Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-01-18-Speech-3-319"
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"en.20060118.23.3-319"2
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".
Madam President, let me say, in response to Mrs Stenzel's question on coordination between the EU, the Council of Europe and the OSCE and on human rights compliance in the fight against terrorism, that we have excellent relations with the Council of Europe, particularly in the field of justice and home affairs, and I would add that it was only today that I had my first opportunity to speak to its Committee of Ministers regarding the Austrian Presidency's priorities, and I made very particular reference there to the shared interests and cooperation between the Council of Europe and the European Union regarding respect for human rights.
I would like to take this opportunity to mention that we attach a great deal of importance to the meetings that every Presidency since 1997 has held with the troika of the Council of Europe. The agenda for the most recent meeting with the Council of Europe on 7 December 2005 particularly included the Council of Europe's guidelines on human rights and the fight against terrorism. With regard to foreign affairs, the Council's working party on the international aspects of terrorism is also in regular contact with the Council of Europe.
The Council working party on human rights is also closely following the international efforts being made in other arenas such as the OECD, the Council of Europe and the United Nations with regard to respecting human rights in the fight against terrorism. We want to ensure that the EU can play an active role in all these efforts. The Austrian Presidency is happy to confirm that it intends to continue with this form of cooperation with the Council of Europe.
The Council of Europe summit in Warsaw in 2004 decided to conclude an agreement with the European Union, regulating every aspect of cooperation between the organisations in the aim of structuring, improving and intensifying that cooperation.
Under the UK Presidency, a draft was drawn up, which has already been sent to the Council of Europe and is now being examined by them according to their procedures. In this regard, the Austrian Presidency, in close cooperation with the Commission, will hold intensive talks with the Presidency of the Council of Europe, which, as you know, will be held by Romania for the next six months, so that this important document can be finalised in the next few months. When I spoke to the ministers' deputies today, I made a commitment to do everything possible on the European Union side, so that, if at all possible, this memorandum can be finalised before the end of the Romanian Presidency, in other words by the end of May this year.
With regard to the OSCE, the two organisations are in close contact both
and at institutional level, and these links will be strengthened further in future.
I would like to point out that, over the next few years, three EU Member States in succession, namely Belgium, Spain and Finland, will hold the chairmanship of the OSCE. Almost 50% of the OSCE participating States are now also Member States of the European Union, and their common positions and actions are generally shared by another 10 States.
In the decisive debates within the OSCE on improving its efficiency, particularly regarding the activities of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), which works to protect human rights, the European Union has in the past systematically and successfully argued that the organisation should be fully autonomous, so that it can continue to perform its important activities in promoting democracy and human rights in all OSCE participating states without discrimination or restrictions.
The Austrian Presidency will continue to pursue this policy, which is, of course, endorsed by all Member States."@en1
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