Concerns at moves to block accession to Human Rights Convention

Representatives of the the Parliamentary Assembly of the 47-nation Council of Europe (PACE) and the European Parliament have urged national governments – notably the UK and France – not to stand in the way of the EU signing up to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Kerstin Lundgren (Sweden, ALDE), PACE rapporteur on the impact of the Lisbon Treaty on the Council of Europe, and Barbara Lochbihler MEP, Chair of the European Parliament Sub-Committee on Human Rights, have issued the following statement:

“EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights will close a gaping hole in European human rights protection as, for the first time, the laws and actions of the EU itself will be subject to the same external scrutiny as those of 47 countries across Europe – including all of the EU member states.

“The Lisbon Treaty has significantly increased the scope for EU action in areas which directly or indirectly affect human rights. With this increased responsibility, it is only right that there should also be increased accountability.

“EU accession to the convention is also needed to fully ensure consistency in the work of the Strasbourg and Luxembourg courts. This is a vital first step towards creating a ‘common European space’ for human rights, and has the full backing of both the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

“We are therefore deeply concerned that the accession process – which is a legal obligation for the EU under the Lisbon Treaty – is currently being sidetracked by political objections from the UK, and to a lesser extent France.

“We cannot risk this process being derailed, as failure to fully incorporate the EU could serve to weaken the existing European system for human rights protection which has been put in place by the Council of Europe over the last 60 years and is envied worldwide.

“Intense negotiations since June 2010 show that the complex technical and legal issues involved in this process can be resolved. What is needed now is clear and unequivocal political commitment on the part of all 27 EU member states.”