Editing Council of Europe (section)

== Member states, observers, partners ==

{{Main|Member states of the Council of Europe}}

=== Eligibility ===

There are two main criteria for membership: geographic (Article 4 of the Council of Europe Statute specifies that membership is open to any "European" State) and political (Article 3 of the Statute states applying for membership must accept [[democracy|democratic]] values—"Every member of the Council of Europe must accept the principles of the rule of law and the enjoyment by all persons within its jurisdiction of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and collaborate sincerely and effectively in the realisation of the aim of the Council as specified in Chapter I").<ref>{{cite web |title=Statute of the Council of Europe, London, 5.V.1949|url=https://rm.coe.int/1680935bd0|publisher=Council of Europe}}</ref><ref name=Klebes>{{cite web |url=https://www.supremecourt.ge/files/upload-file/pdf/coelaweng.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221010/https://www.supremecourt.ge/files/upload-file/pdf/coelaweng.pdf |archive-date=10 October 2022 |url-status=live |title=Council of Europe law: Towards a pan-European legal area |last1=Benoît-Rohmer |first1=Florence |author1-link=Florence Benoît-Rohmer |last2=Klebes |first2=Heinrich |date=June 2005 |publisher=Council of Europe}}</ref>

Since "Europe" is not defined in international law, the definition of "Europe" has been a question that has recurred during the CoE's history. [[Turkey]] was admitted in 1950, although it is a [[transcontinental state]] that lies mostly in Asia, with a smaller portion in Europe.<ref name=Klebes/> In 1994, the PACE adopted Recommendation 1247, which said that admission to the CoE should be "in principle open only to states whose national territory lies wholly or partly in Europe"; later, however, the Assembly extended eligibility to apply and be admitted to [[Armenia]], [[Azerbaijan]], and [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]].<ref name=Klebes/>

=== Member states and observers ===
[[File:Albanian CoE stamp.jpg|thumb|Postage stamp marks Albania as a member of the Council of Europe 1995]]
The Council of Europe was founded on 5 May 1949 by [[Belgium]], [[Denmark]], [[France]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], [[Italy]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Netherlands]], [[Norway]], [[Sweden]] and the [[United Kingdom]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Statute of the Council of Europe is signed in London |url=https://70.coe.int/1949-statute-of-the-council-of-europe-is-signed-in-london-en.html |publisher=Council of Europe |access-date=23 June 2019 |quote=On 5 May 1949, at St James's Palace, London, the Foreign Ministers of Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom signed the Treaty establishing the Council of Europe.}}</ref> [[Greece]] and [[Turkey]] joined three months later.<ref>{{cite web |title=Turkey joins |url=https://70.coe.int/-/1950-turkey-joins |publisher=Council of Europe |access-date=23 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Turkey – Member state |url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/turkey |publisher=Council of Europe |access-date=23 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Turkey |url=https://70.coe.int/-/1949-greece-joins |publisher=Council of Europe |access-date=23 June 2019}} and [[Greece]]</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Greece – Member state |url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/greece |publisher=Council of Europe |access-date=23 June 2019 |quote=Greece and Turkey became the 11th and 12th member State of the Council of Europe on 9 August 1949.}}</ref> [[Iceland]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Iceland joins |url=https://70.coe.int/-/1950-iceland-joins |publisher=Council of Europe |access-date=23 June 2019}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Iceland – Member state |url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/iceland |publisher=Council of Europe |access-date=23 June 2019 |quote=Iceland became the 13th member State of the Council of Europe on 7 March 1950.}}</ref> [[West Germany]] and [[Saar Protectorate]] joined the Council of Europe as associate members in 1950. West Germany became a full member in 1951, and the Saar withdrew its application after it joined West Germany following the [[1955 Saar Statute referendum]].<ref>{{cite web |title=13 July 1950: Federal Republic of Germany joins the Council of Europe|url=https://70.coe.int/1950-federal-republic-of-germany-joins-the-council-of-europe-en.html|publisher=Council of Europe}}</ref><ref>Lansing Warren (3 May 1951), [https://www.nytimes.com/1951/05/03/archives/council-of-europe-raises-bonn-to-the-status-of-a-full-member-bonn.html "Council of Europe Raises Bonn To the Status of a Full Member"], ''The New York Times''.</ref> Joining later were [[Austria]] (1956), [[Cyprus]] (1961), [[Switzerland]] (1963), [[Malta]] (1965), and [[Portugal]] (1976).<ref name=Klebes/> [[Spain]] joined in 1977, two years after the death of its dictator [[Francisco Franco]] and the [[Spanish transition to democracy]].<ref>Carlos Lopez (2010), [https://www.cvce.eu/content/publication/2010/4/28/67511746-0b1f-47e6-8762-03a336d23bd0/publishable_en.pdf "Franco's Spain and the Council of Europe"], {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311164338/https://www.cvce.eu/content/publication/2010/4/28/67511746-0b1f-47e6-8762-03a336d23bd0/publishable_en.pdf |date=11 March 2021 }}, [[Centre virtuel de la connaissance sur l'Europe]].</ref> Next to join were [[Liechtenstein]] (1978), [[San Marino]] (1988) and [[Finland]] (1989).<ref name=Klebes/> After the fall of Communism with the [[Revolutions of 1989]] and the [[collapse of the Soviet Union]], the following countries in Europe joined: [[Hungary]] (1990), [[Poland]] (1991), [[Bulgaria]] (1992), [[Estonia]] (1993), [[Lithuania]] (1993), [[Slovenia]] (1993), the [[Czech Republic]] (1993), [[Slovakia]] (1993), [[Romania]] (1993), [[Andorra]] (1994), [[Latvia]] (1995), [[Moldova]] (1995), [[Albania]] (1995), [[Ukraine]] (1995), the [[former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia]] (1995) (later renamed [[North Macedonia]]), [[Russia]] (1996, expelled 2022), [[Croatia]] (1996), [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] (1999), [[Armenia]] (2001), [[Azerbaijan]] (2001), [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] (2002), [[Serbia and Montenegro]] (later [[Serbia]]) (2003), [[Monaco]] (2004) and [[Montenegro]] (2007).<ref name=Klebes/> After Russia being expelled in 2022, the council has 46 member states.<ref name=MemberStates>[https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/46-members-states 46 "Member States"], Council of Europe.</ref>

