Europarådets pressekorrespondent i de nordiske lande Arne Madsen Bremerholm 6, 4., DK-1069 København K Tlf. +45 33 14 15 84, Fax +45 33 15 54 84, E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.coe.int Til: Redaktionen Dato: 13. maj 2005. Antal sider: 5 På de følgende sider følger seneste nyheder om Europarådets topmøde (Warszawa, 16.-17. maj 2005) og det tilhørende ungdoms-topmøde (Warszawa, 15.-16. maj 2005). Jeg kontaktes i Warszawa fra den 15.-17. maj på tlf. +45  29 82 20 37.
Warsaw Summit to determine the future political role of the Council of Europe Strasbourg, 12.05.2005 – For the first time in history, the Heads of State and Government of 46 European democracies – member states of the Council of Europe - will meet in the Royal Castle of Warsaw on 16 and 17 May for the Summit of European Unity, to reaffirm the core values on which Europe is built, define the political mandate of the Council of Europe and chart its action for the coming years. The principal tasks of the Council of Europe will be determined during three major debates: “European unity, European values” At the first plenary session on Monday morning (16 May), the Council of Europe member states will renew their commitment to the Council’s common values and principles - above all, democracy, human rights and the rule of law - throughout the continent. In this context, priority will be given to the ensuring of the continued effectiveness of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Council’s unique human rights protection mechanism. “Challenges for European society” The second plenary session on Monday afternoon will concentrate on concerted action in response to new threats to the security of European citizens, such as terrorism, corruption and organised crime as well as trafficking in human beings. On this occasion, three new Council of Europe conventions – on the prevention and financing of terrorism and on trafficking in human beings – will be opened for signature. The session will also address questions related to the building of a more humane and inclusive Europe – such as social cohesion, protection of children, political participation, the promoting of cultural diversity and the fostering of intercultural dialogue. “European architecture” The third and final plenary session on Tuesday morning (17 May) will focus on ensuring cooperation and complementarity of the Council of Europe and other European partner organisations. The Warsaw Summit will start on Monday, 16 May, at 10.00 am, with the “family photo” of the 46 Heads of State and Government, followed by the opening speech of the Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski (10.15 am). The list of participants will be published on Friday 13 May. A press conference will take place on Monday 16 May at 6.15 pm. The final press conference is scheduled for Tuesday, 17 May, at 12.50 pm. Live-transmission of the Warsaw Summit will be available at the special web site of the Council of Europe: http://www.coe.int/Summit Further information is available in 6 languages at the same address and on the Summit website of the Polish Foreign Ministry at: http://www.warsawsummit.pl. For the opening hours of the accreditation stands in Warsaw, please consult: http://warsawsummit.pl/press_accreditation.html Press Contact Council of Europe Press Division Tel. +33 3 88 41 25 60  - Fax. +33 3 88 41 39 11 E-mail: [email protected]
Nordiske delegationsledere på  topmødet: Finland: Præsident Tarja Halonen Norge: Statsminister Kjell Magne Bondevik Sverige: Udenrigsminister Laila Freivalds Island: Udenrigsminister David Oddsson Danmark: Minister for flygtninge, indvandrere og integration, Rikke Hvilshøj Lech Walesa special guest at Youth Summit devoted to diversity, political participation and intercultural dialogue Strasbourg 12.05.2005 – Nobel Prize-winner and former Polish President Lech Walesa will be the special guest, on 16 May, at the Youth Summit organised by the Council of Europe, the Polish Education and Sports Ministry and the European Youth Forum. The Summit, which will begin on May 15, brings together around 100 representatives of youth organisations from over 40 European countries to speak about their hopes for Europe’s future. They will also map out the 2006 campaign, to be carried out by young Europeans, for young Europeans, to promote participative democracy, diversity and intercultural dialogue. A final declaration will be adopted on Monday 16 May (around 9 am) and will be transmitted to 46 Heads of State and Government meeting on 16 and 17 May. A highlight of this “European weekend” in Warsaw is the Schuman Parade on Sunday, starting from Constitution Square (around 1pm). Among the guests will be Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis and EU Commissioner for Regional Policy Danuta Huebner. The Parade will go down Marszalkowska Street to the European Village (square near the Culture and Science Palace) (for more information www.schuman.org.pl). A rock and hip-hop concert given by Polish, Ukrainian and German bands is planned after the Parade on the same square. Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko, Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus and Terry Davis are due to speak at 9 pm. A press conference will be organised on Sunday 15 May at 4 pm at the Senate, with European Youth Forum President Renaldas Vaisbrodas, Agnieszka Dybowska, Director of the Youth Department of the Polish Education and Sport Ministry, Giuseppe Porcaro, President of the Council of Europe Youth Consultative Council and Council of Europe Director of Youth and Sport Ralf René Weingärtner. Other press briefings might be organised after the adoption of the final declaration and will be announced on the spot. For the full programme of the Summit and the various events, see: http://www.coe.int/Summit/eng. Press Contact: Estelle Steiner, Press Officer, mobile: +33 (0) 6 08 46 01 57 Nordiske deltagere i Ungdoms-topmødet DK: Jens-Kristian Lütken, D ansk Ungdoms Fællesråd, DUF FIN: Annastiina Papunen, Finnish Youth Co-operation Alliance IS: Olöf Halldóra Thorarinsdottir, Association of Icelandic Students and Iceland's Youth Council N: Christine Overli Eriksen, Norwegian Youth Council S: Asa Bjering, LSU Swedish Youth Council.
