w4mp | guides | council of europe

w4mp are grateful to Luke Pollard (previously Researcher to Rt Hon George Foulkes MP) for allowing us to "borrow" this very useful Staff Guide to the Council of Europe. Luke, who has since moved on, did most of the legwork on the guide and we recommend that if you are going to visit Strasbourg you read his guide before you go. The guide is very readable and full of tips and good information on how to get the most out of your time at the Council of Europe.

Thanks, too, to Kathleen A. Layle of the Research and Documentation Unit, Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly for updating this guide in May 2007.

The Council of Europe was founded in 1949 and now has 47 member states since the accession of Montenegro on 11 May 2007. Only Belarus is outside the organisation at present. The Council of Europe is the only pan-European organisation that represents the whole continent and exists to further certain shared values – human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Over 800 million people live in the countries of the Council of Europe from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

One of the Council’s most notable achievements was the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The Council of Europe also takes an active interest in democratisation and oversaw the establishment of democracy in the Balkans after the conflict of the early 90’s. The Council of Europe observes elections all over the continent and was instrumental for example in bringing about the change over of power recently in Georgia where it said elections had been unfair. As a result of this, opinion grew against President Shevardnadze, who would later fall from power.

The current breakdown of the Assembly’s members split into pan-European political groups are as follows:

The United Kingdom delegation is a mix of members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. In addition to the Parliamentarians you will find the odd researcher or personal assistant accompanies their boss, and there is the usual collection of wives and partners.

The secretariat for the delegation (from the European section of the Overseas Office) take care of the vast majority of administrative tasks for members with professionalism and experience. This small group keep in touch with Westminster and are a good source of information not only on Strasbourg, the Council of Europe and the ins and outs of its workings but also about things happening back home.

The Council of Europe’s Strasbourg home is the imposing Palais de l’Europe. Forming part of the triangle of European Institutions in the North-East of the city this concrete complex has the look of the bad guy’s lair from James Bond movies, or Tracy Island from Thunderbirds. Inaugurated in 1977 the building forms a square with sides each 106m long and reaching a height of 38m. It has eight floors and contains over 64,000 square metres of working space for all 47 member states and accompanying CoE staff.

There are seventeen meeting rooms inside the building, the majority fitted with interpretation equipment for the main working languages of the Council. There are also one thousand offices for the Council and Assembly staff.

The building itself, although striking, is anchored firmly in the seventies from which it derives its tasteful décor and interior design. Concrete, wood and dubiously coloured carpet-like wall coverings are punctuated by art and displays donated by member states and parliaments.

The main Parliamentary debating chamber (the Council’s version of the House of Commons) is known as the Hemicycle and is located in the centre of the building. With seats for 600 delegates this is a most impressive chamber. The public gallery has seating for 220 visitors and journalists. The copper roof, which is only visible from the windows on the inside of the building is supported by tall mahogany arches on the inside of the chamber.

Up until 1999 the chamber was also home to the Strasbourg seat of the European Parliament before it moved to the “Louise Weiss” building to the opposite bank of the River Ill, where its glass fronted building sits happily alongside the European Court of Human Rights. The spectacular building is home to the European Parliament’s travelling road show one week in four.

Hemicycle – When the Council’s parliamentary assembly is sitting you can observe proceedings from the public gallery. Be aware that for some high profile guest speakers, (Kings, Queens, Presidents and Prime Ministers) the gallery is occasionally cleared. Normally, however, there is plenty of space to watch the debate. If you cannot get into the Hemicycle it is possible to listen to the discussions on the Council’s version of the annunciator that you can find in each office. There is a live webcast of the proceedings the link to which is available from the Parliamentary Assembly's website, http://assembly.coe.int/default.asp

A new general building (provisionally refered to as NBGEN) is scheduled for completion by the end of July 2007. It was designed by the Brussels-based ART&BUILD team of architects. The total built surface area is about 43,000 square metres. The move to this building is already under way and by July nearly 600 staff will be based there. The General Directorates (DGs) will be housed in this new building.

The Council of Europe inaugurated a new building for its European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM) on 20 March 2007.

Although English and French are the two main official languages at the Council, German, Italian and Russian are working languages and may be used in plenary and in committees as additional working languages.

Members can speak in other languages if they arrange for interpretation themselves. If you want to listen in to these services, or if the delegate is speaking in a language you don’t understand the channel numbers for your headset if in the hemicycle or the annunciator box are as follows:

Since 20 January 2007 smoking is prohibited inside all Council of Europe buildings.

0 Floor – Ground Floor. The main entrance to the Council of Europe. It is also where the security office is situated and where you will collect your pass on day one.

1 Floor – This has the Member’s entrance to the Hemicycle (with corresponding check in desks by surname). Also has a large period coffee bar where coffee and a few baguettes are reasonably priced. There is also a small internet café where access to the Internet is free. This is especially useful if you are having difficulties connecting to PCD’s dial up service. This floor also has the documentation centre, the equivalent of the Vote Office where you can collect all the publications of the Parliamentary Assembly in either French (pink pages) or English (yellow pages). This is an indispensable service and is open for the entire duration of the Assembly’s session.

2 Floor – the Committee floor. The equivalent of the Committee Corridor in the Palace of Westminster or the 1^st floor in Portcullis House this is where all the committee and group action takes place. Each committee room has interpretation facilities and its own individual colour scheme exhibiting the full array of 1970’s interior design fashions and excesses. It is normally possible to sneak in and sit at the back in each committee. Pencils and paper are provided free of charge in each room. There are also a few computers dotted around this floor with internet access but be warned some of the keyboards are in French and are not based on the QWERTY standard so watch your spelling!

