Proposal for a Council Decision relating to the conclusion of an Agreement between the European Community and the Council of Europe on cooperation between the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and the Council of Europe
Date: 2007-08-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Council of Europe, EU office or agency, cooperation agreement, fundamental rights, ratification of an agreement

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 21.8.2007 
COM(2007) 478 final 

2007/0173 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

relating to the conclusion of an Agreement between the European Community and the 
Council of Europe on cooperation between the European Union Agency for 
Fundamental Rights and the Council of Europe 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

On  15  February  2007,  the  Council  adopted  Regulation (CE) No 168/2007 (the Regulation)1 
establishing a European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (the Agency). 

According to Article 9 of the Regulation, the Agency shall coordinate its activities with those 
of the Council of Europe in order to avoid duplication and in order to ensure complementarity 
and  added  value.  To  that  end,  Article  9  states  that  the  Community  shall  enter  into  an 
agreement  with  the  Council  of  Europe  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  close  cooperation 
between the latter and the Agency (“the Agreement”). 

In  accordance  with  Article  300  of  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  the 
Council  authorized  on  15  February  2007  the  Commission  to  negotiate,  on  behalf  of  the 
European Community, the Agreement2. On the same day the Council approved the text of the 
negotiating directives3 and appointed the ad hoc Working Party on Fundamental Rights and 
Citizenship as the special Committee to assist the Commission in the negotiations. 

The  negotiations  between  the  Commission  and  the  Secretary  General  of  the  Council  of 
Europe  started  in  March  2007.  Negotiations  and  consultations  took  place  in  April  and  May 
2007. The ad hoc Working Party on Fundamental Rights and Citizenship of the Council was 
consulted  on  the  negotiations.  The  European  Parliament  was  also  informed,  in  accordance 
with  the  Framework  Agreement  on  relations  between  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Commission. 

The  Agreement  annexed  to  this  proposal  for  a  Council  Decision  establishes  a  cooperation 
framework between the Agency and the Council of Europe. It organises regular contacts and 
meetings between officials of the Agency and of the Council of Europe. It arranges exchange 
of  information  with  due  respect  for  the  relevant  rules  on  data  protection.  It  provides  for 
coordination of activities, particularly with regard to preparation of the Agency's annual work 
programme,  in order  to avoid duplication  of  work and to guarantee the best possible  use of 
resources. The Agreement makes possible joint and complementary activities on subjects of 
common interests. 

The Agreement contains also provisions on the appointment by the Council of Europe of an 
independent person to sit on the Management and Executive Boards of the Agency, together 
with an alternate. The Agreement defines the role of that person in the Executive Board. 

The Agreement gives firmer shape to the cooperation between the Agency and the Council of 
Europe. Its conclusion will empower the Agency and the Council of Europe to work closely 
together in order to strengthen the protection of fundamental rights in Europe. It is to be noted 
that when the Agency will participate in the activities of the Council of Europe, it will act in 
complete independence as provided in the Regulation.  

The  Agency  is  a  legal  successor  of  the  European  Monitoring  Centre  on  Racism  and 
Xenophobia. The cooperation between the Centre and the Council of Europe was covered by 
the  Agreement  of  10  February  1999  between  the  European  Community  and  the  Council  of 

1 
2 
3 

OJ L 53, 22.2.2007, p.1. 
Document of the Council 6199/07 JAI 70 CATS 13 COHOM 16 COEST 40 FIN 49. 
Document  of  the  Council  6150/07  JAI  66  CATS  11  COHOM  14  COEST  37  FIN  46  (RESTREINT 
UE). 

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Europe for the purpose of establishing, in accordance with Article 7 (3) of Council Regulation 
(EC) No 1035/97 of 2 June 1997 establishing a European Monitoring Centre on Racism and 
Xenophobia,  close  cooperation  between  the  Centre  and  the  Council  of  Europe4.  This 
Agreement abrogates and replaces the said Agreement. 

The Council is asked to authorise its President to designate the person authorised to sign, on 
behalf of the Community, this Agreement in order to express the consent of the Community to 
be bound by it. 

