Norway took over the Chairmanship of the Committe of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 13 May. That day the meeting of the Committe of Ministers was chaired by Mr. Jan Petersen, Norwegian Foreign Minister, who outlined the Norwegian Programme as follows.
Norway has always given priority to the Council of Europe and actively supported it. The Council plays an important role in promoting democracy, human rights and good governance and in preventing conflict in our part of the world. During Norway’s chairmanship, we intend to do what we can to put the Council in an even better position to carry out these important tasks.
In a rapidly changing Europe, we believe that the Council of Europe needs to be open to reform and change so that it can perform its tasks as effectively as possible. We intend to continue the valuable work done by the Dutch Chairmanship, with whom we have had an extremely fruitful co-operation. We must also be realistic, and will focus particularly on the following areas during our chairmanship:
The first is to improve the efficiency of the European Court of Human Rights. Our emphasis on the Court reflects the fact that the central objective of our organisation is the promotion of human rights, the rule of law and good governance, and the court is one of the mainstays of European efforts to advance human rights.
However, it has been struggling with an explosive increase in its workload in recent years. One important task during the Norwegian chairmanship will be to take steps to strengthen the Court and improve and speed up the execution of its judgments. We invite all member states to take part in an in-depth dialogue. We will therefore be inviting all member states to a symposium on how we can further strengthen the protection of human rights through more effective operation of the Court, and by making the necessary changes at national level in member states.
As part of its efforts to support human rights, Norway will also give priority to further measures in the fight against terrorism and to measures against organised crime. These include the preparation of a convention against trafficking in human beings and steps to secure broad international support for the Convention on Cybercrime.
Secondly, we will focus on relationships between the Council of Europe and other organisations, in particular the OSCE, but also the EU. The aim should be for these organisations to complement each other, not compete with each other. For example, there is scope for improving co-ordination with the OSCE. We are very pleased with the outcome of the most recent Quadripartite meeting between the Council of Europe and the European Union, and will seek to strengthen the dialogue with the EU on the basis of the Joint Declaration.
Thirdly, we wish to strengthen and develop the Council of Europe’s role in preventing conflict and creating stability. The Council’s efforts to promote intercultural dialogue are important here. We will also support dialogue and contact between religious communities. Norway believes that education has great potential for promoting knowledge and understanding between cultures and different ethnic groups. The comprehensive network of co-operation that has been developed within the Council of Europe also contributes to greater understanding, more stability and more support for fundamental freedoms, all of which are vital in preventing conflict.
In the further development of our organisation as a platform for dialogue and understanding, close co-operation between the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is needed. These two elected bodies already provide important advice and guidance for our activities. However, in order to promote the objectives of our organisation they should be even more actively engaged in reviewing and discussing member states’ commitments and future actions.
We are pleased with the recent progress in the preparations of a Third Summit, which will be an important event in defining the way ahead for the Council of Europe. We will work constructively with all delegations to help prepare a substantive agenda that will bring positive results for our organisation.
Presentation of the Norwegian priorities made on 12 May 2004 in the 114th session of the Comitte of Ministers