COUNCIL of EUROPE COMMITTEE of MINISTERS CONFIDENTIAL CM/Del/Concl
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COUNCIL CONSEIL OF EUROPE DE L'EUROPE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS CONFIDENTIAL CM/Del/Concl (90) 447 Conclusions 447tof h Meeting of the Ministers' Deputiethes held in Strasbourg on 14 and 15 November 1990 Strasbourg 447th meeting - Nov. 1990 CONFIDENTIAL CM/Del/Concl(90)447 - i - SUMMARY Page 1. Adoption of the Agenda 11 Political and General Policy Questions 2. Political aspects of European co-operation and of current international events 13 3. Relations with countries of Central and Eastern Europe 15 4. Committee of Ministers - Follow-up to the 87th Session (6 November 1990) 23 5. Structures of European co-operation - Assembly Recommendation 1129 27 6. Draft Intergovernmental Programme of Activities for 1991 29 7. Situation in Cyprus 47 Human Rights and Mass Media 8. Cases pending before the European Commission of Human Rights - Written Question No. 329 by Mr Bruton 49 9. Creation of a Council of Europe/European Cinema and Television Office (ECTO) Liaison Committee 51 Legal Questions 10. Condition of transsexuals - Assembly Recommendation 1117 53 Environment and Local Authorities 11. Destruction of tropical forests - Written Question No. 327 by Mr. Bruton 55 Press and Information 12. Graphic style of the Council of Europe 57 Administrative Questions 13. Preparation of forthcoming meetings 59 Any other business 14. Reform of Co-ordination (of staff remuneration) - Draft Regulations concerning the Co-ordination System 61 CONFIDENTIAL CM/Del/Concl(90)447 - ii - APPENDICES APPENDIX 1 447th MEETING OF THE MINISTERS' DEPUTIES (Strasbourg, 14 (9.30 am) - 16 November 1990 - A level) AGENDA a1 APPENDIX 2 449th MEETING OF THE MINISTERS' DEPUTIES (Strasbourg, 26 November (3 pm) - 30 November 1990 (Budget) - A level, 3 December (3 pm) - 4 December 1990 - B level, 5 December (10.15 am) - 7 December 1990 - A level DRAFT AGENDA a3 APPENDIX 3 DECISION No. CM/496/161190 (item 10) Ad hoc terms of reference - CDCJ a9 APPENDIX 4 DECISION No. CM/497/161190 (item 10) Ad hoc terms of reference - CDDH all APPENDIX 5 Regulations concerning the Co-ordination System a13 (item 14) 447th meeting - Nov. 1990 CONFIDENTIAL - 1 - CM/Del/Concl(90)447 The 447th meeting of the Deputies opened at A level at 9.30 am on Wednesday, 14 November 1990 under the Chairmanship of Mr F. Fernandez Ordoñez, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Spain and Chairman of the Committee of Ministers. It continued from 11 am the same day under the Chairmanship of Mr J.M. Lacleta, Deputy for the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Spain. PRESENT AUSTRIA Mr E. Buttenhauser Miss E-M. Koprolin BELGIUM Mr R. Van Crombrugge Miss C. Taquet CYPRUS Mr M. Hadjimichael DENMARK Mr E.V. Quaade Mrs K. Marcus FINLAND Mr D. Vitzthum Mrs U. Väistö Mr P. Hyvönen FRANCE Mr P. de Boisdeffre Mr S. Hofmann Mr J. Marguerite Mr R. Guibert GERMANY Mr C. von Schubert Mr K. Praller Mrs G. Steinacker GREECE Mr S. Konstantopoulos Mr J. Corantis Mr L-A. Ambatis Miss N.N.E. Vraïla HUNGARY Mr G. Jeszenszky Mr J. Szávai Mr I. Bába Mr I. Zelnik Mr Z. Becsei Mr P. Kovács ICELAND - IRELAND Mr L. Rigney Mr E.M. Noonan CONFIDENTIAL CM/Del/Concl(90)447 - 2 - ITALY Mr U. Toffano Mr C. Colombo Mr R. Pietrosanto LIECHTENSTEIN Mr R. Marxer LUXEMBOURG Mr P. Faber MALTA Mr C. Cremona NETHERLANDS Mrs A. Nierman Mr A. Bijlsma NORWAY Mr S. Knudsen Mr D.M. Halvorsen PORTUGAL Mr G.A. de Santa Clara Gomes Mr F.J. Ramos Machado Miss M.J. Morais Pires SAN MARINO Mr P.G. Guardigli Miss A. Mularoni Miss F. Bigi SPAIN Mr F. Fernandez Ordoñez, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers Mr J.M. Lacleta, Chairman of the Ministers' Deputies Mr J. Fernandez Torrejon Mr S. Martinez-Caro SWEDEN Mrs I. Larsson, Vice-Chairman of the Ministers' Deputies Mr B. Hedberg Mr M. Ekengren SWITZERLAND Mr Y. Moret Mr J-P. Villard TURKEY Mr T. Firat Mr C. Altan Mr Y. Belet Miss I. Musluer Mrs D. Akçay UNITED KINGDOM Mr N.M. Marshall Mr J. Jamieson Mr R. Turner 447th meeting - Nov. 1990 CONFIDENTIAL - 3 - CM/Del/Concl(90)447 CEREMONY TO MARK THE ACCESSION OF HUNGARY TO THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE (14 November 1990) Mr. F. Fernandez Ordoñez, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain and Chairman-in-Office of the Committee of Ministers, said that it was with profound joy that he opened this session. Since 6 November 1990 and the 87th Session of the Committee of Ministers in Rome, Hungary was the first Central and East European country to participate fully in the Council of Europe's work. He welcomed this old European country which would bring all its people's talents into play in European co-operation. It was an honour to welcome Hungary to the Council of Europe, which had been set up to defend and strengthen