In  the  light  of  the  above,  the  Commission  proposes  that  the  Council  adopts  the  attached 
proposal for a Council Decision. 

4 

Concluded by Council Decision 1999/132/EC of 21.12.1998, OJ L 44, 18.2.1998, p. 44. 

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2007/0173 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

relating to the conclusion of an Agreement between the European Community and the 
Council of Europe on cooperation between the European Union Agency for 
Fundamental Rights and the Council of Europe 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 
308 in conjunction with the first subparagraph of Article 300 (2) and the first subparagraph of 
Article 300 (3) thereof; 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission5, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament6, 

Whereas  

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Article 9 of Council Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 of 15 February 2007 establishing a 
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights7 foresees the establishment of close 
cooperation between the Agency and the Council of Europe; 

The Commission has negotiated on behalf of the European Community an Agreement 
with the Council of Europe on such cooperation; 

The Agreement between the European Community and the Council of Europe should 
be approved, 

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:  

Article 1 

The Agreement between the European Community and the Council of Europe on cooperation 
between  the  European  Union  Agency  for  Fundamental  Rights  and  the  Council  of  Europe  is 
hereby approved on behalf of the European Community. 

The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision. 

5 
6 
7 

OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ L 53, 22.2.2007, p. 53. 

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Article 2 

The President of the Council is hereby authorised to designate the person empowered to sign 
the Agreement in order to express the consent of the Community to be bound thereby. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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ANNEX  

Agreement between the European Community and the Council of Europe 

on cooperation between the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights  
and the Council of Europe 

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE (hereinafter referred 
to as “the Parties”), 

WHEREAS  the  Council  of  the  European  Union  adopted,  on  15  February  2007,  Regulation 
(EC)  No  168/2007  establishing  a  European  Union  Agency  for  Fundamental  Rights 
(hereinafter referred to as the ’Agency’) ; 

WHEREAS the objective of the Agency is to provide the relevant institutions, bodies, offices 
and agencies of the Community and its Member States when implementing Community law 
with  assistance  and  expertise  relating  to  fundamental  rights  in  order  to  support  them  when 
they  take  measures  or  formulate  courses  of  action  within  their  respective  spheres  of 
competence to fully respect fundamental rights; 

WHEREAS the Agency shall refer in carrying out its tasks to fundamental rights within the 
meaning of Article 6 (2) of the Treaty on European Union, including the rights and freedoms 
guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental 
Freedoms of 4 November 1950; 

WHEREAS  the  Council  of  Europe  has  acquired  extensive  experience  and  expertise  in 
intergovernmental  cooperation  and  assistance  activities  in  the  field  of  human  rights,  having 
also  established  several  human  rights  monitoring  and  control  mechanisms,  as  well  as  the 
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights; 

WHEREAS,  in  pursuing  its  activities,  the  Agency  shall  take  account,  where  appropriate,  of 
activities already carried out by the Council of Europe; 

WHEREAS  the  Agency  shall,  in  order  to  avoid  duplication  and  in  order  to  ensure 
complementarity  and  added  value,  coordinate  its  activities  with  those  of  the  Council  of 
Europe, particularly with regard to its annual work programme and to cooperation with civil 
society;  

WHEREAS  close  links  should  now  be  established  between  the  Agency  and  the  Council  of 
Europe in accordance with Article 9 of Council Regulation (EC) no 168/2007; 

WHEREAS the Representatives of the Member States of the European Union, meeting within 
the European Council on 16 and 17 December 2004 agreed that the Agency will play a major 
role in enhancing the coherence and consistency of the EU Human Rights Policy;  

WHEREAS the Guidelines on the relations between the Council of Europe and the European 
Union,  adopted  at  the  Third  Council  of  Europe  Summit  of  Heads  of  State  and  Government 
(Warsaw,  16-17  May  2005)  refer  to  the  Agency  as  an  opportunity  to  further  increase 
cooperation with the Council of Europe and to contribute to greater coherence and enhanced 
complementarity; 

