Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union on the Draft Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on equality and artificial intelligence
Date: 2025-09-19
Institutions: Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission
Subjects: artificial intelligence, equal treatment, gender equality, human rights, international convention, new technology, smart technology

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 19.9.2025  COM(2025) 518 final 2025/0291 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union on the Draft Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on equality and artificial intelligence  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PROPOSAL 

This proposal concerns the decision establishing the position to be taken on the Union's behalf 
in the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (“CM”) on the envisaged adoption of 
a  Council  of  Europe’s  Recommendation  on  Equality  and  Artificial  Intelligence  (“the 
Recommendation”). The Recommendation has been prepared by the Committee of Experts on 
Artificial  Intelligence,  Equality  and  Discrimination  (“GEC/ADI-AI”)  and  is  expected  to  be 
endorsed  at  the  joint  plenary  session  of  the  Gender  Equality  Commission  (“GEC”)  and  the 
Steering  Committee  on  Anti-Discrimination,  diversity  and  Inclusion  (“CDADI”)  at  its 
meeting of 18-20 November 2025 with a view of submitting it to the CM for adoption by the 
end of 2025. 

2. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

2.1. 

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe 

The CM is the Council of Europe’s decision-making body, composed of Ministers for Foreign 
Affairs or Permanent Representatives in Strasbourg of the 46 member States of the Council of 
Europe. The role and functions of the CM are described in Chapter IV of the Statute of the 
Council of Europe (“the Statute”). In accordance with Article 14 of the Statute, each member 
of the Council of Europe shall be entitled to one representative on the CM, who each have one 
vote. All EU Member States are members of the Council of Europe and are thus represented 
in the CM. The EU has observer status without a right to vote. 

2.2. 

The  Committee  of  Experts  on  Artificial 
Discrimination 

Intelligence,  Equality  and 

The  GEC/ADI-AI  is  a  joint  subcommittee  to  the  GEC  and  the  CDADI,  tasked  by  the 
Committee  of  Ministers  to  draft  a  Recommendation  on  the  impact  of  artificial  intelligence 
systems, their potential for promoting equality, including gender equality, and the risks they 
may cause in relation to non-discrimination, by the end of 2025.  

The GEC/ADI-AI is composed of eight representatives of Council of Europe member states, 
four of the GEC and four of the CDADI, as well as six independent experts with established 
expertise in artificial intelligence, human rights, equality, including gender equality, and non-
discrimination.  Each  member  of  the  GEC/ADI-AI  has  one  vote.  The  EU  is  a  participant 
without the right to vote. 

The  GEC  and  the  CDADI  are  each  composed  of  the  representatives  of  the  46  Council  of 
Europe’s  member  States,  who  each  have  one  vote.  In  addition,  their  plenary  sessions  are 
attended  by  representatives  of  various  bodies  of  the  Council  of  Europe,  intergovernmental 
organisations,  representatives  of  States  with  observer  status,  and  non-governmental 
the  European  Union 
organisations  and  specialised 
occasionally participate in the plenary sessions, without the right to vote. 

institutions.  Representatives  of 

2.3. 

The  Framework  Convention  on  Artificial  Intelligence  and  Human  Rights, 
Democracy and the Rule of Law of the Council of Europe 

On 17 May 2024, the CM adopted the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial 
Intelligence  and  Human  Rights,  Democracy  and  the  Rule  of  Law  (“the  Framework 
Convention”),  a  legally  binding  treaty  with  the  objective  to  ensure  that  activities  within  the 

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lifecycle of artificial intelligence systems  are fully consistent with human rights, democracy 
and the rule of law, while being conducive to technological progress and innovation.  

