Paris, 08/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - The committee on political affairs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which met in Paris, adopted the following statement (unofficial translation) on Friday morning:
"The opening of the work of the Convention on the Future of Europe marks an important stage on the European Union's road towards its historic enlargement. The committee on political issues is confident that this wide consultation, in which several members and former members of the Assembly will be taking part, will result in a vision of a major European project that lives up to the expectations of the Laeken Declaration and opens the road towards a European Constitution. The committee recalls the importance of the aid that the Council of Europe provides to the countries aspiring to EU membership through its programmes in support of democratic reform. It recommends strengthened cooperation between both organisations, and the fostering of common values such as pluralistic democracy, the rule of law and the uniform protection of human rights in Europe. The committee on political issues considers that the Convention may provide an opportunity for a broad debate on the future of political integration in Europe, in favour of which the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly have been constantly engaged since their creation in 1949. Nonetheless, the committee is convinced that, given that it is a matter of values such as democracy, human rights and rule of law, there should only be a single set of principles protected by a mechanism that is equally applied to all the countries of Europe. Consequently, it invites the EU to seize the opportunity afforded by the Convention to fully recognise the role of the Council of Europe in this respect and to study the means to increase its own participation in the work of the Council of Europe".