Debate: Institutional relations between the EU and the Council of Europe
Date: MONDAY, 17 APRIL 2023
Speaker: Dubravka Šuica
Language: EN

The new EU priorities address many of the issues raised in your report. We welcome that your report recognises the already excellent rule of law cooperation between the European Union and the Council of Europe. The Commission has worked closely with the Council of Europe for the preparation of the report on the situation of the rule of law report in the EU, since its first edition. The yearly Commission reports take particular account of the Council of Europe’s recommendations and opinions and make extensive use of the work of bodies such as GRECO, the Venice Commission, which you already mentioned, and of course, the European Court of Human Rights. The 2022 Rule of Law Report for the first time provides an overview of the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights by EU Member States. The European Union and the Council of Europe also cooperate closely in promoting democracy, human rights and the rule of law in the EU’s external relations and, in particular, supporting EU candidate and potential candidate countries in carrying out the necessary reforms to meet the European Union accession criteria. The opinions of the Venice Commission play an important role in this regard. Your report also recalls the importance of the European Union’s accession to the European Convention of Human Rights. As you know, there is a provisional unanimous political agreement and the text has been published. This is good news. However, there is still homework for the European Union. We must find a way to deal with the issue of human rights protection in the Common Foreign and Security policy. This is something we must try to solve within the European Union, and discussions on the internal solution are currently continuing in the Council.  Regarding Ukraine, we welcome the support provided by the Council of Europe to document violations of human rights in the context of Russia’s war of aggression and, in particular, to enhance the capacity of organisations contributing to ongoing accountability efforts. The European Union is in favour of setting up an international register of damages. We are discussing the matter with the Council of Europe, which along with Ukraine and the Netherlands, aims to take a lead role in establishing the register. It will record evidence and information on claims for damages, losses or injury caused by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. This is a first step towards the establishment of a compensation mechanism. The Icelandic Presidency of the Council of Europe is proposing to adopt a declaration on the situation of the more than 19 500 Ukrainian children who, according to Ukraine, have been transferred to areas temporarily occupied by Russia or deported to Russia. The European Union supports efforts of the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to trace the children and facilitate family reunification. And we have welcomed the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against President Putin and Ms Lvova-Belova, the Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights, as an important step towards Russian leadership, accountability for war crimes. The European Union has also imposed sanctions against 16 individuals responsible for the deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children, including Ms Lvova-Belova. We will continue identifying those involved with the aim of implementing further restrictive measures. Discussions also continue on Ukraine’s proposal for the establishment of a tribunal for the crime of aggression. While positions still diverge on the nature of such a tribunal and its legal basis, the European Union continues working with partners, including the Council of Europe, to ensure maximum international support for Ukraine’s efforts to ensure full accountability. The European Union supports the holding of the Council of Europe’s fourth summit on 16—17 May this year in Reykjavik, which will be instrumental in this regard. I would like to thank all of you, especially your rapporteur, for your report and for your kind attention.