This publication contains papers presented at a conference, held in November 2004 in Barcelona and organised by the Council of Europe. The purpose of the conference (held to mark the end of the three-year integrated project "Making democratic institutions work") was to discuss issues relating to the challenges and opportunities facing governments in Europe to strengthen democratic reform and encourage greater public participation. Topics covered include: promoting inclusive elections; financing of political parties; popular initiatives and referendums; and how modern communication technologies can affect the democratic process.
The study of culinary culture and its history provides an insight into broad social, political and economic changes in society. This collection of essays looks at the food culture of 40 European countries describing such things as traditions, customs, festivals, and typical recipes. It illustrates the diversity of the European cultural heritage.
The European Court of Human Rights has always defended the idea that freedom of expression has an essential role to play in a democratic society, helping to foster the development of an open, tolerant society in which human rights are respected. Freedom of expression is not absolute and unconditional, however; there are certain limits which must be respected. How can racist, xenophobic propaganda be proscribed without trespassing on individual freedom of expression? How can a suspect's right to be presumed innocent be protected without placing restrictions on the public's right to information? Where should we draw the line concerning the criticism of politicians by the media? It is by answering these and many similar questions over a period of almsost fifty years that the European Court of Human Rights has developed its case-law in respect of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, presented in summary form in this book.
This publication examines the impact of socio-economic policies on social exclusion of vulnerable groups in central and eastern Europe and identifies types, degrees and common characteristics of social deprivation. It also focuses on developing and evaluating regional statistical indicators of social deprivation and investigates the emergence of new forms of social exclusion. It includes case studies from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Latvia, Hungary and the Russian Federation.
NOTE: These are the correct details for ISBN 9287135320. Another Council of Europe publication (1998) was printed with the same ISBN in error (for further details see the entry on TSO's website under ISBN 0119862379).
Electronic government is about more than technical issues. Arrangements should be based on human rights, the rule of law and enriching democracy through the effective use of information and communication technologies. This recommendation provides guidelines to enable governments to develop suitable strategies.
If we are to build an inclusive institutional culture within the increasingly pluralist societies of 21st century Europe, focusing solely on the development of skills and knowledge is not enough. There have to be changes in the way in which administrative authorities and the organisations providing services to the public view their role and in the action they take. While it is essential for migrants to learn the language of their host country, understanding the codes of conduct, standards, allegiances, rules and exceptions is perhaps an even greater challenge. This clearer understanding of the institutional fabric is an inevitable part of what is termed "integration" and also applies to minorities. Since this process does not occur unassisted, this guide puts forward a number of proposals to help acquire the institutional skills which are vital for understanding, dialogue, guidance, negotiation and conflict resolution, to name but a few. These are all aspects inherent in interaction processes and essential for respecting diversity. This guide is an indispensable tool for public and private operators, social workers, mediators and all other stakeholders aware of the need to incorporate these aspects into their exchanges, particularly when rights and human dignity are at stake. This will help nurture confidence in public institutions and avoid the development of fear or any other barrier which could lead to unequal access - or indeed no access - to social, health-care or other services. Through this work, the Council of Europe reminds us that in pluralist societies the most effective guarantee of successful integration and harmonious co-existence is social justice.
Political corruption contributes to the decline of citizens' trust and confidence in democracy and weakens democratic principles and processes. The contributions in this book identify risks that corruption poses to the future of democracy in Europe, and propose a wide range of measures for action which are aimed at preventing political corruption (including undue influence on the justice system), enhancing transparency and accountability, and rebuilding confidence in democracy.--Publisher's description.
Over 800 million Europeans can individually obtain a ruling from a European court against their State if it has violated their human rights. There is an assembly in Strasbourg where members of the Icelandic, Russian, Portuguese, German, Georgian and other European parliaments all sit together. A Congress exists whose sessions are attended by representatives of 200 000 local and regional authorities of Europe. All these statements relate to the Council of Europe, the first of the European institutions to be founded. Now 47 member states strong, the Council - which is to celebrate its 60th anniversary this year - has become one of the main institutions of intergovernmental co-operation. This book looks at the political role of the Council of Europe, which is now not only a forum for democracy and a gage of stability, the home of human rights and the forum of cultural diversity, but also the crucible of Europe and the future for politics. The author examines all that is specific to the Council of Europe within the European architecture, particularly vis-á-vis the European Union. This book is essential reading for anyone wishing to study the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, understand how it operates and find out about the contribution that it makes.
