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RAPPORTEUR GROUP |
Social and Health Questions |
10 April 2018[1] |
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Synopsis Meeting of 3 April 2018 |
1. The Rapporteur Group for Social and Health Questions (GR-SOC), chaired by Ambassador Božidarka Krunić, Permanent Representative of Montenegro, adopted the agenda (GR-SOC(2018)OJ3) and considered the following items:
1. Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2016-2021) – Ad hoc Committee for the Rights of the Child (CAHENF)
i. Draft Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)… of the Committee of Ministers to member States on Guidelines for member States to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of the child in the digital environment
ii. Background note prepared by the Secretariat
2. At the request of one delegation, this item was postponed to the next meeting.
2. European Social Charter –
a. Follow-up to the decisions of the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) in the context of the collective complaints procedure
First examination
i. Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE) v. Greece, Complaint No. 111/2014
CEDS(2014)111, CM(2017)87, CM/ResChS(2017)9, GR-SOC(2017)9, DD(2017)1360
3. In the light of the information provided by the Greek delegation, the Group agreed to resume consideration of this item at a forthcoming meeting in the autumn.
ii. Mental Disability Advocacy Center (MDAC) v. Belgium, Complaint No. 109/2014
CEDS(2014)109, GR-SOC(2018)3, DD(2018)254
4. The delegation of Belgium informed the Group of its government’s observations on the decisions of the European Committee of Social Rights (cf. document DD(2018)254) regarding the above-mentioned complaint. In the light of this information and the ensuing exchange of views, the GR-SOC agreed to instruct the Secretariat to prepare a draft resolution for consideration at its next meeting in view of its subsequent transmission to the Deputies for adoption.
iii. European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF) v. France, Complaint No. 119/2015
CEDS(2015)119, GR-SOC(2018)4, DD(2018)227
5. The delegation of France informed the Group of its government’s observations on the decisions of the European Committee of Social Rights (cf. document DD(2018)227) regarding the above-mentioned complaint. In the light of this information and the ensuing exchange of views, the GR-SOC agreed to instruct the Secretariat to prepare a draft resolution for consideration at its next meeting in view of its subsequent transmission to the Deputies for adoption.
Examination of a draft resolution
iv. European Organisation of Military Associations (EUROMIL) v. Ireland, Complaint No. 112/2014
CEDS(2014)112, GR-SOC(2017)12, CM(2018)26
6. The Group examined the draft resolution presented in document CM(2018)26 and agreed to transmit it to the Deputies for adoption at their 1313th meeting (10 April 2018), without further debate.
b. Governmental Committee of the European Social Charter and the European Code of Social Security
i. Abridged report concerning Conclusions XXI-1 (2016) of the European Social Charter
ii. Abridged report concerning Conclusions 2016 of the European Social Charter (revised)
7. The GR-SOC examined the abridged reports and conclusions as they appear in documents CM(2017)152 and 153, and in particular the two draft resolutions contained in these documents
as well as a draft recommendation relating to Turkey on the application of the European Social Charter (revised) during the period 2011-2014. The Chair drew attention to document DD(2018)212 which had been distributed at the request of Turkey.
8. Before opening the floor, the Chair requested delegations to indicate if they could support Turkey’s request not to recommend to the Deputies to adopt the draft Recommendation under discussion in the light of the information provided by Turkey regarding the martial law. She also asked them whether they could support the Turkish request to invite the Governmental Committee (GC) to delete the footnote on page 7 of document CM(2017)153 and issue a revised version of the report.
9. In the ensuing debate, one delegation expressed its support for the position of Turkey, underlining that the martial law to which the draft recommendation refers had not been applied for 30 years, was currently inapplicable and would be repealed in 2019. It therefore considered the conclusion of the ECSR and the GC’s proposal for a draft recommendation to be irrelevant and inaccurate. With regard to the footnote and quotation marks, this delegation considered it obvious that the lines in question concerned the Turkish delegation and could not be attributed to anyone else. Furthermore, it considered that the GC’s Bureau did not have the authority to add the footnote concerned. The delegation called for the situation to be redressed in line with Turkey’s request.
10. Two delegations stated that they could not support the request of Turkey. The first considered that the authority of the Governmental Committee could be undermined were the Committee of Ministers not to adopt the recommendation. It also recalled that the report covered a period during which the Martial Law was still in force and part of the Turkish Constitution. Furthermore, three warnings had already been issued and the natural next step would be a recommendation. This delegation also recalled that whilst the abrogation of the martial law would take place in 2019, the new legislative developments had not yet been mentioned in a report from Turkey. The proposed recommendation simply asked Turkey to provide information on the measures taken to conform with the relevant provision of the Charter in its next report.