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WHEREAS  the  Memorandum  of  Understanding  between  the  Council  of  Europe  and  the 
European Union concluded in 23 May 2007 contains a general framework for the cooperation 
in the area of human rights and fundamental freedoms and highlights the role of the Council 
of Europe as the benchmark for human rights, the rule of law and democracy in Europe; 

WHEREAS, in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding, the Agency respects the 
unity, validity and effectiveness of the instruments used by the Council of Europe to monitor 
the protection of human rights in its member states; 

WHEREAS  it  is  for  the  Council  of  Europe  to  appoint  an  independent  person  to  sit  on  the 
Agency’s Management Board and on its Executive Board, 

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS: 

I. Use of terms 

1. For the purposes of this Agreement: 

a) the term “Council of Europe intergovernmental committees” shall mean any committee or 
body set up by the Committee of Ministers, or with its authorisation, by virtue of Articles 15 
(a), 16 or 17 of the Council of Europe Statute; 

b)  the  term  “Council  of  Europe’s  human  rights  monitoring  committees”  shall  mean  the 
European Committee of Social Rights, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture 
and  Inhuman  or  Degrading  Treatment  or  Punishment,  the  European  Commission  against 
Racism  and  Intolerance,  the  Committee  of  experts  of  the  European  Charter  for  Regional  or 
Minority  Languages,  the  Advisory  Committee  of  the  Framework  Convention  for  the 
Protection of National Minorities and any other such independent bodies that the Council of 
Europe might set up in the future. 

c)  the  term  “Agency”  shall  comprise  the  bodies  referred  to  in  Article  11  of  Council 
Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 within their respective areas of competence. 

II. General cooperation framework 

2. This agreement establishes a cooperation framework between the Agency and the Council 
of Europe in order to avoid duplication and ensure complementarity and added value. 

3. Regular contacts shall be established at the appropriate level between the Agency and the 
Council of Europe. The  Director  of  the Agency and the Council of  Europe Secretariat shall 
each appoint a contact person to deal specifically with matters relating to their cooperation. 

4.  As  a  general  rule,  Council  of  Europe  Secretariat  representatives  shall  be  invited  by  the 
Agency’s  Executive  Board  to  attend  meetings  of  the  Agency’s  Management  Board  as 
observers.  This  shall  not  extend  to  particular  agenda  items  for  which,  on  account  of  their 
internal  nature,  such  attendance  would  not  be  justified.  Such  representatives  may  also  be 
invited  to  other  meetings  organised  by  the  Agency’s  Management  Board,  including  those 
referred to in Article 6 (1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 168/2007. 

5. Representatives of the Agency shall be invited to attend as observers in meetings of those 
Council  of  Europe  intergovernmental  committees  in  which  the  Agency  has  expressed  an 
interest. Upon invitation by the relevant committee, representatives of the Agency may attend 

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meetings  or  exchanges  of  views  organised  by  Council  of  Europe  human  rights  monitoring 
committees  or  committees  set  up  under  partial  agreements  as  observers.  Representatives  of 
the  Agency  may  also  be  invited  to  participate  in  exchanges  of  views  organized  by  the 
Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. 

6. Cooperation shall cover the whole range of the Agency’s activities, both present and future. 

III. Exchange of information and data 

7.  Without  prejudice  to  the  rules  on  data  protection in force for the Agency and Council of 
Europe  respectively,  the  Agency  and  the  Council  of  Europe  shall  provide  each  other  with 
information  and  data  collected  in  the  course  of  their  activities,  including  access  to  online 
information. Information and data thus provided may be used by the Agency and the Council 
of  Europe  in  the  course  of  their  respective  activities.  These  provisions  do  not  extend  to 
confidential data and activities produced or undertaken. 

8. The Agency shall take due account of the judgments and decisions of the European Court 
of  Human  Rights  concerning  the  areas  of  activity  of  the  Agency  and,  where  relevant,  of 
findings, reports and activities in the human rights field of the Council of Europe’s monitoring 
and intergovernmental committees, as well as those of the Council of Europe’s Commissioner 
for Human Rights.  

9.  Whenever  the  Agency  uses  information  taken  from  Council  of  Europe  sources,  it  shall 
indicate  the  origin  and  reference  thereof.  The  Council  of  Europe  shall  proceed  in  the  same 
way when using information taken from Agency sources. 

