News
The European Union and the Council of Europe support discussions on the draft Law on national minorities in Armenia
On 31 October 2019, the PGG regional project “Strengthening access to justice through non-judiciary redress mechanisms for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in Eastern Partnership countries” supported the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, in cooperation...
Council of Europe and the European Union present the Partnership for Good Governance Programme 2019-2021 in the Republic of Moldova
The European Union and the Council of Europe will carry out two projects aimed at improving the justice system in the Republic of Moldova under the Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) 2019-2021. These two projects were presented today in Chisinau during the 1st PGG II Local Steering Committee...
First Mentoring Programme for legal professionals in Eastern Partnership countries
On 21-22 October 2019, Eastern Partnership countries’ training institutes for judges and prosecutors took part in a 2-day training of mentors’ programme organised by the Council of Europe. Through discussions and interactive experiential methods, the participants were made conversant with the...
Workshop on Assets Declaration System in Armenia
On 16 October, the workshop on Assets Declaration System in Armenia in the frame of the PGG II Project on “Strengthening institutional capacities to fight and prevent corruption in Armenia" was held in Yerevan. The objective of the workshop was to present the findings and recommendations from the...
Venice Commission: no provisions of the Istanbul Convention can be considered contradictory to the Constitution of Armenia
In an opinion adopted on 11 October, the Council of Europe’s constitutional law body, the Venice Commission, concluded that, while the ratification of any treaty is a sovereign act of the state, and it belongs to the Constitutional Court of Armenia to rule on the compatibility of the Council of...
Council of Europe and the Delegation of the European Union present their joint projects in Ukraine for the 2019-2021 period
On Thursday, 11 October, the Council of Europe and the Delegation of the European Union presented to the media in Kyiv the Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) projects in Ukraine for the period 2019 - 2021 during the 1st PGG II Local Steering Committee meeting. One country specific project...
Training on mutual legal assistance in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing in Azerbaijan
The training on “Mutual Legal Assistance In Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) Investigations” took place on 9-10 October 2019 in Baku, Azerbaijan and brought together 30 prosecutors and investigators of the Anti-Corruption Directorate, General Prosecutor’s Office, as...
Council of Europe and the EU Delegation present joint projects in Belarus for 2019-2021
On Tuesday, 8 October, the Council of Europe and the Delegation of the European Union presented to media in Minsk their joint projects in Belarus for the period 2019 – 2021. The presentation was part of the first meeting of the Local Steering Committee under the second phase of the Partnership...
The EU Delegation and the Council of Europe present joint projects for Azerbaijan for 2019-2021 under the second phase of the Partnership for Good Governance
On Thursday, 3 October, the Delegation of the European Union and the Council of Europe presented new joint projects to be carried out in Azerbaijan under the second phase of the joint Partnership for Good Governance (PGGII) programme. The presentation was part of the first Local Steering...
New joint EU-Council of Europe projects for 2019-2021 to help combatting money laundering, strengthening judicial system in Azerbaijan
New joint projects presented today in Baku by the Delegation of the European Union and the Council of Europe to be carried out in Azerbaijan in 2019-2021 under the second phase of the joint Partnership for Good Governance (PGGII) programme aim at assisting the authorities in fighting and...
The European Union Delegation and the Council of Europe to present their joint projects in Armenia for 2019-2021
On Tuesday, 1 October, the Delegation of the European Union and the Council of Europe presented to the media in Yerevan the Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) projects in Armenia for the period 2019 - 2021 during the 1st PGG II Local Steering Committee meeting. Two projects will be implemented...
Council of Europe and the EU Delegation present their new joint projects in Georgia for 2019-2021
On Tuesday, 1 October, the Council of Europe and the Delegation of the European Union presented to media in Tbilisi new projects under the Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) in Georgia for the period 2019 - 2021. Two country-specific projects were implemented in Georgia between 2019 and 2021...
“Strengthening the capacities of the justice sector actors to deliver justice in line with European Standards, in particular to fight discrimination” - First meeting of the Project’s Steering Committee
The 1st Steering Committee meeting of the PGG project on strengthening the capacities of the Moldovan justice sector was held on 25 September 2019. Participants have approved the project plan and appreciated the necessity for this country-specific project that would build on the efforts and...
Council of Europe and the European Union to present the Partnership for Good Governance Programme 2019-2021 in the Republic of Moldova
On Wednesday, 25 September, the Council of Europe and the Delegation of the European Union will present to the media in Chisinau the Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) projects in the Republic of Moldova for the period 2019 - 2021 during the 1st PGG II Local Steering Committee meeting. Two...
New online course on CPT Standards published on the HELP online platform
A new free online course on the standards developed by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) is now available on the HELP online platform. The course was developed by the Council of Europe HELP Programme in close cooperation...
Call for tenders: local consultancy in the Eastern Partnership countries on an anti-discrimination project
The Council of Europe is currently implementing and until 31 December 2021 a Project on strengthening access to justice through non-judicial redress for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of...
Death penalty should be abolished in Belarus
How to work with public opinion with a view to inform its views on the death penalty and the necessity for its abolition was the theme of the conference which took place in Minsk on 27 August 2019. The event was the result of the thorough dialogue the Council of Europe has had with the Belarusian...
The 2019 Help Network Conference "HELP: Celebrating The 70th Anniversary of The Council of Europe" is taking place in Strasbourg on 4-5 July 2019.