The  Framework  Convention  covers  AI  systems  potentially  interfering  with  human  rights, 
democracy  and  the  rule  of  law.  The  principles  and  the  obligations  of  the  Framework 
Convention  will  apply  to  activities  within  the  lifecycle  of  AI  systems  undertaken  by  public 
authorities or private actors acting on their behalf. Parties to the Convention are also obliged 
to  address  risks  and  impacts  arising  from  activities  within  the  lifecycle  of  AI  systems  by 
private  actors  in  a  manner  conforming  with  the  object  and  purpose  of  the  Convention,  but 
they have the choice whether to apply the Convention obligations or to take other appropriate 
measures. The Convention provides for a further set of general obligations and fundamental 
principles related to the protection of human dignity and individual autonomy, as well as the 
promotion  of  equality  and  non-discrimination.  Additionally,  it  mandates  respect  for  privacy 
and  personal  data  protection  along  with  transparency  and  oversight  to  ensure  accountability 
and  responsibility.  A  principle  is  also  devoted  to  safe  innovation  and  experimentation  in 
controlled environments.   

The Convention also includes a set of measures aiming to ensure availability of accessible and 
effective  remedies  for  violations  of  human  rights  resulting  from  the  activities  within  the 
lifecycle  of  AI  systems.  It  also  includes  effective  procedural  guarantees  and  safeguards  for 
persons whose rights have been significantly affected by the use of AI systems. Additionally, 
individuals should be provided with notice that they are interacting with an AI system and not 
with a human being.  

The Convention also includes measures for the assessment and mitigation of risks and adverse 
impacts to be carried out in an iterative manner, so as to identify actual and potential impacts 
on  human  rights,  democracy  and  the  rule  of  law  and  take  appropriate  prevention  and 
mitigation measures.   

Finally, the Convention provides that its Parties should assess the need for bans or moratoria 
on  certain  applications  of  AI  systems  considered  incompatible  with  the  respect  of  human 
rights, the functioning of democracy, or the rule of law.   

Each  Party  to  the  Convention  should  establish  or  designate  at  domestic  level  one  or  more 
effective mechanisms to oversee compliance with the obligations in the Convention, as given 
effect by the Parties.  

The Union signed the Convention on 5 September 2024, following the adoption of Council 
Decision  (EU)  2024/2218  of  28  August  2024  on  the  signing,  on  behalf  of  the  European 
Union,  of  the  Framework  Convention.  The  Convention  has  also  been  signed  by  Andorra, 
Canada,  Georgia,  Iceland,  Israel,  Japan,  Liechtenstein,  Montenegro,  Norway,  Republic  of 
Moldova,  San  Marino,  Switzerland,  Ukraine,  the  United  Kingdom  and  the  United  States  of 
America.    

On  3  June  2025,  the  Commission  adopted  a  proposal  for  a  Council  Decision  to  launch  the 
process  for the conclusion of the Framework Convention on behalf of the Union, under the 
terms set out in Council Decision (EU) 2024/2218.1   

Within  the  Union,  the  Framework  Convention  is  to  be  exclusively  implemented  through 
Regulation  (EU)  2024/1689  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  laying  down 
harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (“AI Act”)1, and other relevant Union acquis, where 

1 

Regulation  (EU)  2024/1689  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  13  June  2024  laying 
down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence and amending Regulations (EC) No 300/2008, (EU) No 

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applicable.2  The  AI  Act  provides  a  comprehensive  regulation  on  artificial  intelligence,  
aiming  to  promote  innovation  and  the  uptake  of  trustworthy  artificial  intelligence,  while 
protecting health, safety  and fundamental  rights  as enshrined in  the Charter of Fundamental 
Rights of the European Union (“the Charter”), including the right to non-discrimination and 
gender equality. The AI Act contains harmonised rules, generally based on full harmonisation, 
that regulate the placing on the market, the putting into service and the use of AI systems in 
the  Union.  Those  rules  are  directly  applicable  in  the  Member  States,  unless  that  Regulation 
explicitly provides otherwise. 

2.4. 

The  envisaged  Council  of  Europe  Recommendation  on  equality  and  artificial 
intelligence  

The  Recommendation  focuses  on  AI's  potential  to  promote  equality,  including  gender 
equality, and the risks it may pose concerning non-discrimination. It will aim to complement 
the  general  framework  set  by  the  Framework  Convention  with  regard  to  the  principle  of 
equality  on  artificial  intelligence  and  human  rights,  democracy,  and  the  rule  of  law  (CETS 
No.  225)  and  developed  in  close  cooperation  with  the  Committee  on  Artificial  Intelligence 
(CAI). 