Although most Council members are predominantly Christian in heritage, there are four Muslim-majority member states: Bosnia and Herzegovina,<ref name=Popis2013>{{cite web|title=Census of population, households and dwellings in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2013: Final results|url=http://www.popis2013.ba/popis2013/doc/Popis2013prvoIzdanje.pdf|publisher=Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina|date=June 2016|accessdate=1 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171224103940/http://www.popis2013.ba/popis2013/doc/Popis2013prvoIzdanje.pdf|archive-date=24 December 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Turkey, Albania, and Azerbaijan.<ref name=Klebes/>

The CoE has granted some countries a status that allows them to participate in CoE activities without being full members. There are three types of nonmember status: ''associate member'', ''special guest'' and ''observer''.<ref name=Klebes/> Associate member status was created for former Axis states which had not yet regained their sovereignty since their defeat in the Second World War; as such, it is no longer used, although there have been proposals to reactivate it to permit enhanced participation by the current observer states.<ref name=Klebes/> "Special guest" status was used as a transitional status for [[post-Soviet countries]] that wished to join the council after the [[fall of the Berlin Wall]] and is no longer commonly used.<ref name=Klebes/> "Observer" status is for non-European nations who accept democracy, rule of law, and human rights, and wish to participate in Council initiatives.<ref name=Klebes/> The [[United States]] became an observer state in 1995.<ref>[https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/united-states "United States // Observer"], Council of Europe.</ref> Currently, [[Canada]], the [[Holy See]], [[Japan]], [[Mexico]], and the [[United States]] are observer states, while [[Israel]] is an observer to the PACE.<ref name=MemberStates/> Additionally [[Kosovo]] is a member of the [[Council of Europe Development Bank]] and a [[Member states of the Venice Commission|member]] of the Council of Europe's [[Venice Commission]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/events/?country=243 | title=Venice Commission :: Council of Europe}}</ref> The [[Assembly of Kosovo]] was invited to take part in the work of the [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe]] and its committees as an observer in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Assembly of Kosovo* |url=https://pace.coe.int/en/aplist/countries/65/assembly-of-kosovo- |access-date=16 October 2022 |website=PACE |archive-date=11 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011210114/https://pace.coe.int/en/aplist/countries/65/assembly-of-kosovo- |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2016 |title=The situation in Kosovo* and the role of the Council of Europe |url=http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-en.asp?fileid=22499&lang=en |access-date=16 October 2022 |website=PACE website |archive-date=14 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014130615/http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-en.asp?fileid=22499&lang=en |url-status=live}}</ref> Two representatives of local government in Kosovo participate in the work of the [[Congress of Local and Regional Authorities]] as observers.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://komunat-ks.net/archives/5132?lang=sq | title=DELEGACIONI I ASOCIACIONIT TË KOMUNAVE PO PËRFAQËSON KOSOVËN NË PUNIMET e KONGRESIT TË KËSHILLIT TË EVROPËS – Asociacioni i Komunave të Kosovës }}</ref>

