Editing Council of Europe (section)

=== 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/>