MINISTERS’ DEPUTIES

Notes on the Agenda

CM/Notes/1363/1.9

3 December 2019[1]

1363rd meeting, 11 December 2019 1 General questions   1.9 Complementary procedure between the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly in response to a serious violation by a member State of its statutory obligations Reference documents CM/Del/Dec(2019)129/2_1, DD(2019)1399 and DD(2019)1429

Action To approve a draft decision concerning the complementary procedure and its Appendix.

1.         It is recalled that at their 1361^st meeting, the Deputies discussed the complementary procedure between the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly in response to a serious violation by a member State of its statutory obligations. Concluding the discussion, the Chair noted that he would not propose to adopt a formal decision, because many delegations wished to see what the Parliamentary Assembly would decide about the quorum issue in particular, in the light of the meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy of 9 December 2019 (see DD(2019)1429). He therefore suggested the letter that was subsequently addressed by the President of the Committee of Ministers, Ms de Montchalin, to the President of the Parliamentary Assembly, enclosing the draft decision enjoying a very broad support among delegations and which could serve as a basis for an agreement with the Parliamentary Assembly (see DD(2019)1399).

2.         As also indicated by the Chair at the 1361^st meeting, the objective would be that the Deputies adopt the draft decision at their 1363^rd meeting (11 December 2019), under the Georgian Presidency, i.e. when all the details of the report of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy would be known.

3.         In the light of the report adopted by the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, the present President of the Deputies proposes that the Deputies revert to this item at this meeting for the adoption of the draft decision and its Appendix.

Financing assured: YES

DRAFT DECISION

The Deputies recalling the decisions on Ensuring respect for rights and obligations, principles, standards and values adopted at the 129^th Session of the Committee of Ministers (Helsinki, 17 May 2019), agreed on a complementary procedure for the application of Articles 3 and 8 of the Statute of the Council of Europe in the case of a serious violation by a member State of fundamental principles and values of the Organisation, as contained in the appendix to this decision.

Appendix

PRACTICAL MODALITIES FOR A COMPLEMENTARY PROCEDURE BETWEEN THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS AND THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY IN RESPONSE TO A SERIOUS VIOLATION BY A MEMBER STATE OF ITS STATUTORY OBLIGATIONS

A.         Basic principles

The primary aim is to bring a member State, through constructive dialogue and co-operation, to comply with the obligations and principles of the Organisation, and avoid to impose sanctions.

This procedure, of an exceptional nature, is complementary to existing rules and regulations, building upon the 1994-Declaration, and its implementation will not require any changes to the Statute. It will not affect existing procedures arising from statutory or conventional control mechanisms.

An underlying requirement is the conformity with existing roles and mandates of the two statutory organs, as well as the Secretary General.

The procedure will address only the most serious violations of fundamental principles and values enshrined in the Statute of the Council of Europe.

The procedure can be initiated by either the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly or the Secretary General, and all three parties participate in it.

The procedure will include a number of concrete and well-defined steps, with a strict timeframe fixed for each step by common agreement of the three parties.

It is a primary responsibility of any member State having violated the statutory obligations to take steps towards resolving the situation.

The procedure may ultimately lead to a decision to act under Article 8 of the Statute, which in all aspects lies with the Committee of Ministers. The procedure does not preclude the direct implementation by the Committee of Ministers of Article 8, as provided in the Statute.

The procedure will be:

-    credible: it must be a useful tool, that can be implemented in practice, and that is seen as a relevant and credible response to the crisis that attempts are being made to resolve.

-    predictable: the various steps of the procedure need to be sufficiently predictable and clear to allow the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Secretary General to follow concrete and well-defined steps, as stipulated by the Helsinki Ministerial Decision. This is also of particular importance for the member State concerned and will help make the procedure more efficient.

-    reactive: the procedure needs to provide enough time for dialogue with the member State concerned on all necessary issues, with due regard to the need to react quickly to events, and to avoid inconclusive or indeterminate discussions.