The Recommendation is based on the “Study on the impact of artificial intelligence systems, 
their potential for promoting equality, including gender equality, and the risks they may cause 
in  relation  to  non-discrimination”,  endorsed  by  GEC  and  CDADI  in  2023.3  The  study 
identified  four  complementary  avenues  for  regulatory  and  policy  intervention  to  ensure  a 
robust  human  rights-based  approach  to  artificial  intelligence,  namely  (1)  prevention, 
transparency  and  accountability,  (2)  access  to  justice  and  legal  redress  mechanisms,  (3) 
diversity,  inclusion,  representation  and  participation,  (4)  democratic  participation,  public 
awareness-raising and capacity-building.   

In  order  to  gather  input  from  stakeholders  and  the  interested  public,  the  Council  of  Europe 
conducted  a  public  consultation  on  the  draft  Recommendation  from  10  March  2025  to  28 
April 2025.  

The draft Recommendation was discussed in the GEC/ADI-AI meetings on 25-26 September 
2024 and 26-27 February 2025. A last meeting of the expert group is due to take place on 7-9 
October  2025,  which  would  finalise  the  draft  text  of  the  Recommendation.  Ahead  of  that 
meeting,  a  fifth  revised  version  of  the  Recommendation  was  circulated  at  the  end  of  July 
(reference GEC/ADI-AI(2024)7rev5).  

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167/2013,  (EU)  No  168/2013,  (EU)  2018/858,  (EU)  2018/1139  and  (EU)  2019/2144  and  Directives 
2014/90/EU, (EU) 2016/797 and (EU) 2020/1828 (Artificial Intelligence Act) 
In particular, the two Directives on standards for equality bodies Council Directive (EU) 2024/1499 of 
7  May  2024  on  standards  for  equality  bodies  in  the  field  of  equal  treatment  between  persons 
irrespective  of  their racial  or ethnic  origin,  equal  treatment  in  matters  of  employment  and  occupation 
between  persons  irrespective  of  their  religion  or  belief,  disability,  age  or  sexual  orientation,  equal 
treatment  between  women  and  men  in  matters  of  social  security  and  in  the  access  to  and  supply  of 
goods  and  services,  and  amending  Directives  2000/43/EC  and  2004/113/EC;  :  Directive  (EU) 
2024/1500 of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  14  May 2024  on  standards  for  equality 
bodies  in  the  field  of  equal  treatment  and  equal  opportunities  between  women  and  men  in  matters of 
employment and occupation, and amending Directives 2006/54/EC and 2010/41/EU. 
Meeting report of the 7th Plenary Meeting of the Steering Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity 
and Inclusion (CDADI), 27-29 June 2023, CDADI (2023)13, https://rm.coe.int/7th-plenary-meeting-27-
29-june-2023-report/488010b9d5.   

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The  draft  Recommendation  was  also  discussed  in  the  GEC  and  the  CDADI  meetings  in 
November  2024  and  is  due  to  be  approved  in  a  joint  plenary  session  of  the  GEC  and  the 
CDADI  from  18-20  November  2025,  for  submission  to  the  CM.  The  CM  aims  to  formally 
adopt the Recommendation by the spring of 2026.    

The  purpose  of  the  envisaged  Recommendation  is  “to  assist  Member  States  to  promote 
equality, including gender equality, and to prevent and combat all forms of discrimination, in 
all  their  activities  and  those  of  public  and  private  sector  actors  within  the  lifecycle  of  AI 
systems”.  

The Recommendation would not create legally binding effects and obligations and would be 
based on the voluntary application by the member states of the Council of Europe. However, 
in accordance with Article 15(b) of the Statute, the CM may request the member governments 
“to inform it of the action taken by them” in regard to recommendations.   

3. 