democratic values in a framework of greater co-operation. In May 1989, when the Council of Europe had celebrated its 40th anniversary, no one could have believed that change in Europe was going to be so rapid. Hungary's presence in the room that day bore witness to the victory of freedom and showed that there was such a thing as historic justice. He hoped that Hungary was a bridgehead and that the other countries of Central and Eastern Europe would shortly join the Council of Europe. In becoming a member of the Council of Europe, Hungary would bring in new ideas and there was no doubt that its contribution would be fruitful. He welcomed Mr Jeszenszky, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Hungary, and invited him to speak. Mr. Jeszenszky made the following statement: "Mr. Chairman, Madam Secretary General, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Eight days ago I was standing on the rostrum of Palazzo Barberini in Rome, beside Madame Lalumière and Signor Gatti having just signed the Statute of the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights. We were watching on a huge TV-screen the hoisting of the Hungarian tricolour in Strasbourg to the sound of the Hungarian national anthem. All in that hall were moved, and we, Hungarians, could barely hold back our tears. By that act we returned to our thousand-year-old allegiance, to l'Occident, die Abendland, to the spirit of Christianity, Humanism and the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, to the legacy we derived from the English, American and French Revolutions. A re-born democracy joined the family of free Europeans. In Rome I already tried to summarize what all that meant for us, Hungarians, and, hopefully, for all Europeans. I spoke about the pioneer role Hungarians, together with Poles and Czechs, played in the reunification of Europe. I told how we, the prisoners of Stalin, had looked to our West European brothers and sisters as sources of hope and promise. I promised that we intended to continue to work not only for the benefit of our own nation, but also for the victory of the European ideals everywhere in our continent, up to the Ural Mountains and even beyond. While reiterating the commitments, I do not want to repeat my sentences. What I feel I can add here, in Strasbourg, in one of the cradles of European civilization and the embodiment of the unity of Europe, is something I have experienced back in Hungary since that unforgettable morning in Rome. CONFIDENTIAL CM/Del/Concl(90)447 - 4 - The Communist system lived on promises. "By tomorrow we shall turn the world upside down! Soon there will be a paradise on earth where everybody will live in abundance and equality. Communism will overtake the West in every respect and will bury Capitalism already in our lifetime." Everybody in the Eastern half of Europe, not only the governed without rights and prospects, but also the governing élite, soon realised the emptiness and hopelessness of those promises and admonitions. But even today, after the fall of the dictatorships, people in the former Communist countries find it difficult to replace the discredited slogans with a positive programme for national renewal and concerted actions for raising themselves to European level. Not that these peoples are incompetent or lazy. But they need a conviction that now they can finally accomplish the real version of the promises: to have a life of human dignity without fear and humiliation. All the Hungarian press - and the public - were asking: what benefits we can derive from our membership? I pointed out that during the whole transitional period we have laid great emphasise on constitutional change and we are sure that our memberhsip will give a new impetus in that respect. We would like to bring our land into complete harmony with European norms and that will be an extremely important factor in our economical, cultural and environmental policy. I also explained that from 6 November we could feel more secure as the 24th member of the free Europe, that the Hungarian and other minorities in Central and Eastern Europe would certainly profit if their own countries also became members, having met all the standards and requirements of the Council, and even in terms of economic progress there was a lot to be expected from our membership since foreign investment will certainly be influenced by such an endorsement. But there is also the other aspect: what can we, Hungarians, and later our fellow Central Europeans, contribute to the Council of Europe? What benefits can the member countries derive from our membership? I believe it is a strong interest in all Western Europeans to see the division of Europe come to an end, any possible threat to be removed, and not to have poor, exasperated, envious neighbours, but countries as close to them in thinking and in living standards as possible.