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: 2008-06-18
Institutions: Council of Europe, European Community
Subjects: Council of Europe, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, cooperation agreement (EU), exchange of information, fundamental rights, ratification of an agreement

15.7.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 186/7

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

AGREEMENT

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Community’,

of the one part,

and

THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE,

of the other part,

hereinafter together referred to as ‘the Parties’,

WHEREAS, on 15 February 2007, the Council of the European Union adopted 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 funda­
mental 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 is to 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 is to take account, where appropriate, of activities already carried out by
the Council of Europe,

WHEREAS, in order to avoid duplication and to ensure complementarity and added value, the Agency is to 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 Regulation (EC) No 168/2007,

WHERAS 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,

WHEREAS the Memorandum of Understanding between the Council of Europe and the European Union concluded in
23 May 2007 contains a general framework for 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,

L 186/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

15.7.2008

WHEREAS, in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding, the Agency respects the unity, validity and effec­
tiveness 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;

and

Inhuman

or Degrading Treatment

the European Committee for

(b) the term ‘Council of Europe's human rights monitoring
committees’ shall mean the European Committee of Social
the Prevention of
Rights,
Torture
or
the European Commission against Racism
Punishment,
and Intolerance,
the
the Committee of Experts of
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, the
Advisory Committee of the Framework Convention for the
Protection of National Minorities and any other such inde­
pendent 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 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.

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

Cooperation shall cover the whole range of the Agency's

6.
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
respective activities. These
their
provisions do not extend to confidential data and activities
produced or undertaken.

The Agency shall take due account of the judgments and
8.
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 human rights monitoring and intergo­
the Council of
vernmental committees, as well as those of
Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights.

Whenever

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

it shall

4.
As a general rule, Council of Europe Secretariat represen­
tatives 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
the Agency's
Management Board, including those referred to in Article 6(1)
of Regulation (EC) No 168/2007.

to other meetings organized

by

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.

The Agency and the Council of Europe shall ensure
information about activities proposed,

11.
regular exchanges of
under way or completed.

15.7.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 186/9

IV. Methods of cooperation

12.
Regular consultations shall be held between the Agency
and the Council of Europe Secretariat, with the aim of coordi­
nating the Agency's activities,
in particular in 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.

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 appro­
priate experience in the management of public or private sector
organizations and knowledge in the field of fundamental rights.

13.

Such consultations shall notably concern:

The Council of Europe shall notify the Agency and the

18.
European Commission of the appointments made.

(a)

the preparation of the Agency's Annual Work Programme;

(b) the preparation of the Agency's Annual Report on funda­
mental rights issues covered by the areas of the Agency's
activity;

(c) cooperation with civil society,

in particular association of
the Council of Europe with the establishment and func­
tioning 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
common
and/or
complementary activities on subjects of
interest,
or
workshops, data collection and analysis or the setting up of
shared information sources or products.

organisation

conferences

such

the

of

as

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
the European
Community shall apply.

and financed or

co-financed by

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 a 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 Regulation (EC) No 168/2007.

VI. General and final provisions

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

This Agreement abrogates and replaces the Agreement
21.
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.

This Agreement shall enter into force upon signature by

22.
the duly authorized representatives of the Parties.

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 insofar as the relevant applicable staff regulations
allow.

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

L 186/10

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

15.7.2008

Съставено в Брюксел на осемнадесети юни две хиляди и осма година.

Hecho en Estrasburgo, el dieciocho de junio de dos mil ocho.

Ve Štrasburku dne osmnáctého června dva tisíce osm.

Udfærdiget i Strasbourg den attende juni to tusind og otte.

Geschehen zu Strassburg am achtzehnten Juni zweitausendacht.

Kahe tuhande kaheksanda aasta juunikuu kaheksateistkümnendal päeval Strasbourgis.

'Εγινε στo Στρασβoύργo, στις δέκα οκτώ Ιουνίου δύο χιλιάδες οκτώ.

Done at Strasbourg on the eighteenth day of June in the year two thousand and eight.

Fait à Strasbourg, le dix-huit juin deux mille huit.

Fatto a Strasburgo, addì diciotto giugno duemilaotto.

Strasbūrā, divtūkstoš astotā gada astoņpadsmitajā jūnijā.

Priimta du tūkstančiai aštuntų metų birželio aštuonioliktą dieną Strasbūre.

Kelt Strasbourgban, a kétezer-nyolcadik év június tizennyolcadik napján.

Magħmul fi Strasburgu, fit-tmintax-il jum ta' Ġunju tas-sena elfejn u tmienja.

Gedaan te Straatsburg, de achttiende juni tweeduizend acht.

Sporządzono w Strasburgu dnia osiemnastego czerwca roku dwa tysiące ósmego.

Încheiat la Strasbourg, la optsprezece iunie două mii opt.

Feito em Estrasburgo, em dezoito de Junho de dois mil e oito.

V Štrasburgu dňa osemnásteho júna dvetisícosem.

V Strasbourgu, dne osemnajstega junija leta dva tisoč osem.

Tehty Strasbourgissa kahdeksantenatoista päivänä kesäkuuta vuonna kaksituhattakahdeksan.

Som skedde i Strasbourg den artonde juni tjugohundraåtta.

15.7.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 186/11

За Европейската общност
Por la Comunidad Europea
Za Evropské společenství
For Det Europæiske Fællesskab
Für die Europäische Gemeinschaft
Euroopa Ühenduse nimel
Για την Ευρωπαϊκή Κοινότητα
For the European Community
Pour la Communauté européenne
Per la Comunità europea
Eiropas Kopienas vārdā
Europos bendrijos vardu
Az Európai Közösség részéről
Għall-Komunità Ewropea
Voor de Europese Gemeenschap
W imieniu Wspólnoty Europejskiej
Pela Comunidade Europeia
Pentru Comunitatea Europeană
Za Európske spoločenstvo
Za Evropsko skupnost
Euroopan yhteisön puolesta
För Europeiska gemenskapen

За Съвета на Европа
Por el Consejo de Europa
Za Radu Evropy
For Europarådet
Für den Europarat
Euroopa Nõukogu nimel
Για το Συμβούλιο της Ευρώπης
For the Council of Europe
Pour le Conseil de l'Europe
Per il Consiglio d'Europa
Eiropas Padomes vārdā
Europos Tarybos vardu
Az Európa Tanács részéről
Għall-Kunsill ta' l-Ewropa
Voor de Raad van Europa
W imieniu Rady Europy
Pelo Conselho da Europa
Pentru Consiliul Europei
Za Radu Európy
Za Svet Evrope
Euroopan neuvoston puolesta
För Europarådet