POSITION TO BE TAKEN ON THE UNION'S BEHALF 

It is proposed that the position of the Union should be to agree with the adoption of the draft 
Recommendation  by  the  CM  provided that  it  ensures  consistency  with  the  Union  acquis,  in 
particular the AI Act, and coherence with the Council of Europe Framework Convention. The 
current draft of the Recommendation (rev5 of July 2025) is not yet fully consistent. 

More specifically, the Union should agree with the adoption of the draft recommendation on 
the condition that the Recommendation respects the following requirements:  

1. 

Measures  concerning  actors  within  the  lifecycle  of  AI  systems  do  not  exceed 
obligations established under the AI Act which generally fully harmonises the rules 
for AI in the Union, including in the area of equality.  

In  particular,  the  Recommendation  should  allow  sufficient  flexibility  in  the 
implementation  of  the  AI  Act  (in  line  with  the  approach  of  the  Framework 
Convention),￼  which  would  require  appropriate  amendments  of  the  references  to 
the  need  to  take  “effective  measures”  in  paragraphs  7,  9,  10  and  36  of  the  draft 
Recommendation; 

• 

• 

The  measures  proposed  in  paragraphs  9,  10.1  and  18.2  of  the  draft 
Recommendation  should  be  amended  in  an  appropriate  manner  to  avoid 
recommendations  for  the  introduction  of  additional  positive  obligations  in 
relation to the promotion of equality by providers and deployers of AI systems; 

The  provisions  of  paragraph  5.1  of  the  draft  Recommendation  should  be 
adjusted in an appropriate manner to avoid an open-ended restriction on the use 
of  AI  which  is  incompatible  with  the  EU  approach  to  AI  regulation  and  EU 
policy on innovation. 

2. 

The  formulation  of  the  measures  and  standards  within  the  Recommendation  is 
clarified  in  the  text  to  ensure  consistency  and  interoperability  with  the  Union  legal 
framework, both terminologically and substantively. 

• 

In  particular,  appropriate  adjustments  should  be  made  in  paragraph  18  to  the 
references to “uniform standards” in order to ensure sufficient flexibility in the 
implementation,  and  to  the  references  to  “biases”  to  ensure  the  measures 
remain proportionate and focused on harms. 

3. 

Safeguards relating to human review and appeal procedures (in paragraph 16bis) are 
adjusted  in  an  appropriate  manner  consistent  with  both  the  AI  Act  and  the 

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4. 

Framework  Convention,  thereby  ensuring  coherence  between  the  two  instruments 
while avoiding the introduction of AI specific obligations for providers or deployers 
of AI systems not contemplated in the Union acquis.4 

The scope of sectors listed at the end of paragraph 36 of the draft Recommendation 
as requiring particular attention is amended to ensure it is consistent and does not go 
beyond  the  high-risk  areas  defined  under  the  AI  Act  (Annexes  I  and  III),  thereby 
avoiding  the  inclusion  of  sectors  not  listed  therein,  or  alternatively  reformulating 
such  references  in  terms  of  monitoring  actions  or  other  sufficiently  flexible 
approaches.5 

4. 

LEGAL BASIS 

4.1. 

Procedural legal basis 

4.1.1.  Principles 

Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides for 
decisions establishing ‘the positions to be adopted on the Union’s behalf in a body set up by 
an  agreement,  when  that  body  is  called  upon  to  adopt  acts  having  legal  effects,  with  the 
exception of acts supplementing or amending the institutional framework of the agreement.’ 

Article 218(9) TFEU applies regardless of whether the Union is a member of the body or a 
party to the agreement.6 

The concept of ‘acts having legal effects’ includes acts that have legal effects by virtue of the 
rules of international law governing the body in question. It also includes instruments that do 
not  have  a  binding  effect  under  international  law,  but  that  are  ‘capable  of  decisively 
influencing the content of the legislation adopted by the EU legislature’7. 

4.1.2.  Application to the present case 

As outlined in Section 2, the Recommendation is to be adopted by the CM, which is a body 
set up by an international agreement and might produce legal effects by influencing the way 
the AI Act is implemented and applied.  

