The ETUC wants Heads of State and Government to strengthen fundamental social rights during the 3rd Summit of the Council of Europe in May 2005 in Warsaw

1) The Council of Europe will hold a Summit of Heads of State and Government on 16 and 17 May 2005 in Warsaw, at the invitation of the Polish Government. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) takes this opportunity to underline the basic principles for the Council of Europe.

2) The 3rd Summit is seen in consequence from the first two Summits 1993 in Vienna and 1997 in Strasbourg which have mainly stressed the basic role of the Council of Europe in respect of the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms throughout Europe as a whole. Since the first Summit in Vienna, the Council has doubled in size. It now has 46 member countries and covers a Europe of around 800 million citizens. ’’The goal of the Summit of Heads of State and Government is to ensure the Council’s relevance for Europe’s 800 million citizens and guarantee that its objectives and functioning address the challenges they face in the new century." The ETUC fully endorses this goal for the 3rd Summit.

3) More particularly, in respect of the role of the Council of Europe in the new century the ETUC takes the view that it should spread the fundamental ideas, values, principles and rights which are at the basis of the Council of Europe’s vocation: democracy, rule of law, fundamental rights as well as reinforce the protection of fundamental rights in general and the fundamental social rights in particular by giving those main instruments a new effective impetus.

4) Concerning the European Convention on Human Rights which is at the basis of the fundamental rights protection in all the 46 Member States the ETUC asks that the Council of Europe to continue all efforts to strengthen the European Court of Human Rights. Furthermore, all Member States should ratify all additional Protocols, in particular of Protocol No. 12 on non-discrimination and give full effect to the judgements of the European Court of Human Rights.

5) Stressing the specific role of the (Revised) European Social Charter as complementary social ‘counterpart’ to the European Convention on Human Rights following the principle of indivisibility of all human rights be they civic and political or social, economic and cultural, and underlining the references in the EU and EC Treaty as well as in the Charter of Fundamental Rights the ETUC asks that all Member States should

 ratify the Revised European Social Charter and accept all provisions, in particular the fundamental trade union rights (Articles 5 and 6) as well as the Turin Amending Protocol and the Protocol on the Collective Complaints Procedure;

 implement the provisions of the Revised European Social Charter in law and practice, in particular by giving full effect to the conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights and the Governmental Committee as well as the Recommendations and Resolutions of the Committee of Ministers taking specific care of making the trade unions rights effective;

 consult and cooperate with representative trade union organisations, in particular ETUC affiliates, when preparing the reports on the implementation of the (Revised) European Social Charter and - where appropriate - to establish a tripartite structure at national level to deal with all Council of Europe matters;

 make every effort to support initiatives of the Council of Europe aimed at reinforcing fundamental social rights, in general, and the procedure for monitoring the Charter, in particular:

 organise seminars aimed at improving the knowledge of the contents of the Charter (with the case law of the European Committee of Social Rights) and the monitoring system in the administrations as well as (Constitutional and Labour) Courts with representatives of the Council of Europe, trade unions and employers’ organisations;

 systematically publish the (Revised) European Social Charter with explanations and concrete examples in schools, universities, trade unions and employers’ organisations.

6) Particularly in the current situation, where employment relationship is becoming more and more precarious and individualised, the Council of Europe should give special attention to the need to secure workers’ collective rights to organise in trade unions and to bargain collectively taking into account the universal minimum standards and jurisprudence established in particular within the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

7) In the field of fundamental (social) rights the Council of Europe should cooperate with the EU more closely. Concerning the EU Fundamental Rights Agency the two organisations should improve the information flow in fundamental social rights matters taking into account, in particular, the conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights examining the implementation of the rights guaranteed under the (Revised) European Social Charter in all EU Member States as well as the acceding countries.

8) Finally, the ETUC welcomes all efforts to increase the role of the civil society in the Council of Europe. Nevertheless, the specific role of the social partners in the Council of Europe should not be undermined but strengthened.