Committee of Ministers
Comité des Ministres

104^th Session
(Budapest, 6-7 May 1999)

Draft for

THE BUDAPEST DECLARATION

For a Greater Europe without dividing lines ^{footnote 1}

Half a century after the establishment of the Council of Europe, which made democracy, human rights and the rule of law permanent priorities for post-war Europe,

Ten years after the major political upheavals which opened the way to reunification of our continent on the basis of the ideals and principles which are the common heritage of all European states,

At a time when the values on which the Council of Europe is based are negated and denied in the heart of our continent,

WE, THE FOREIGN MINISTERS OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE’S MEMBER STATES, ASSEMBLED IN BUDAPEST FOR OUR 104^th SESSION:

REAFFIRM OUR DETERMINATION FULLY TO USE THE POTENTIAL OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE,

COMMIT OURSELVES TO BUILDING THIS GREATER EUROPE WITHOUT DIVIDING LINES.

1. continue to consolidate the stability of our continent based on democratic institutions,

- honour all the commitments we have given to each other, to the Council of Europe and to our citizens,

- participate actively in the machineries that we have established to ensure compliance with these commitments,

- extend assistance to member states engaged in democratic institution-building, policy development and legal reform, for the purpose of reaching uniform standards of democratic development throughout the continent,

-

pursue the fight against terrorism, aggressive nationalism and threats to the territorial integrity of States,

2. seek to strengthen the political, legal, social and cultural cohesion of Greater Europe:

- expand the common legal area shared by Council of Europe member states, which already comprises 173 conventions and more than a thousand recommendations to governments,

- combat the divisive factors constituted by racism and xenophobia, intolerance - whether political, cultural or religious - and discrimination against minorities,

- build on the community of culture formed by a Europe enriched by its diversity, confident in its identity and open to the world,

- work out common responses to the challenges facing modern societies, such as the development of the new information technologies, for which guidelines for a European policy are set out in the Declaration contained in Appendix I,

3. reaffirm the primacy of the human person in our policies:

- effectively guarantee the fundamental rights secured to individuals in our member states by the European Convention on Human Rights, under the supervision of the European Court of Human Rights,

- promote these rights, and those protected by other basic Council of Europe instruments, in particular through the action of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights appointed under the Resolution contained in Appendix II,

- oppose firmly any approach which could lead to double standards on human rights issues in all their aspects,

- develop a new educational approach to democratic citizenship, based on the rights and responsibilities of citizens, as set out in the Declaration and the Programme contained in Appendix III,

4. continue to promote our shared commitment to democracy and the rule of law by developing the existing partnership between:

- the governments of the Council of Europe's member states, respecting the principle of equality between states and expressing the hope that all the countries of Europe will soon be able to embrace the principles on which the Organisation is based,

- national governments and parliaments, represented in the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly, the statutory organs of the Council of Europe; local and regional authorities, represented in the Council of Europe by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe; and structures making it possible to associate non governmental organisations and civil society with intergovernmental co-operation,

- the Council of Europe, within its field of competence, and the other organisations - including on the regional level -which help to develop and structure our continent, in particular the European Union and the OSCE.

We are determined to continue, in the 21^st century, to contribute to building democratic stability and co-operation in Europe. Accordingly, we undertake :

- to complete the reform of the structures and the activities of the Council of Europe and adapt them to the future challenges;

- to seek political and legal solutions making it possible to transcend state frontiers and promote peaceful and harmonious coexistence of the nations, minorities, and cultural, linguistic and religious communities which together make up our continent; in this spirit, we shall implement the Council of Europe contribution to the stability programme for South-East Europe and work for peace as well as full respect for human rights and the rule of law throughout Europe.

1    The Appendices will be added after the formal adoption of the relevant texts (see item 3 of the Agenda).