More specifically, certain provisions of the AI Act explicitly state that existing “international 
approaches” and “international standards” should be taken into account in the implementation 
of  the  AI  Act.  For  example,  Article  40(3)  of  the  AI  Act  provides  that  participants  in  the 
standardisation process need to take into account “existing international standards in the field 
of  AI  that  are  consistent  with  Union  values,  fundamental  rights  and  interests”.  The 
Recommendation  will  set  out  guidance  on  the  promotion  of  equality  in  the  life  cycle  of  AI 
systems, which could constitute one of the benchmarks against which  harmonised standards 
are  assessed.  At  the  same  time,  Article  56(1)  AI  Act  requires  the  AI  Office  to  take  into 
account  “international  approaches”  when  facilitating  the  drawing  up  of  codes  of  practice  at 
Union  level.  The  first  Code  of  Practice  on  general  purpose  AI  models  has  already  been 

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see version with reference GEC/ADI-AI(2024)7rev5 
see version with reference GEC/ADI-AI(2024)7rev5 
Judgment  of 
ECLI:EU:C:2014:2258, paragraph 64. 
Judgment  of 
ECLI:EU:C:2014:2258, paragraphs 61 to 64.  

the  Court  of  Justice  of  7  October  2014,  Germany  v  Council,  C-399/12, 

the  Court  of  Justice  of  7  October  2014,  Germany  v  Council,  C-399/12, 

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finalised  and  assessed  by  the  Commission  as  adequate  for  providers  of  general  purpose  AI 
models to demonstrate compliance with the relevant obligations of the AI Act.  

In accordance with Article 56(6) first subparagraph of the AI Act, the AI Office and the Board 
must regularly monitor and evaluate the achievement of the objectives of the codes of practice 
by the participants and their contribution to the proper application of this Regulation.  

At  the  envisaged  time  of  adoption  of  the  Recommendation,  the  work  on  the  harmonised 
standards  will  have  advanced  and  the  AI  Act’s  Code  of  Practice  for  general-purpose  AI 
models has already been finalised. The Recommendation might be relevant for future updates 
of the Code of Practice and the standards. 

Therefore, the procedural legal basis for the proposed decision is Article 218(9) TFEU. 

4.2. 

Substantive legal basis 

4.2.1.  Principles 

The  substantive  legal  basis  for  a  decision  under  Article  218(9)  TFEU  depends  primarily  on 
the objective and content of the envisaged act in respect of which a position is taken on the 
Union's  behalf.  If the  envisaged act  pursues two  aims or has two components  and if one of 
those  aims  or  components  is  identifiable  as  the  main  one,  whereas  the  other  is  merely 
incidental, the decision under Article 218(9) TFEU must be founded on a single substantive 
legal basis, namely that required by the main or predominant aim or component. 

4.2.2.  Application to the present case 

The  stated  objective  of  the  envisaged  Recommendation  is  to  “assist  Member  States  in  their 
actions to promote equality, including gender equality, and to prevent and combat all forms 
of  discrimination,  in  all their activities and those of  public and private sector  actors within 
the lifecycle of AI systems”.  

This  aligns  with  the  purpose  of  the  AI  Act,  which  is  to  “improve  the  functioning  of  the 
internal market by laying down a uniform legal framework in particular for the development, 
the placing on the market, the putting into service and the use of artificial intelligence systems 
in the Union, in accordance with Union values, to promote the uptake of human centric and 
trustworthy artificial intelligence while ensuring a high  level  of  protection of  health, safety, 
fundamental  rights  as  enshrined  in  the  Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  of  the  European 
Union, including democracy, the rule of law and environmental protection, to protect against 
the harmful effects of AI systems in the Union, and to support innovation”.  

The Recommendation overlaps mostly with the AI Act, in particular: 

• 

• 

The Recommendation aims at combating inequality stemming from AI, which 
is similar to the objective of the AI Act, i.e. to ensure a high level of protection 
of the fundamental rights enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, 
including  the  rights  to  equality  and  non-discrimination,  against  the  harmful 
effects of AI systems in the Union. 

