Norway and the Council of Europe
Norway
was one of the ten founding members of the Council of Europe, which was created
on 5 May 1949. The Council of Europe is the oldest of all the European
co-operation organisations. Its aim was to achieve greater unity between its
members, facilitate social and economic progress and promote adherence to the
fundamental principals of democracy, the rule of law, and human rights.
Norway
attaches high priority to co-operation in the Council of Europe and will
continue to support its further development. In Norway’s view, the Council of
Europe is making a very valuable contribution, particularly in the core areas
of human rights, the rule of law and good governance. It plays an important
role in creating stability, preventing conflict and building democracy in our
part of the world.
There
have been far-reaching changes both in Europe and in the work of the Council of
Europe since Norway last chaired the Committee of Ministers, which was in 1989.
Membership of the Council of Europe has doubled since then, and it now numbers
45 member states.
The
member states of the Council of Europe have a combined population of over 800
million. The scope co-operation has been considerably extended and now covers
foreign policy issues, human rights and legal issues, education, culture,
media, social cohesion, health protection, environment and landscape
protection, youth, sport and regional and transfrontier co-operation.