European wood heritage is a living tradition still in use in some regions of Europe but also represents one of the most threatened forms of cultural expression. This publication contains a number of papers presented at a series of transnational meetings organised by the Council of Europe to examine traditional building methods and compare experience and techniques on preserving this form of cultural heritage. It seeks to raise awareness of the social and economic value of wooden traditions in local communities throughout Europe.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe publishes a volume of adopted texts for each of its four part-sessions and Standing Committee meetings. The Assembly, or the Standing Committee on its behalf, can adopt three different types of texts: opinions, recommendations and resolutions. Opinions are mostly expressed by the Assembly on questions put to it by the Committee of Ministers, such as the admission of new member states to the Council of Europe, but also on draft conventions, or the budget. Recommendations contain proposals addressed to the Committee of Ministers, the implementation of which is within the competence of governments. Resolutions embody decisions by the Assembly on questions which it is empowered to put into effect or expressions of views for which it alone is responsible. They can also be addressed to national parliaments. References to committees: the Bureau of the Assembly decides whether communications - in particular from the Committee of Minister
This document presents the proceedings of a conference held in Moscow in October 2000 to discuss financial relations in federal and highly regionalised European countries. In particular, it focused on the problem of delegated functions and the connections between two or more administrative levels, and special attention was given to the budgetary relations between regions and municipalities in the Russian Federation.
The book explores issues relating to contemporary youth cultures and citizenship within modern European societies. The papers presented discuss the structural inequalities and social disadvantage which often undermine youth citizenship, and consider how subculture activities influence the development of youth action, initiative and social responsibility. The case studies include: animal rights activists in Sweden; hip-hop music culture in France; rural youth in the UK; the influence of the media and mobile communications upon young people's experiences; the role of the family and peer groups; and gender issues and developments in the educational achievements of young women.
This publication presents a series of studies conducted by the European Population Committee between 1998 and 2001 together with specialised research institutes in eight European countries: Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, Portugal and Estonia. These focus on groups that are well established in several countries to enable comparison. The studies describe the origin of migrants, inflows and outflows of immigrant populations, fertility, family formation, intermarriage, mortality and the spatial distribution in the countries of settlement. They also include a co-ordinated modelling exercise to estimate the demographic impact of immigration on receiving populations since the Second World War.
Democracy is well-established and soundly practiced in most European countries. But despite unprecedented progress, there is growing dissatisfaction with the state of democracy and deepening mistrust of democratic institutions; a situation exacerbated by the economic crisis. Are Europe's democracies really under threat? Has the traditional model of European democracy exhausted its potential? A broad consensus is forming as to the urgent need to examine the origins of the crisis and to explore visions and strategies which could contribute to rebuilding confidence in democracy. As Europe's guardian of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, the Council of Europe is committed to exploring the state and practice of European democracy, as well as identifying new challenges and anticipating future trends. In order to facilitate this reflection, the Council of Europe held a series of Democracy Debates with the participation of renowned specialists working in a variety of backgrounds and disciplines. This publication presents the eight Democracy Debate lectures. Each presentation analyses a specific aspect of democracy today, placing the issues not only in their political context but also addressing the historical, technological and communication dimensions. The authors make proposals on ways to improve democratic governance and offer their predictions on how democracy in Europe may evolve. Together, the presentations contribute to improving our understanding of democracy today and to recognising the ways it could be protected and strengthened.
This publication is part of a series of reviews of national youth policies carried out by the Council of Europe, in collaboration with researchers, non-governmental youth organisations and governmental agencies responsible for the development and implementation of youth policy. The review comprises of a national report produced by the individual country, together with a critical analysis of national policy and practice undertaken by a team of international experts in the subject. This report is the 10th in the series and focuses on national youth policies and programmes in Norway.
What international and European legal instruments protect the right to social security? What are the obligations which states have assumed under these instruments? How is their application monitored? What are the trends in national legislation in relation to the standards of the European Code of Social Security and its protocol, the main Council of Europe instruments in the social security field? Is social security considered as a human right and how has the case law of the European Court of Human Rights developed in this area? These are some of the key issues addressed in this publication, where the code and its protocol are viewed against the background of other standard-setting instruments, developments at national level and human rights.
This publication discusses four specific monitoring bodies, namely the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, and the European Committee of Social Rights. By assessing and comparing the monitoring procedures and standard-setting activities of these expert bodies, the authors make an essential contribution to the discourse on the Council of Europe's role with regard to human rights. This book constitutes a rich source of information on the dialogue between the four committees and European states. It is addressed to practitioners, diplomats and decision makers at national level to deepen their understanding of the aims and functioning of Council of Europe monitoring mechanisms. Students and academics will gain a comprehensive insight into the legal base mandates and procedures.
This report studies poverty and social exclusion in central and eastern Europe. The first part of the report describes the impact of social and economic policies on social exclusion of vulnerable groups and identifies types and degrees of social deprivation. The second study focuses on developing and evaluating regional statistical indicators of social deprivation and investigates the emergence of new forms of social exclusion. The report considers common characteristics that drive poverty and social exclusion, such as poor employment situation, adequacy and coverage of social protection syste.
The Diversity Youth Forum was organized at the European Youth Center within the framework of the "All Different -All Equal" European youth Campaign for Diversity, Human Rights and Participation. The forum identified key issues and objectives related to diversity, human rights and participation from the point of view of young people. The forum participants issued a Final Declaration with the conclusions and recommendations of the participants. This report documents the presentations and results of the debates during the four days of the activity.--Publisher's description.
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