The personal and material scope for which the AI Act and (the measures in) the 
Recommendation are intended to apply are essentially the same, namely public 
and private actors that develop or deploy AI and activities within the lifecycle 
of AI systems.  

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• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

A similar graduated and differentiated approach to AI systems is taken in both 
the AI Act and the Recommendation, in line with the Framework Convention 
on AI;   

(human)  oversight 
The  Recommendation  sets  out 
identification,  prevention  and  combatting  of 
for 
requirements 
discrimination following activities within the lifecycle of AI systems which are 
similar  to  those  laid  down  in  the  AI  Act,  in  particular  in,  among  others,  its 
Articles 13, 14, 49, 50 and 86;  

transparency  and 

the 

The  Recommendation’s  requirements  to  identify,  evaluate,  mitigate  and 
monitor  discrimination  risks  are  similar  to  the  AI  Act’s  requirements  and 
obligations for providers or deployers of high-risk AI systems, in particular in, 
among  others,  its  Articles  9,  10,  17,26  and  27;  provisions  in  relation  to 
standards  are  also  included  in  the  Recommendation,  which  resemble  those 
related to Union harmonised standards in Article 40 to 49. 

The  Recommendation  contains  measures  in  relation  to  documentation, 
procedural safeguards and remedies which are similar to those in the AI Act, in 
particular in Articles 11, 12, 26, 53, 85, 86 of the AI Act).  

The  Recommendation  identifies  target  sectors  to  mainstream  equality  and 
requires  measures  where  the  risks  of  discrimination  are  particularly  acute 
which partly overlap with the high-risk categorisation of the AI Act (Article 6 
and Annexes I and III). 

The  Recommendation  also  covers  elements  common  to  the  Union  acquis  on  non-
discrimination  and  equality.  This  concerns,  in  particular,  the  Directives  on  Equality  Bodies, 
adopted  on  the  basis  of  Articles  19  and  157  TFEU.8  The  relevant  elements  of  the 
Recommendation include:  

• 

• 

• 

Requirements  for  member  States  to  equip  Equality  Bodies  with  sufficient 
financial,  human  and  technical  resources  and  to  cooperate  with  them  when 
developing  appropriate  legislation,  policies  and  administrative,  regulatory  or 
other frameworks (relevant for Articles 3 and 4 of the Directives);   

Transparency  and  oversight  requirements,  enabling  Equality  Bodies  to 
scrutinise whether discrimination has occurred and to  assess whether such AI 
systems necessitate a moratorium or a ban (relevant for Articles 8 and 9 of the 
Directives);   

Requirements to support or assist victims of AI-based discrimination to assert 
their  rights,  including  by  submitting  observations  to  the  court  (relevant  for 
Articles 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the Directives).   

8 

Directive (EU) 2024/1500 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on standards 
for equality bodies in the field of equal treatment and equal opportunities between women and men in 
matters of employment and occupation, and amending Directives 2006/54/EC and 2010/41/EU (OJ L, 
2024/1500,  29.5.2024,  ELI:  http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1500/oj);  Council  Directive  (EU) 
2024/1499  of  7  May  2024  on  standards  for  equality  bodies  in  the  field  of  equal  treatment  between 
persons  irrespective  of  their  racial  or  ethnic  origin,  equal  treatment  in  matters  of  employment  and 
occupation between persons irrespective of their religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, 
equal treatment between women and men in matters of social security and in the access to and supply of 
goods  and  services,  and  amending  Directives  2000/43/EC  and  2004/113/EC,  (OJ  L,  2024/1499, 
29.5.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1499/oj).  

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While the Recommendation aims to promote equality and prevent discrimination, it primarily 
contains legislative and policy measures targeted at actors within the lifecycle of AI systems 
(cf  point  2  of  the  Recommendation).  More  specifically,  it  sets  out  recommendations  on 
equality impact assessments, certification, the transparency, monitoring, and oversight of AI 
systems as explained above.   

