Procedures for appointing the Secretary General
The regulations for appointing the Secretary General state that member states may propose candidates to the Committee of Ministers. The Committee examines the list of candidates, and may summon candidates to an interview, after which it draws up a shortlist of at least two candidates to be forwarded to the Parliamentary Assembly, after consultation with the Parliamentary Assembly on the subject. The Parliamentary Assembly elects the Secretary General by secret ballot. An absolute majority is required at the first ballot, and a relative majority at the second.
Time frame
For this year’s election, the Committee of Ministers has set the deadline for the nomination of candidates at 6 March 2009. The Committee of Ministers will draw up the shortlist at its 119th session in Madrid on 12 May this year. The election will take place by secret ballot in the June session of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, 22 to 26 June 2009.
Criteria
The regulations set out that candidates should be selcted on the basis of “the highest ability and integrity and suitability for the post” as well as taking into account “an equitable geographical allocation of appointments among nationals of the Member States, subject to the overriding interests of efficiency”.
In May 2007, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, in response to one of the recommendations of the Juncker report, decided to revise the procedure for the appointment of the Secretary General in order to enhance the visibility of the work conducted by the Council of Europe and its relations with the European Union. The Committee of Ministers added the following criterium CM(2007)75:
“agrees concerning the procedure for election of the Secretary General, that it will henceforth present to the Parliamentary Assembly candidates who enjoy a high level of recognition, are well-known among their peers and the people of Europe, and have previously served as Heads of State or Government, or held senior ministerial office or similar status relevant to the post, and asks the governments of member states to present candidates who match this profile.”
In May 2008, the Ministers recalled, that they had committed themselves a year ago to present candidates for the post of Secretary General who match the profile recommended by Prime Minister Juncker.
Candidates
When the deadline expired on 6 March, the four candidates - in chronological order - who had been nominated were: Mr Thorbjorn Jagland (Norway), Mr Luc Van den Brande (Belgium), Mr Matyas Eörsi (Hungary) and Mr Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz (Poland).
The new Secretary General will take up his post in September 2009.