatives of the 47 Council of Europe member states.
It will be the subject of a report by the Committee on Rules of Procedure in April, before being put to a final vote in the Assembly. As the Commission has already expressed its position of principle, the outcome of the vote should be positive and formalise this new procedure. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)