Europarådet 2024-25
ERD Alm.del Bilag 3
Offentligt
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STANDING COMMITTEE
Luxembourg
29 November 2024
TEXTS ADOPTED
BY THE ASSEMBLY
Provisional versions
F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex | Tel: + 33 3 88 41 2000 |
 ERD, Alm.del - 2024-25 - Bilag 3: Tekster vedtaget på Standing Committe møde nov. 2024
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Table of contents
Recommendation
Recommendation 2287 (2024)
Civil society and the Parliamentary Assembly:
transparency and engagement (Doc.
16067)
towards
greater
Resolution
Resolution 2579 (2024)
Civil society and the Parliamentary Assembly:
transparency and engagement (Doc.
16067)
towards
greater
 ERD, Alm.del - 2024-25 - Bilag 3: Tekster vedtaget på Standing Committe møde nov. 2024
Recommendation
2287
 ERD, Alm.del - 2024-25 - Bilag 3: Tekster vedtaget på Standing Committe møde nov. 2024 ERD, Alm.del - 2024-25 - Bilag 3: Tekster vedtaget på Standing Committe møde nov. 2024
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Recommendation 2287 (2024)
1
Provisional version
Civil society and the Parliamentary Assembly: towards greater
transparency and engagement
Parliamentary Assembly
1.
Referring to its
Resolution 2579 (2024)
“Civil society and the Parliamentary Assembly: towards greater
transparency and engagement”, the Parliamentary Assembly welcomes the strong endorsement of the role of
civil society contained in the Reykjavik Declaration. The Assembly also welcomes the call by Heads of State
and Government for a review and further reinforcement of the Organisation’s outreach to, and meaningful
engagement with, civil society organisations and national human rights institutions. The Assembly informs the
Committee of Ministers of its intention to play a leading role in this context, by reviewing and further reinforcing
its own outreach to, and meaningful engagement with, these groups, whilst ensuring that this engagement is
transparent.
2.
The Assembly also welcomes the “Secretary General’s Roadmap on the Council of Europe’s
Engagement with Civil Society 2024-2027” as a positive step in the follow-up of the Reykjavik Declaration.
3.
The Assembly intends to ensure that the work of all interest representatives engaging with the
Assembly is covered by a code of conduct. The Assembly further notes that the Roadmap envisages the
preparation of a “single, harmonised code of conduct for the Organisation’s engagement with civil society”.
The Assembly recognises the benefit of such a code of conduct, but also the importance that any code of
conduct regulates the work of interest representatives as a whole (including lobbyists for commercial
interests), rather than being limited to civil society.
4.
Finally, the Assembly welcomes the proposals contained in the Roadmap for practical measures to
reinforce the Organisation’s outreach to, and meaningful engagement with, civil society. The Assembly further
welcomes the Committee of Ministers' decision of 13 December 2023 instructing the secretariat to prepare an
implementation plan for the meaningful participation of civil society and the current preparation of an
implementation plan to this end, to be presented to the Committee of Ministers by the end of 2024.
1.
Text adopted by the Standing Committee,
acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 29 November 2024 (see
Doc. 16067,
report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, rapporteur: Ms Azadeh Rojhan)
https://pace.coe.int
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Resolution
2579
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Resolution 2579 (2024)
1
Provisional version
Civil society and the Parliamentary Assembly: towards greater
transparency and engagement
Parliamentary Assembly
1.
In the Reykjavik Declaration adopted on 16 May 2023, the Heads of State and Government of the
Council of Europe reaffirmed that “civil society is a prerequisite for a functioning democracy”. The Assembly
welcomes this recognition. The role that civil society plays in the work of the Assembly and in the democratic
life of Council of Europe member States is to be celebrated and protected.
2.
Whilst the exchange of information and ideas with public decision makers is a vital part of democracy, it
is also vital that this exchange is sufficiently transparent. The Assembly has led calls for greater transparency
of lobbying, through
Recommendation 1908 (2010)
“Lobbying in a democratic society (European code of good
conduct on lobbying)”,
Resolution 1744 (2010)
“Extra-institutional actors in the democratic system” and
Resolution 1943 (2013)
“Corruption as a threat to the rule of law”. Since the adoption of these texts, lobbying
regulations have proliferated in different member States. Such regulations usually cover the activity of a wide
range of actors, including lobbyists working for commercial interests (either in-house or as consultants), non-
governmental organisations, think tanks, trade unions, and trade associations.
3.
The Assembly recognises the need to elaborate its own regulations on the work of these actors, to
ensure transparency and good practice. When doing so, it will use the term “interest representative” to refer to
any individual or organisation that carries out activities with the objective of influencing the policy, guidelines,
or decision making of Council of Europe bodies.
4.
Meanwhile, the Assembly is also concerned by reports of the perception that it has become less
accessible to civil society. In the Reykjavik Declaration, Heads of State and Government called for a review
and further reinforcement of the Organisation’s outreach to, and meaningful engagement with, civil society
organisations and national human rights institutions. The Assembly intends to play a leading role in this
context, by reviewing and further reinforcing its own outreach to, and meaningful engagement with, these
groups.