Extraordinary Meeting of the Liaison Committee of international non- governmental organisations (INGOs) enjoying participatory status with the Council of Europe Warsaw, Saturday 14 May 2005 An extraordinary meeting of the Liaison Committee of INGOs will be held in Warsaw University on Saturday 14 May 2005. The participants will gather at the monument of the Warsaw Ghetto on the morning of Sunday 15 May. This event is organised by the Liaison Committee, the Directorate General of Political Affairs with the assistance of the Council of Europe Information Office in Warsaw. The Liaison Committee is the representative organ of the Council of Europe’s INGO Conference which is made up of the 374 INGOs enjoying participatory status with the Council of Europe. Participants Among the 60 participants will be representatives of the Liaison Committee, Presidents of INGO thematic Groupings, national branches of INGOs enjoying participatory status (from Central and Eastern Europe), national NGOs with which the Directorate General of Political Affairs has co-operated in the implementation of assistance programmes in Central and Eastern Europe and some local NGOs. Theme The overall theme of the meeting is “INGOs – actors of a Europe without frontiers”: this theme will be addressed by the keynote speaker in the first plenary session and its practical implications will be dealt with in the parallel workshops. Aims The objective of the meeting is to identify means of collective action of INGOs within the Council of Europe and in Europe, for example interaction with Council of Europe bodies, networking, combination of action at national and European levels etc. Outcome The expected outcome is the adoption by the INGOs of a concrete plan of action for the next five years. De tre konventioner som åbnes for  underskrivelse på topmødet Strasbourg, 03.05.2005 – The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers today adopted three major conventions concerning the fights against terrorism and trafficking in human beings. These three treaties will be opened for signature by Council of Europe member states at the Summit of Heads of State and Government to be held in Warsaw on 16 and 17 May 2005. The convention texts will soon be available on www.coe.int Council of Europe Convention on the prevention of terrorism The Council of Europe has adopted this new convention to increase the effectiveness of existing international texts on the fight against terrorism. It aims to strengthen member states’ efforts to prevent terrorism and sets out two ways to achieve this objective : - by establishing as criminal offences certain acts that may lead to the commission of terrorist offences, namely: public provocation, recruitment and training - by reinforcing co-operation on prevention both internally (national prevention policies), and internationally (modification of existing extradition and mutual assistance arrangements and additional means). The convention contains a provision on the protection and compensation of victims of terrorism. A consultation process is planned to ensure effective implementation and follow up.
Council of Europe Convention on laundering, search, seizure and confiscation of the proceeds from crime and on the financing of terrorism The Council of Europe decided to update and widen its 1990 convention to take into account the fact that not only could terrorism be financed through money laundering from criminal activity, but also through legitimate activities. This new convention is the first international treaty covering both the prevention and the control of money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The text addresses the fact that quick access to financial information or information on assets held by criminal organisations, including terrorist groups, is the key to successful preventive and repressive measures, and, ultimately, is the best way to stop them. The convention includes a mechanism to ensure the proper implementation by parties of its provisions. Council of Europe Convention on action against trafficking in human beings The aim of this convention is to prevent and combat the trafficking in human beings in all its forms, namely national or international, whether or not it is linked with organised crime. A first fundamental principle outlined in detail in the new convention is that the protection and promotion of the rights of the victims shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status. The main added value of this convention is its human rights perspective, its focus on victim protection and its independent monitoring mechanism guaranteeing parties’ compliance with its provisions. Contribution by the European Court of Human Rights to the Third Council of Europe Summit The European Court of Human Rights has issued a memorandum, which will be available on its Website (www.echr.coe.int) as from today (27 April 2005), in which it outlines its proposal for a contribution to the Council of Europe’s Third Summit of Heads of State and Government to be held in Warsaw on 16-17 May 2005. The memorandum calls for a long-term strategy to preserve the effectiveness of the human rights protection system set up by the European Convention on Human Rights (1950) in the face of the rising volume of cases with which the Court has to deal. In May 2004 the member States of the Council of Europe opened for signature a new Protocol (No. 14) to the Convention which will help the Court to cope with its growing case- load, when it enters into force, but the latest predictions of the number of applications from the 45 States to which the Convention applies1 suggest that this may not be enough. The Court therefore firstly urges States to take the necessary steps to ensure a speedy entry into force of Protocol No. 14, which must be ratified by all 45 States. But it also calls upon the Council of Europe to take the opportunity offered by the Third Summit to start reflecting on the long-term options. Fundamentally, the Court says, the Governments are faced with a choice about the nature of the international human rights protection machinery which must be provided to individuals in the Europe of the 21st century. To take the issue forward they could mandate an independent group of eminent and experienced national and international judges and other experts to identify possible scenarios for the long-term future of the ECHR system. The memorandum also stresses the importance of preparing for the accession of the European Union to the Convention, which is provided for in the EU Constitutional Treaty. The Summit should unequivocally call on the Council of Europe, the European Union and the member States to open negotiations in the near future on the EU’s accession to the ECHR.