=== Withdrawal, suspension, and expulsion ===

{{Further|Withdrawal from the Council of Europe}}

The [[Statute of the Council of Europe]] provides for the voluntary suspension, involuntary suspension, and exclusion of members.<ref name=DzehtsiarouCoffey>Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou & Donal K. Coffey, [https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-and-comparative-law-quarterly/article/suspension-and-expulsion-of-members-of-the-council-of-europe-difficult-decisions-in-troubled-times/0CA9AC93A5722D91BECC4391D93B654E Suspension and expulsion of members of the Council of Europe: difficult decisions in troubled times], ''International & Comparative Law Quarterly'', Vol. 68, Issue 2 (2019).</ref> Article 8 of the Statute provides that any member who has "seriously violated" Article 3 may be suspended from its rights of representation, and that the Committee of Ministers may request that such a member withdraws from the Council under Article 7. (The Statute does not define the "serious violation" phrase.<ref name=DzehtsiarouCoffey/> Under Article 8 of the Statute, if a member state fails to withdraw upon request, the Committee may terminate its membership, in consultation with the PACE.<ref name=DzehtsiarouCoffey/>

The Council suspended Greece in 1967, after a [[Greek junta|military coup d'état]], and the [[Greek junta]] withdrew from the CoE.<ref name=DzehtsiarouCoffey/> Greece was readmitted to the council in 1974.<ref>Vasilopoulou, Sofia. (2018) [https://journals.openedition.org/cdlm/7858 The party politics of Euroscepticism in times of crisis: The case of Greece]. ''Politics'', 38. DOI: 10.1177/0263395718770599.</ref>

==== Suspension and exclusion of Russia ====

{{Main|Russia in the Council of Europe}}
[[Russia]] became a member of the Council of Europe in 1996. In 2014, after Russia [[Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation|annexed Crimea from Ukraine]] and [[Russian separatist forces in Donbas|supported separatists in eastern Ukraine]], the Council stripped Russia of its voting rights in the PACE.<ref name=Erlanger>Steven Erlanger, [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/25/world/europe/council-of-europe-russia-crimea.html Council of Europe Restores Russia's Voting Rights], ''New York Times'' (25 June 2019).</ref> In response, Russia began to boycott the Assembly in 2016, and beginning from 2017 ceased paying its annual membership dues of 32.6 million euros (US$37.1 million) to the Council<ref name=Erlanger/><ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-cancels-council-of-europe-payment-members-persecuted-a7816951.html Russia cancels payment to Council of Europe after claiming its delegates are being persecuted over Crimea], ''The Independent''. 30 June 2017</ref> placing the institution under financial strain.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/russia-withholds-payments-to-the-council-of-europe/a-42792673|title=Russia withholds payments to the Council of Europe|website=Deutsche Welle|language=en|access-date=19 September 2018}}</ref>