5.
In this context, the Assembly welcomes the “Secretary General’s Roadmap on the Council of Europe’s
Engagement with Civil Society 2024-2027” as a positive step in the follow-up to the Reykjavik Declaration.
The Assembly calls on the Secretary General to proceed with the implementation of the Roadmap as soon as
possible and takes note of the proposals for practical measures which the Assembly could put into action.
6.
The Assembly therefore resolves to increase its exchanges with civil society, whilst simultaneously
increasing the transparency of exchanges with interest representatives as a whole.
7.
Noting the need to increase the transparency of the work of interest representatives, the Assembly
resolves to ensure that their co-operation with the Assembly is governed by a code of conduct, taking into
account the possible development of a framework code of conduct applicable to the Organisation as a whole.
1.
Text adopted by the Standing Committee,
acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 29 November 2024 (see
Doc. 16067,
report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, rapporteur: Ms Azadeh Rojhan).
See also
Recommendation 2287 (2024).
https://pace.coe.int
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Resolution 2579 (2024)
8.
The code of conduct applicable to interest representatives engaging with the Assembly should ensure
the protection of freedom of expression and association, and comply with relevant international standards
(including Recommendation CM/Rec(2017)2 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the legal
regulation of lobbying activities in the context of public decision making). At a minimum, the future code
should:
8.1. require interest representatives to declare their name and who they work for, the interests and
objectives they promote, and the legal or natural persons that they represent, when interacting with
parliamentarians, their staff, or members of the Assembly’s and its political groups’ secretariats;
8.2.
8.3.
require interest representatives to act honestly and in good faith;
prohibit interest representatives from having conflicts of interest;
8.4. prohibit interest representatives from using undue pressure, offensive language or other
improper behaviour;
8.5. prohibit interest representatives from inducing parliamentarians, their staff, or members of the
Assembly’s and its political groups’ secretariats to contravene the rules and standards applicable to
them.
9.
The Assembly further resolves to examine possible changes to the code of conduct for members of the
Assembly which would increase the transparency of exchanges with interest representatives, also in
compliance with the principles of Committee of Ministers Recommendation CM/Rec(2017)2; for example, by
extending the prohibition on the seeking or taking of instructions to a wider range of members fulfilling
important functions, such as chairpersons of committees and sub-committees, leaders of political groups,
members of the Bureau of the Assembly, and the President of the Assembly.
10. Noting the need to review and further reinforce its outreach to, and meaningful engagement with, civil
society, the Assembly resolves to:
10.1. make more committee meetings open to the public, by agreeing that all committee hearings will
be open to the public as a general rule and considering including such a principle in the Rules of
Procedure;
10.2. examine the feasibility of regular exchanges between civil society and Assembly members, for
example with the Presidential Committee or the Bureau of the Assembly.
11. The Assembly resolves to examine further steps to increase the accessibility of the Assembly’s work,
including by:
11.1. making it easier for civil society to participate in part-sessions of the Assembly, for example by
providing civil society representatives with the opportunity to register directly to have access to Council
of Europe premises, simplifying the process for civil society to participate and organise side events
(decreasing the time that such requests need to be made in advance and by making more rooms
available), providing a dedicated office space for civil society, and allowing civil society to reserve
meeting rooms;
11.2. making more information available to civil society attending the Assembly’s sessions, such as
through information sessions for civil society at the beginning of each Assembly session conducted by
the secretariat, and producing a practical written guide on how to engage with the Assembly;
11.3. ensuring that introductory memoranda and minutes of public hearings are declassified as a
general rule;
11.4. making the Assembly’s work more accessible online, including through greater use of live-
streaming of public hearings, making introductory memoranda and other committee documents
available on the Assembly’s website at an earlier stage, creating a user-friendly web page that
describes reports currently under preparation and how external actors can make an input to them, and
making it possible to subscribe to email updates for the work of each committee.
12. Any changes to the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure required to implement the present resolution will be
introduced through a subsequent resolution to be adopted on the basis of a report by the Committee on Rules
of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs.
13. Finally, the Assembly is concerned by the development of legislation or government bodies in several
member States, ostensibly to address transparency of foreign funding of civil society organisations as well as
not for profit media outlets. The Assembly notes that the positive goal of transparency has been manipulated
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Resolution 2579 (2024)
in certain “foreign agent” laws to undermine the operation or existence of legitimate groups, by using
excessive regulation to create an atmosphere of mistrust and a chilling effect on civil society. This was most
notable in the Russian Federation, leading the European Court of Human Rights to find violations of the
European Convention on Human Rights (STE No. 5) for 73 non-governmental organisations in the case of
Ecodefence and Others v. Russia.
The Assembly expresses its deep concern that measures to address
“foreign agents” in a number of member States, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, and Georgia,
will also damage civil society’s work in favour of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law and will make it
more difficult, or even impossible, for civil society to engage with international organisations.
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