The Council of Europe

Not to be confused with the Council for the European Union or the European Council!

The Council of Europe headquarters are in Strasbourg and its main role is to strengthen democracy, human rights, and the rule of law throughout its 47 member states. Although the 27 member states of the European Union are all members of the Council of Europe, both organisations are quite distinct. The Holy See, the United States, Canada, Japan, Mexico have observers.

There is a Committee of 47 Foreign Ministers and their permanent deputies, a Congress of local and regional authorities, and a Secretariat with 1800 staff. The Secretary-General is elected by the Parliament.

The Parliamentary Assembly has 318 representatives (and 318 substitutes) from the 47 national parliaments.



The ordinary budget for 2009 is 205 million euros. Tiny, compared to the EU budget.

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