5 Floor – the home of the UK delegation’s offices. There are three main delegation rooms, based on their relative strength in Westminster. The Labour Party’s representatives currently have the largest office. Next door the Conservatives and Liberals each have an office with corresponding shrinkage of floor space. Each office has telephone access, plug sockets and the Labour office has a fridge and lockers for Member’s belongings. Be aware that security is not tight inside and so valuables should not be left unattended here. All the sockets use the French standard connectors that UK sockets do not fit, so remember to buy a power plug converter and phone converter (that fits your network cable) before you leave Britain.

6 Floor – is home to the various secretariat divisions and the Council’s specialist divisions.

-1 and –2 Is where the car parks are and also some of the more mechanical bits of keeping a building warm, bright and functioning and where documents are copied and distributed.

The majority of the building has provisions for disabled access. More information about access can be found on the Council’s website (www.coe.int).

Strasbourg has a good public transport system using trams and buses. Tickets can be bought either on the buses or prior to getting on a tram from one of the pay points. Tram tickets must be validated before you get on using one of the terminals labelled ‘ici’. You can also buy tickets that mean you can travel so far by tram then further by bus.

Not always. There are two main working languages of the Council of Europe, English and French. All the Council’s documentation is printed in both languages and all signs around the building are multi-lingual. You will also find that the vast majority of staff speak both languages, in different amounts. Passable French conversation is, however, very helpful, but not essential. As Strasbourg is at the heart of the once disputed Alsace region as a fall back position, once French and English have been exhausted, it may be worth using any German you have.

No. Although both the Council of Europe and the European Union share the same emblem of twelve gold stars in a circle on a blue background, this was actually adopted by the Council of Europe in 1955 and was later borrowed by the European Community, a forerunner of the EU, in 1986. The European anthem, Herbert von Karajan’s arrangement of the Ode to Joy, from Beethoven’s 9^th Symphony is also shared by both organisations.

The Council of Europe also runs the European Court of Human Rights (on the opposite bank of the River Ill), whereas the European Union runs the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

Yes and No. There is a special bus from the City Centre that goes to the Palais de l’Europe called the Navette that is free for people with a valid pass to the Council. From the City Centre the number 6 bus to the Park De Sports will also take you there for around 1 Euro 20. In theory a Council delegate pass gives free travel, but in practise some drivers will try to charge you if you get a bus other than the Navette.

Those of a more athletic persuasion and those who enjoy a lovely brisk walk in the mornings can always latch onto long standing delegation members, who walk from their hotels to the Palais most mornings. It is also possible to travel for the entire week solely using one of the British delegation cars. However, this is a privilege normally only reserved for members and peers so bear in mind that if it comes to you or one of them you’re hitting the curb.

Travel further a field is a wonderful idea too. Try the train to Colmar, Baden Baden in Germany, and you can also get to Switzerland and Paris fairly quickly and cheaply.

1. Buy a converter for your phone cable and power leads as France uses a different plug system to the United Kingdom.

2. Visit the Council of Europe’s website www.coe.int and have a look around. The websites are very good and contain full reports on previous meetings and information about the organisation that you may want to read before you arrive.

3. Take note of all the Council of Europe’s regular mailings but note that if you are travelling light you can pick up the same documents from the Documentation Office in the Palais de l’Europe.

4. If you are taking a mobile, and it is good if you are, make sure that it is enabled for international calls or roaming. This is a mistake that is made regularly especially if you are a Pay As You Go customer. If you are using a mobile here one of Strasbourg’s more peculiar traits is the freedom at which your network will change here, switching from one operator to another. Each time you will most likely receive a text from your new operator welcoming you to their service.

5. Do not bother exchanging money before you leave the UK as Strasbourg has plentiful cash points. The Council of Europe even has one by the stamp shop.

6. Get business cards. Part of the etiquette for diplomatic exchange is the nearly obsessive swapping of business cards. Standard UK Parliament cards can be ordered from your office supplies catalogue.

There are a number of main documents used at the COE:
Reports:	All items on the agenda stem from a report from one of the committees.
Amendments:	Amendments to reports must be signed by at least five Representatives or substitutes, unless they are being submitted on behalf of a committee seized for report or opinion.
Order of Business:	For each part-session the Bureau prepares a draft order of business listing the sittings at which agenda items will be examined. The draft order of business is made available to members two weeks before each session.
Minutes of Proceedings:	After each sitting the minutes of the sitting are produced. They list the Assembly’s decisions and speakers and points of orders raised.
Report of debates:	A provisional report of debates is issued after each sitting. The English report has a verbatim report of all speeches in English and a summary of non-English speeches, the same is for French. Representatives who are entered to speak but were unable to do so because of lack of time may hand in their typewritten texts for inclusion in the report of debates. This should be done with 24 hours of the debate concerned at the table office (Room 1083).
Adopted Texts:	Texts adopted by the assembly are published after each sitting such as recommendations, opinions, resolutions.
Notice Papers:	Before each sitting a notice paper is published setting out the orders for the day with time limits on speakers, procedural notices and other information etc. These are normally A5 bits of paper and like all the documents listed above can be collected from the Documents Office.

If you have noticed that anything has changed in the Council of Europe or have any suggestions for amendments or additions please e-mail editor@w4mp.org

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