The European Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) of the Council of Europe aims at assisting legal professionals to effectively apply the European human rights standards in their daily work. The HELP Network is the only European peer-to-peer human rights training...
Venice Commission: the dissolution of parliament in the Republic of Moldova did not meet the required conditions
At its 2019 June plenary session, the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) adopted an opinion on the recent situation in the Republic of Moldova from a constitutional point of view, including on the conditions for the dissolution of parliament. The Venice Commission...
Venice Commission endorsed an urgent opinion on the selection and appointment of supreme court judges in Georgia
The Venice Commission, in its urgent opinion for Georgia on the Selection and appointment of Supreme Court judges, endorsed during its Plenary Session on 21-22 June in Venice, concluded that the lifetime appointment (up to retirement) of 18 to 20 new Supreme Court judges by the current majority...
Disaggregated data collection remains key to the prevention of discrimination and protection of victims
Recording and reporting hate crime, discrimination and hate speech remain an important priority for public authorities, the Ombudsoffice and civil society in Ukraine. Disaggregated data collection is a central consideration in the process of monitoring the implementation of national legislation...
The Steering Committee of the PGG II- project on “Countering Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in Belarus” meets in Minsk
The 1st Steering Committee Meeting of the Project on “Countering Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in Belarus” took place on the morning of 19 June 2019 in Minsk, Belarus. Members of the Steering committee are representatives from Investigative Committee, General Prosecutor’s Office,...
First national meeting on disaggregated data collection on discrimination, hate speech and hate crime in the Republic of Moldova
Improving the methods for disaggregated data collection on discrimination, hate speech and hate crime was the main topic of the first national stakeholders’ meeting on this theme in the Republic of Moldova. Stakeholders agreed that the current methods can be improved through: a national study on...
First Steering Committee Meeting of the project on “Strengthening anti-money laundering and asset recovery in Azerbaijan”
The Project on “Strengthening Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Recovery in Azerbaijan” held its first Steering Committee Meeting on 30 May 2019. The meeting brought together representatives from 15 key beneficiary institutions to present the activities to be implemented under the project and...
First Steering Committee Meeting of PGG Project on “Enhancing the systems of prevention and combating corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing in Georgia”
The First Steering Committee Meeting of the EU/CoE Partnership for Good Governance Project on “Enhancing the systems of prevention and combating corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing in Georgia” (PGG II-GE) was organized on 28 May 2019. During the meeting, the Committee members...
PGG II Women’s Access to Justice presented at Gender Division’s Project Fair
A report on capacity building and co-operation projects managed by the Council of Europe’s Gender Equality Division was presented at the meeting of the Gender Equality Commission, on 23 May 2019 in Strasbourg, “Gender equality is part of the priorities for cooperation in our member States and...
European non-discrimination standards explored by Belarusian students
On 13-17 May 2019 the Council of Europe organised in Gomel, Belarus, a five-day Spring School on Human Rights and Combating Discrimination for 35 law students from six universities of Belarus. The programme was built around the key grounds for discrimination, such as race, ethnicity, sex and...
Information event on EU/CoE joint programmes on the occasion of the 2019 Europe day
On the occasion of the 2019 Europe Day, the Delegation of the European Union to the Council of Europe in cooperation with the Office of the Directorate General of Programmes organised an information event on 10 May 2019 in Strasbourg dedicated to the promotion of the cooperation between the...
Second phase of the Partnership for Good Governance launched in Brussels
The European Union and Council of Europe are extending the Partnership for Good Governance programme to help strengthen human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The second phase of the programme (worth €17.5 million...
Launch of the European Union and the Council of Europe joint project “Supporting the criminal justice reforms – tackling criminal aspects of the judicial reform”
European Union and the Council of Europe officially launched a joint project "Supporting the criminal justice reforms" on 15 April 2019 bringing together state authorities, members of the parliament, international donor organisations, members of the High Council of Justice, judges of the Common...
Project “Implementation of judicial reforms in Armenia” (component II) launched in Armenia
On 25 April, the Council of Europe launched Component 2 of the Project “Implementation of judicial reforms” in the sphere of criminal justice funded through the European Union and Council of Europe Partnership for Good Governance (PGG II). This Project is a part of the joint efforts of the...
Council of Europe and European Union presented new programme under Partnership for Good Governance for 2019-2021
On 25 April 2019, the Council of Europe and European Union presented to media and beneficiaries the 2nd phase of the Partnership for Good Governance programme to be implemented in 2019-2021 in Eastern Partnership countries, including country-specific projects for Armenia. The two projects that...
Forthcoming opinion of the Venice Commission for Georgia
Tbilisi - As part of the preparation of the urgent opinion following the request from the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament regarding the selection and appointment of Supreme Court judges, a delegation from the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) will travel to...
Venice Commission Opinion for Georgia
In its first plenary session of 2019, the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) adopted an opinion on legal provisions on the relationship between the prosecution and the police in Georgia. The opinion was requested by Ms Natia Mezvrishvili, Deputy Minister of Internal...
Certificate presentation ceremony
On 20 February 2019, the Council of Europe and the Academy of Justice of Azerbaijan held a certificate presentation ceremony. Certificates were presented to 26 HELP certified trainers who successfully completed the HELP Training of Trainers, 31 law students and just graduates who accomplished the...