Strasbourg, 27/04/2004 (Agence Europe) - The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe delivered, on Tuesday in Strasbourg, a favourable opinion regarding accession by the Principality of Monaco, which could become the 46th member state of the pan-European organisation. For this, however, Monaco must overcome a major obstacle, that of reviewing the 1930 treaty which reserves senior posts in Monaco government and civil service to French officials, including the post of State Minister. The Assembly makes its go-ahead conditional upon opening up these posts to Monegasques. Monaco and France are currently engaged in a consultation process on review of the treaty.
In the meantime, the Assembly has given special guest status to the National Council of Monaco, which could send a small delegation to take part in its work. The president of the Monegasque parliament, Stéphane Valéri, is delighted. He also welcomed the Assembly conditional go-ahead. "The National Council welcomes your vote of confidence which is a victory for Monaco, a decisive stage toward our final accession and a further step forward in recognising the international status of the Principality", he told the plenary in Strasbourg.
The Assembly announced that it would be opening a procedure to monitor Monaco's compliance with its commitments as soon as the Principality becomes a member. It recommended widening the parliament's competence still further and taking measures for it to be taken off the OECD list which withdraws tax havens that refuse to cooperate. Monaco's candidature was put forward in 1998.