Within  the  Union,  the  predominant  part  of  the  Recommendation  will  be  implemented,  not 
through horizontal equality legislation that applies to all economic actors, such as the Equality 
bodies  legislation,  but  through  legislation  addressed  specifically  at  operators  providing  and 
deploying  AI  systems,  notably  the  AI  Act  and/or  its  implementing  measures  In  fact,  the 
Explanatory Memorandum expressly acknowledges that the AI Act already implements (part 
of) the Recommendations (cf para 11 EM).  

It follows that the centre of gravity of the Recommendation falls within the area covered by 
the AI Act. The substantive legal basis for the position to be taken on behalf of the Union on 
those elements of the Recommendation should therefore be Article 114 TFEU, which is the 
primary legal basis of the AI Act. 

Therefore, the substantive legal basis of the proposed decision is Article 114 TFEU. 

4.3. 

Conclusion 

The  legal  basis  of  the  proposed  decision  should  be  Article  114  TFEU,  in  conjunction  with 
Article 218(9) TFEU. 

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2025/0291 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union on the Draft 
Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on equality 
and artificial intelligence 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 114, in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

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The Council of Europe aims to adopt a Recommendation (“the Recommendation”) to 
address  the  impact  of  artificial  intelligence  (“AI”)  systems,  their  potential  for 
promoting equality, including gender equality, and the risks they may cause in relation 
to  non-discrimination.  The  Recommendation  is  due  to  be  adopted  by  the  Council  of 
Europe’s Gender Equality Commission (“GEC”) and the Steering Committee on Anti-
Discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion (“CDADI”), during their joint plenary session 
from  18-20  November  2025  and  to  be  formally  approved  by  the  Committee  of 
Ministers of the Council of Europe. 

The  Recommendation  aims  to  complement  the  Council  of  Europe  Framework 
Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of 
Law  (“the  Framework  Convention”),  which  was  signed  by  the  Union  pursuant  to 
Council Decision (EU) 2024/2218, with regard to the principle of equality, by making 
detailed, equality-specific recommendations to member states.  

The Framework Convention lays down general principles and obligations that parties 
to the Framework Convention should observe to ensure the protection of human rights, 
democracy, and the rule of law in  relation to the activities within the lifecycle of  AI 
systems.  The  Commission  has  proposed  that  the  Union  concludes  the  Framework 
Convention.9 The Council decision for conclusion of the Framework Convention is in 
process of adoption by the Council. 

On  13  June  2024,  the  European  Parliament  and  Council  adopted,  on  the  basis  of 
Articles 16 and 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), 
Regulation  (EU)  2024/1689  (10),  which  lays  down  harmonised  rules,  generally  based 

Proposal  for  a  COUNCIL  DECISION  on  the  conclusion,  on  behalf  of  the  European  Union,  of  the 
Council  of  Europe  Framework  Convention  on  Artificial  Intelligence  and  Human  Rights,  Democracy 
and the Rule of Law, COM(2025) 265 final. 
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 of the European Parliament and the Council of 13 June 2024 laying down 
harmonised  rules  on  artificial  intelligence  and  amending  Regulations  (EC)  No  300/2008,  (EU)  No 
167/2013,  (EU)  No  168/2013,  (EU)  2018/858,  (EU)  2018/1139  and  (EU)  2019/2144  and  Directives 
2014/90/EU,  (EU)  2016/797  and  (EU)  2020/1828  (Artificial  Intelligence  Act)  (OJ  L,  2024/  1689, 
12.7.2024. 

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(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

on full harmonisation, that regulate the placing on the market, the putting into service 
and  the  use  of  AI  systems  in  the  Union.  Those  rules  are  directly  applicable  in  the 
Member States, unless explicitly provided otherwise.  

The Framework Convention is to be implemented in the Union exclusively through the 
AI Act and other relevant Union acquis, where applicable. 

