Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on the "Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union"
Date: 2000-09-20
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: European Social Charter, European Union, European charter, civil rights, fundamental rights, political rights

24.1.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 22/1

II

(Preparatory Acts)

COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on the ‘Charter of Fundamental Rights of the
European Union’

(2001/C 22/01)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the European Council decision on the drawing up of a Charter of Fundamental Rights of
the European Union;

having regard to the conclusions of the Cologne and Tampere European Councils;

having regard to the setting-up, on 17 December 1999, of the Convention to draft a Charter of
Fundamental Rights of the European Union;

having regard to the Draft Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union of 14 September 2000
proposed by the Praesidium (Charte 4470/99 — CONVENT 47);

having regard to the European Commission Communication on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of
the European Union of 13 September 2000 (COM(2000) 559 final);

having regard to its opinion of 16 February 2000 on the process of drawing up a Charter of Fundamental
Rights of the European Union (COR 327/99 fin) (1);

having regard to its Bureau’s decision of 11 April 2000, in accordance with Article 265(5) of the Treaty
establishing the European Community, to draw up a resolution on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of
the European Union and to instruct the Commission for Institutional Affairs to prepare the work on the
subject;

having regard to the draft resolution (COR 140/2000 rev. 1) adopted by the Commission for Institutional
Affairs at its meeting on 5 July 2000 (rapporteurs: Mr Bore (UK/PSE) and Mrs du Granrut (F/PPE));

considering the progress made by the Convention to draft a Charter of Fundamental Rights of the
European Union;

whereas the Committee of the Regions has already expressed strong support for the drawing up of such
a Charter with binding legal force, and for its incorporation into the Treaties;

whereas following the above opinion of 16 February 2000 on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the
European Union, and consultation of its President, Mr Chabert, by the Convention drawing up the
Charter, the Committee of the Regions has been invited to follow the Convention’s work and to attend
its informal meetings;

(1) OJ C 156, 6.6.2000, p. 1.

C 22/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

24.1.2000

whereas in the course of preparing the draft Charter proposed by the Praesidium, currently being
discussed by the Convention, differing positions have emerged as regard the Charter’s legal status, role
and purpose;

whereas the Charter, in the view of some Convention members, should fall strictly within the scope of
the European Union and its terms of reference, and hence do no more than define the fundamental rights
which may be invoked by European citizens, and how these are to be implemented within the scope of
the Union’s remit. The Charter should not set out rights which are recognised by Member States and
whose implementation falls exclusively within their jurisdiction. Thus the Charter should confine itself to
incorporating some of the rights to be found in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR);

whereas the majority of Convention members feel that the EU’s future Charter of Fundamental Rights,
while taking its lead from the rights enshrined in the ECHR, should reshape and supplement them. It
should do this, firstly, by covering areas which did not pose legal difficulties when the ECHR was drafted
and, secondly, by drawing on other sources, including the Treaty on European Union, European Court of
Justice case law and the European Social Charter;

whereas proponents of this approach feel that this does not involve broadening EU powers or interfering
in Member States’ legislative and legal competence;

whereas the inclusion of economic and social rights in the Charter has been an opportunity to state
explicitly what is involved here and to secure support for this decision;

whereas the Committee of the Regions welcomes this solution, which reflects the recommendations set
out in its opinion;

whereas the scope of the Charter will extend to the Union’s institutions and bodies and thus to the
Committee of the Regions,

adopted the following resolution at its 35th plenary session on 20 and 21 September 2000 (meeting of
20 September).

The Committee of the Regions

3.

considers that the Preamble to the Charter should also
state: ‘The European Union and its institutions are based
on the principles of freedom, democracy, the rule of law,
and respect for human and fundamental rights, both
individual and collective — principles which are all
common to the Member States’;

1.

