Njegoskij|org :: [4/4] Accession of Montenegro as 47th Member State of the Council of Europe

Where am I? :: Home | Today’s Montenegro | Articles and reviews | [4/4] Accession of Montenegro as 47th Member State of the Council of (...)

Montenegro | Council of Europe

Speech by Mr. Bernard Schreiner, Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

See online: CoE :: Council of Europe.

Following is the text of Mr. Bernard Schreiner’s address at the ceremony marking the accession of Montenegro as 47th Member State of the Council of Europe [1], in Strasbourg, France, May 11:

EXCELLENCIES,
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

It is a great pleasure for me to address you today on the occasion of the accession of Montenegro to the Council of Europe. I do so on behalf of Mr René van der Linden, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, who is unfortunately prevented from attending due to pressing obligations. Mr. Bernard Schreiner, Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly

Today, then, the Council of Europe welcomes its 47th member state: the Republic of Montenegro. Four years ago, on 3 April 2003, the then President of the Parliamentary Assembly, Mr Peter Schieder, welcomed, where I stand today, the state union of Serbia and Montenegro to join the Council of Europe. So, in welcoming Montenegro today I am, in a way, saying “Welcome back!”.

The first thing to observe is that the transformation of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro into two separate countries went smoothly, democratically and in perfect peacefulness. The referendum in 2006 took place in free and fair conditions and the result was readily accepted by Serbia, and by those Montenegrins who had voted against separate statehood.

Furthermore, the request for, and process of, the accession of Montenegro to the Council of Europe also went smoothly as far as the Parliamentary Assembly was concerned. The three Rapporteurs on behalf of the Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee, its Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, and its Monitoring Committee, received all the information they asked for and were thus able to jointly prepare their opinion as adopted by the Assembly on 17 April this year — an opinion in which the Assembly pronounced itself in favour of the accession while also presenting a number of requirements which the highest authorities of Montenegro have made their full commitment to meet.

The Assembly is confident that these commitments will be met by the Republic of Montenegro. We also trust that the constitution, which has yet to be adopted, will fully reflect these commitments and be followed by the necessary implementing legislation.

The Assembly, for its part, assures the Montenegrin parliament and government of its full support in this endeavour and of its readiness to assist wherever necessary. We will do so, of course, jointly with, not only the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, but in close cooperation also with the European Commission on Democracy through Law.

And so, on this solemn day we welcome Montenegro as our organisation’s newest member, a country which shows that it is possible to turn one’s back on a troubled past and be ready to meet the future as a constructive member of the European family and the world community.

Thank you very much.
Strasbourg, France, May 11, 2007.

[1] The COUNCIL OF EUROPE is the continent’s oldest political organisation, founded in 1949. It has its headquarters in Strasbourg, in North-Eastern France. The Council was set up to:
• defend human rights, parliamentary democracy and the rule of law,
• develop continent-wide agreements to standardise member countries’ social and legal practices,
• promote awareness of a European identity based on shared values and cutting across different cultures.
Since 1989, its main job has become:
• acting as a political anchor and human rights watchdog for Europe’s post-communist democracies,
• assisting the countries of central and eastern Europe in carrying out and consolidating political, legal and constitutional reform in parallel with economic reform,
• providing know-how in areas such as human rights, local democracy, education, culture and the environment. Today, the Organisation continues to grow while at the same time increasing its monitoring to ensure that all its members respect the obligations and commitments they entered into when they joined. The main component parts of the Council of Europe are:
• the Committee of Ministers, composed of Foreign ministers or their Strasbourg-based deputies (ambassadors/permanent representatives), which is the Organisation’s decision-making body.
• the Parliamentary Assembly, grouping members (representatives and substitutes) from the national parliaments.
• the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, composed of a Chamber of Local Authorities and a Chamber of Regions.
• the 1800-strong secretariat. Since November 1990, the accession of countries of Central and Eastern Europe has given the Council of Europe a genuine pan-European dimension, so that it is now the organisation that represents Greater Europe.

With special thanks to Mr. Francesc Ferrer, Communication Unit of the Parliamentary Assembly, and Mrs. Eliza Pieter, Deputy Secretary of the Political Affairs Committee, Strasbourg, France.
Photograph credits: © CoE Council of Europe 2007.