Russia stated that its suspension by the council was unfair, and demanded the restoration of its voting rights.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/3cccaf92-d12c-11e7-b781-794ce08b24dc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/3cccaf92-d12c-11e7-b781-794ce08b24dc |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Russia tests Council of Europe in push to regain vote|last=Buckley|first=Neil|date=26 November 2017|website=Financial Times}}</ref> Russia had threatened to withdraw from the Council unless its voting rights were restored in time for the election of a new secretary general.<ref name=Erlanger/> European Council secretary-general [[Thorbjørn Jagland]] organized a special committee to find a compromise with Russia in early 2018, a move that was criticised by some as giving in to alleged Russian pressure by Council members and academic observers, especially if voting sanctions were lifted.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://eu.boell.org/en/2018/02/21/classic-dilemma-russias-threat-withdraw-council-europe|title=A Classic Dilemma: Russia's Threat to Withdraw from the Council of Europe|work=Heinrich Böll Stiftung European Union|access-date=19 September 2018|language=en}}</ref> In June 2019, an approximately two-thirds majority of the Council voted (on a 118–62 vote, with 10 abstentions) to restore Russia's voting rights in the council.<ref name=Erlanger/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/council-of-europe-restores-russias-voting-rights/|title=Council of Europe restores Russia's voting rights|last=Weise|first=Zia|date=17 May 2019|website=POLITICO|access-date=18 May 2019}}</ref> Opponents of lifting the suspension included Ukraine and other [[post-Soviet countries]], such as the [[Baltic state]]s, who argued that readmission amounted to normalizing Russia's malign activity.<ref name=Erlanger/> Supporters of restoring Russia's council rights included France and Germany,<ref name=Suspends2022>Steven Erlanger, [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/03/world/europe/council-of-europe-russia-suspension.html The Council of Europe suspends Russia for its attack on Ukraine.], ''New York Times'' (3 March 2022).</ref> which argued that a Russian withdrawal from the council would be harmful because it would deprive Russian citizens of their ability to initiate cases in the [[European Court of Human Rights]].<ref name=Erlanger/>

On 3 March 2022, after [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russia launched a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine]], the council suspended Russia for violations of the council's statute and the [[European Convention on Human Rights]] (ECHR). The suspension blocked Russia from participation in the council's ministerial council, the PACE, and the [[Council of the Baltic Sea States]], but still left Russia obligated to follow the ECHR.<ref name=Suspends2022/><ref name=Mehta>Pooja Mehta, [https://www.jurist.org/news/2022/03/russia-withdraws-from-council-of-europe/ Russia withdraws from Council of Europe], ''JURIST'' (12 March 2022).</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/council-of-europe-suspends-russia-s-rights-of-representation|title=Council of Europe suspends Russia's rights of representation|date=25 February 2022|website=COE|access-date=25 February 2022}}</ref> On 15 March 2022, hours before the vote to expel the country, Russia initiated a voluntary withdrawal procedure from the council. The Russian delegation planned to deliver its formal withdrawal on 31 December 2022, and announced its intent to [[Denunciation (international law)|denounce]] the ECHR. However, on the same day, the council's Committee of Ministers decided Russia's membership in the council would be terminated immediately, and determined that Russia had been excluded from the Council instead under its exclusion mechanism rather than the withdrawal mechanism.<ref name="CoE_Expulsion_RU">{{cite press release |url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/the-russian-federation-is-excluded-from-the-council-of-europe |title=The Russian Federation is excluded from the Council of Europe |publisher=Council of Europe|date=16 March 2022}}</ref> After being excluded from the Council of Europe, Russia's former president and prime minister [[Dmitry Medvedev]] endorsed restoring the [[Capital punishment in Russia|death penalty in Russia]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 March 2022 |title=Russia Quits Europe's Rule of Law Body, Sparking Questions Over Death Penalty |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/03/10/russia-quits-europes-rule-of-law-body-sparking-questions-over-death-penalty-a76854 |access-date=14 March 2022 |newspaper=[[The Moscow Times]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dmitry Medvedev vows to reintroduce death penalty |last=Nilsen |first=Thomas |url=https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/security/2022/02/dmitry-medvedev-calls-russia-reintroduce-death-penalty |access-date=14 March 2022 |website=The Independent Barents Observer |date=26 February 2022 |language=en}}</ref>