It  is  appropriate  to  establish  the  position  to  be  taken  on  the  Union's  behalf  on  the 
Recommendation in the joint plenary session of the GEC and the CDADI, as well as in 
the  Committee  of  Ministers,  as  the  Recommendation,  even  if  non-binding,  will  be 
capable of decisively  influencing  the content of  Union law, namely Regulation  (EU) 
2024/1689 of the European Parliament and the Council laying down harmonised rules 
on artificial intelligence..  

The personal and material scope of the Recommendation coincides, to a large extent, 
with  Regulation  (EU)  2024/1689,  which  provides  for  rules  for  AI  that  are  generally 
based on full harmonisation within the Union.  

The  adoption  of  the  Recommendation  may  affect  existing  and  foreseeable  future 
common  Union  rules  or  alter  their  scope  within  the  meaning  of  Article  3(2)  TFEU. 
The Union therefore enjoys exclusive external competence to take a position on behalf 
of the Union for adoption of the Recommendation.  

The Union should ensure that the Recommendation is compatible with Union law and, 
for all  aspects  that are harmonised at  Union level, can be implemented in the Union 
legal  order  through  the  existing  Union  acquis,  in  particular  Regulation  (EU) 
2024/1689  and  Directives  2024/1499  and  2024/1500.  For  specific  recommendations 
that concern the development and use of AI systems that are fully harmonised in the 
Union, the Union should aim to ensure that the Recommendation is consistent with the 
provisions  of  the  AI  Act  and  the  principles  set  out  in  the  Council  of  Europe 
Framework Convention on AI.  

(10)  Provided  that  these  conditions  are  met,  the  Recommendation  may  be  approved  on 
behalf  of  the  Union.  at  the  joint  plenary  session  of  the  GEC  and  the  CDADI  that  is 
going  to  take  place  on  18-20  November  2025  and  at  a  subsequent  meeting  of  the 
Committee of Ministers.  

(11)  As the Union is not a member of the Council of Europe but all of its Member States 
are, the Union’s position is to be expressed by its Member States, acting jointly.  

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

The position to be taken on the Union's behalf in the joint plenary session of the GEC and the 
CDADI, as well as in the meeting of the Committee of Ministers, shall be to not object to the 
adoption of the Recommendation on AI and Equality, provided that the following conditions 
are taken into account:  

1. 

Measures  concerning  actors  within  the  lifecycle  of  AI  systems  do  not  exceed 
obligations established under the AI Act which generally fully harmonises the rules 
for  AI  in  the  Union,  including  in  the  area  of  equality.  In  particular,  the 
Recommendation  should  allow  sufficient  flexibility  in  its  implementation  ,  in  line 
with the approach of the Framework Convention. It should also avoid recommending 

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2. 

3. 

4. 

the  introduction  of  additional  positive  obligations  in  relation  to  the  promotion  of 
equality  by  providers  and  deployers  of  AI  systems  as  well  as  imposing  an  open-
ended restriction on the use of AI. 

The formulation of the measures and standards within the Recommendation needs to 
ensure  consistency  and  interoperability  with  the  Union  legal  framework,  both 
terminologically and substantively. 

Safeguards relating to human review and appeal procedures must be consistent with 
both  the  AI  Act  and  the  Framework  Convention,  thereby  ensuring  coherence 
between  the  two  instruments  while  avoiding  the  introduction  of  AI  specific 
obligations for providers or deployers of AI systems not contemplated in the Union 
acquis.  

The  scope  of  sectors  identified  in  the  Recommendation  as  requiring  particular 
attention  should  ensure  consistency  with  and    not  go  beyond  the  high-risk  areas 
defined  under  the  AI  Act  (Annexes  I  and  III).  Alternatively,  the  Recommendation 
should differentiate in an appropriate manner between the treatment of the sectors in 
terms of monitoring actions or other sufficiently flexible approaches. 

The  position  referred  to  in  Article  1  shall  be  expressed  by  the  Member  States  of  the  Union 
that are members of the Council of Europe, acting jointly. 

Article 2 

This Decision is addressed to the Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

Article 3 

For the Council 
The President 

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