-    reversible: it will be important to develop a well-defined exit-strategy, that also foresees how the procedure can be paused or terminated at each step of the procedure, if the member State concerned takes appropriate steps to rectify the situation.

B.         The steps of the complementary procedure

Irrespective of the procedure, and in the event of a new, emerging and most severe crisis facing the Organisation, it is expected that the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Secretary General will take immediate steps to meet and discuss in an effort to address the situation, with the participation of the member State concerned in all stages of the process.

I)          The procedure is initiated

The complementary procedure can be initiated by either the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly or the Secretary General.

A decision by the Committee of Ministers to initiate the procedure, as proposed by a member State or a group of member States, will require a two-thirds majority according to Article 20d of the Statute of the Council of Europe. If the Assembly, in accordance with its internal Rules of procedure[2], or the Secretary General, initiates the procedure, the issue will be immediately placed on the agenda of the following regular CM-meeting (alternatively an extraordinary CM-meeting will be held).

Immediately after any of the parties has initiated the procedure, a meeting by the Chair of the Committee of Ministers, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly and the Secretary General will take place, followed by a joint high-level mission to the member State in question to discuss the concerns that led to the initiation of the procedure and to seek clarification of the situation. They will thereafter report back on the outcome of the mission to the two statutory organs. On the basis of the outcome of the mission, the Committee of Ministers, having consulted the Assembly and the Secretary General, will decide, by a two-thirds majority according to Article 20d, on moving to the second step of the procedure.

Indicative timeframe: n+ 4 weeks (Note: All suggested timeframes should have a certain degree of flexibility).

II)         Adoption and implementation of the joint Roadmap

a) Adoption of the Roadmap

Upon proposals by the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly, and after consultations with the member State concerned, the Secretary General will develop a Roadmap, co-ordinating the various proposed measures. The Roadmap will contain concrete actions, with strict time frames, which the member State concerned should take, and it will list initiatives and activities proposed and planned by the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Secretary General respectively.

Following the submission by the Secretary General, the Parliamentary Assembly and, finally, the Committee of Ministers will examine and adopt the Roadmap, according to their respective rules of procedure.

Indicative timeframe: n+ 12 weeks (Note: All suggested timeframes should have a certain degree of flexibility).

b) Implementation of the Roadmap

After the adoption of the Roadmap, the procedure will continue with the implementation of the Roadmap.

The implementation of the Roadmap will be conducted in close co-operation with the member State concerned, and will be coordinated by the Secretary General.

The aim will be to engage with the member State concerned in a constructive and co-operative dialogue to help remedy the situation.

In the course of the implementation of the Roadmap the three parties may agree to make joint public statements.

Regular dialogue will take place with the member State concerned within the Committee of Ministers, as well as between the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Secretary General in a format to be defined in the Roadmap.

If the situation were to be remedied, or positive progress made, the Committee of Ministers may decide, by a two-thirds majority according to Article 20d, to pause or terminate the procedure without undue delay.

At the initiative of the Secretary General, the Assembly or the Committee of Ministers, the Roadmap could be regularly reviewed and revised as necessary.

Indicative timeframe: n+ 12 months (Note: All suggested timeframes should have a certain degree of flexibility. The details will be agreed in the Roadmap on a case-by-case basis).

III)        Possible decision on the suspension of a member State’s right of representation in the Committee of Ministers and/or the Parliamentary Assembly, or to request a member State to withdraw

If the Committee of Ministers through a decision, by a two-thirds majority according to Article 20d, after consultations with the Parliamentary Assembly and the Secretary General, concludes that there has been no improvement of the situation, and a serious violation of Article 3 by the member State concerned continues to exist, a move to the third and final stage of the process could be agreed in that decision.

A CM-decision based on Article 8 of the Statute would follow.[3]

Should the member State concerned eventually remedy the situation and bring it into compliance with the Statute, the Committee of Ministers may, after consultations with the Parliamentary Assembly and the Secretary General, revoke its decision under Article 8. In case of exclusion, the State concerned will have to reapply for membership.