The Council of Europe : Germany

At its founding in 1949, the Council of Europe stood at the very beginning of European integration and cooperation.The institutions of the Council of Europe are the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe. Leni Fischer, a Member of the German Bundestag, is currently the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Along with Russia, Italy, the United Kingdom and France, Germany is one of the five biggest contributors who together furnish just under two thirds of the Council of Europe’s budget of DM 280 billion (1997 figure).

From its inception the Council of Europe has staunchly advocated the basic principles of pluralist democracy, protection of human rights and promotion of the rule of law and has thus created the guidelines for democratic Europe. Its wide-ranging work program, which includes virtually every field of activity, forms the core of cooperation between its member states. In addition to striving for improved protection of human rights, the Council of Europe is presently focusing its endeavors on facilitating the integration of the new member states from Central and Eastern Europe into the structures of European cooperation. Through a comprehensive consulting and assistance program, parts of which it implements jointly with the EU and the OSCE, the Council of Europe is expediting the democratic reform process and an approximation of legal standards in the Central and Eastern European states.