2.

proposes that the principle of democracy be backed in
the preamble by the principles of local and regional
autonomy, as these play a part in guaranteeing the
practical application of democratic rights. Reference
should also be made in paragraph 3 to the principle of
subsidiarity and to Article 6 of the EU Treaty in the
following terms: ‘The Union contributes to the develop-
these common values while respecting the
ment of
principle of subsidiarity and the diversity of the cultures
and traditions of the peoples of Europe as well as
identities of the Member States and the
the national
organisation of
their public authorities at national,
regional and local levels; it ensures balanced and sustain-
able development through the free movement of persons,
goods, capital and services.’;

stresses the political nature of the Charter and its major
contribution as a pillar of European citizenship. In this
connection, it notes the positive nature of the preamble
and the author’s desire to present all the rights of Union
citizens under distinct, horizontal headings. It regrets,
however, that a more prominent and important place has
not been given to citizen’s rights. It reiterates its wish that
all long-term EU residents should be able to vote in local
and European Parliamentary elections;

4.

reaffirms its belief that the Charter should, under the
headings adopted by the Praesidium, encompass three
key aspects: rights linked to the person, economic, social
and cultural rights, and finally civil and political rights.
These rights express the distinctive values of the European
social model. Brought together in a single document, they

24.1.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 22/3

highlight the core values of the European Union. The
Charter should also pay special attention to the protection
of such rights against abuses which might arise from
improper use of
the new information technologies,
environmental damage or control of mass media concen-
trations in relation to freedom of expression;

10. welcomes therefore the wording proposed in the draft of
the Convention Praesidium (currently the proposal for
Article 50(2), CONVENT 47 document of 14 September
2000), according to which the Charter does not establish
any new powers or tasks for the Community or the
Union or modify powers and tasks defined by the Treaties;

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

stresses the need for a clear and readily intelligible Charter
so as to contribute added value to the fundamental rights
and freedoms guaranteed to European citizens, making
them accessible to everyone entitled to invoke them.
With this in mind, the Committee reiterates its concern
that all rights enshrined in the Charter should be guaran-
teed by law and that there should be universal access to
services of general interest;

expresses its satisfaction that the Charter is to include
economic and social rights which make it possible to
meet the technological challenges of European society as
responsible players insofar as these rights do not merely
constitute goals for Union action; workers must also have
the right to the ongoing vocational training which is
essential if they are to adapt to employment requirements
against the backcloth of scientific and technical progress
in European society; this right must be applied uniformly
in all Member States, so as to make free movement of
workers within the EU a reality. To this end, it calls for
these principles to be added to the first paragraph of
Article 14 of the draft Charter.

recommends that the protection of minorities and com-
munities be expressly and positively included in the
Charter as a separate right
in order to establish a
fundamental principle for dealing in particular with
ethnic and linguistic diversity in the EU;

proposes that the first paragraph of Article 50, entitled
Scope, should read as follows:
‘The provisions of this
Charter are addressed to the institutions and bodies of
the Union, with due regard for the principle of subsidiar-
ity, and to the Member States only when they are
implementing Union law at national, regional and local
levels’;

recognises the need for the ‘horizontal clauses’ to specify
the level of protection and limits of the fundamental
rights included in the Charter; and thinks that the scope
of the Charter must be unequivocally defined;

Brussels, 20 September 2000.

11. would point out

the rights
enshrined in the Charter are indivisible and that they
draw their strength from this indivisibility;

to the Convention that

12.

13.

regards the Charter as a major addition to the ‘acquis
communautaire’. This addition will provide comprehen-
sive protection of fundamental rights with respect to the
procedures and actions of the EU institutions and bodies.
In an enlarged European Union protection of these rights
will be extended to a wider circle of EU citizens;

regrets that the Committee of the Regions has had only
observer status in the Convention and that insufficient
account has been taken in the discussions of the local and
regional dimension; and stresses that local and regional
elected representatives can play a key role in awakening
interest and publicising the existence, contents and scope
of the Charter among the general public;

14. proposes that, as soon as the Charter enters into force, an
information drive should be launched with the backing
of the Committee and local and regional elected represen-
tatives throughout the Union. The mobilisation of the
general public behind the moral standards and values
promoted by the Charter can be counted on to strengthen
their feeling of being a part of the European Union and
will place the Union on truly democratic foundations.
Here the open discussion which can take place alongside
hearings of civil society organisations via the Internet is
seen as a positive step towards involvement of the general
public in a European reform project;

15. would point out that the Committee of the Regions
is still basically in favour of
the European Council
incorporating the Charter into the Treaties; the Charter
will then have legal force, respond to citizens’ aspirations
and flesh out the concept of European identity. Lastly, the
Committee stresses the substantial advance the Charter
represents for the EU citizen as a major instrument in
promoting Community solidarity and its potential for
enlargement.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Jos CHABERT