10.  The  Agency  and  the  Council  of  Europe  shall  ensure,  by  means  of  their  networks,  the 
widest possible dissemination of the results of their respective activities on a reciprocal basis. 

11.  The  Agency  and  the  Council  of  Europe  shall  ensure  regular  exchanges  of  information 
about activities proposed, under way or completed. 

IV. Methods of cooperation  

12.  Regular  consultations  shall  be  held  between  the  Agency  and  the  Council  of  Europe 
Secretariat,  with  the  aim  of  coordinating  the  Agency’s  activities,  in  particular  carrying  out 
research  and  scientific  surveys  as  well  as  drafting  conclusions,  opinions  and  reports,  with 
those of the Council of Europe in order to ensure complementarity and the best possible use 
of available resources. 

13. Such consultations shall notably concern: 

- 

the preparation of the Agency’s annual work programme; 

the preparation of the Agency’s annual report on fundamental rights issues covered by 

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the areas of the Agency's activity; 

cooperation with civil society, in particular association of the Council of Europe with 

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the establishment and functioning of the Agency’s Fundamental Rights Platform. 

14. On the basis of such consultations, it may be agreed that the Agency and the Council of 
Europe  shall  conduct  joint  and/or  complementary  activities  on  subjects  of  common  interest, 

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such  as  the  organisation  of  conferences  or  workshops,  data  collection  and  analysis  or  the 
setting up of shared information sources or products. 

15.  Cooperation  between  the  Agency  and  the  Council  of  Europe  may  be  further  promoted 
through  grants  awarded  by  the  Agency  to  the  Council  of  Europe.  The  2004  Framework 
Administrative Agreement between the European Commission and the Council of Europe on 
the  application  of  the  financial  checks  clause  to  operations  administered  by  the  Council  of 
Europe and financed or co-financed by the European Community shall apply. 

16.  Temporary  exchanges  of  staff  between  the  Agency  and  the  Council  of  Europe  may  be 
effected  by  agreement  between  the  Secretary  General  of  the  Council  of  Europe  and  the 
Director of the Agency in so far as the relevant applicable staff regulations allow. 

V.  Appointment  by  the  Council  of  Europe  of  an  independent  person  to  sit  on  the  Agency’s 
Management and Executive Boards  

17. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe shall appoint an independent person 
to  sit  on  the  Management  and  Executive  Boards  of  the  Agency,  together  with  an  alternate 
member.  The  Council  of  Europe  appointees  shall  have  appropriate  experience  in  the 
management  of  public  or  private  sector  organisations  and  knowledge  in  the  field  of 
fundamental rights. 

18.  The  Council  of  Europe  shall  notify  the  Agency  and  the  European  Commission  of  the 
appointments made. 

19. The person appointed by the Council of Europe to the Management Board shall be invited 
to participate in the meetings of the Executive Board. His or her views shall be duly taken into 
account, especially to ensure complementarity and added value between the activities of the 
Agency  and  those  of  the  Council  of  Europe.  He  or  she  shall  have  the  right  to  vote  in  the 
Executive Board as regards the preparation of decisions of the Management Board on which 
he  or  she  may  vote  in  accordance  with  Article  12  §  8  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No 
168/2007. 

VI. General and final provisions 

20. Nothing in this agreement may be interpreted as preventing the Parties from pursuing their 
respective activities. 

21. This Agreement abrogates and replaces the Agreement of 10 February 1999 between the 
European  Community  and  the  Council  of  Europe  for  the  purpose  of  establishing,  in 
accordance  with  Article  7  (3)  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1035/97  of  2  June  1997 
establishing  a  European  Monitoring  Centre  on  Racism  and  Xenophobia,  close  cooperation 
between the Centre and the Council of Europe. 

22.  This  Agreement  shall  enter  into  force  upon  signature  by  the  duly  authorised 
representatives of the Parties. 

23. This Agreement may be modified by mutual agreement between the Parties. The Parties 
shall evaluate the implementation of this Agreement not later than 31 December 2013 with a 
view to revising it if necessary. 

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