11. Another delegation supported this position. Noting the remarks of Turkey that the current developments should also be kept in mind by the Governmental Committee when examining a situation, this delegation underlined that the latter had been aware of the current developments but still considered it relevant to propose the draft recommendation.
12. The two above-mentioned delegations also supported the retention of the quotation marks and footnote. In the light of discussions, another delegation considered that the actual intention of the quotation marks and footnote seemed to be a source of misunderstanding. A further delegation considered it would be relevant to know if the use of quotation marks and footnotes in this way was standard practice, as it would have some reservations on the issue if it were not. The Secretariat confirmed that this was not standard practice in the abridged reports from the GC.
13. Finally, one last delegation indicated that, in the light of the discussions, it needed more time to further consult with its authorities.
14. To conclude on this item, the Chair noted that there was no consensus with regard to the requests made by Turkey and proposed to postpone the item to the next meeting. This was agreed.
3. European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) –
i. Co-operation between the Council of Europe and the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) ‒ Revised Draft Memorandum of Understanding
CM(2016)47-final, GR-SOC(2017)CB1, CM(2017)154-rev
ii. Terms of reference for the independent evaluation of the “European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC)” ‒ revised outline concept
GR-SOC(2016)4-rev, CM(2017)155-rev
15. Ms Snežana Samardzic-Markovic, Director General of Democracy and Council of Europe representative on the ERIAC Board briefly recalled the chronology of events in the establishment of ERIAC and the finalisation of the documents under consideration. The Director General also signalled one technical amendment to be brought to paragraph 5 of Article 9 the draft Memorandum of Understanding. To conclude, the Chair noted that the Group could recommend that the Deputies adopt the draft decisions as they appear in the annotated agenda, with the technical amendment to document CM(2017)154-rev to be included in the final version of the document, at their 1313th meeting, on 10 April 2018, without further debate.
iii. Oral report by Ms Snežana SAMARDZIC-MARKOVIC, Director General of Democracy and Council of Europe representative on the ERIAC Board
16. Ms Samardzic-Markovic reported on the first meeting of the ERIAC board which took place on
30 January 2018 in Berlin. The Chair thanked her for her presentation and that the Group would look forward to receiving further information on the activities of the Institute in due course, and at the latest of course in the first evaluation report which would be submitted to the Committee of Ministers later in the year.
4. European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and HealthCare (EDQM) ‒
a. European Committee on Pharmaceuticals and Pharmaceutical Care (Partial Agreement) (CD-P-PH)
i. Abridged report of the 13th meeting (Strasbourg, 26-27 September 2017)
ii. Draft resolution CM/Res(2018)… on the classification of medicines as regards their supply (superseding Resolution ResAP(2007)1 on the classification of medicines as regards their supply)
17. The Group examined this item and agreed to recommend that the Deputies, in their composition restricted to Representatives of the States Parties to the Convention on the Elaboration of a European Pharmacopoeia,[2] (1) adopt the draft resolution on the classification of medicines as regards their supply (superseding Resolution ResAP(2007)1 on the classification of medicines as regards their supply), and (2) take note of the abridged report of the 13th meeting the CD-P-PH (cf. document CM(2018)24) at their 1313th meeting, on 10 April 2018, without further debate.
b. European Committee (Partial Agreement) on Blood Transfusion (CD-P-TS)
iii. Abridged report of the 14th meeting (Strasbourg, 23-24 November 2017)
18. The Group examined the abridged report of the 14th meeting of the CD-P-TS (document CM(2018)44) and agreed to recommend that the Deputies, in their composition restricted to Representatives of the States Parties to the Convention on the Elaboration of a European Pharmacopoeia,2 take note of it at their 1313th meeting, on 10 April 2018, without further debate.
5. Any other business
19. Ms Samardzic-Markovic informed the Group of two events which were planned for International Roma Day on 8 April 2018 and which all delegations were invited to attend.
6. Date of the next meeting
20. Tuesday, 19 June 2018 at 3 p.m.
[1] This document has been classified restricted at the date of issue; it will be declassified in accordance with Resolution Res(2001)6 on access to Council of Europe documents.