What is the aim of the Council of Europe?
The Council of Europe was founded in 1949 with the aim of achieving greater unity between its members, in order to defend human rights, parliamentary democracy and the rule of law. In order to achieve this, it has developed continent-wide agreements to standardise Member States’ social and legal practices. These agreements, of which there are now 196, are often called treaties or conventions. These are legally binding for those who sign up to them. The Council of Europe has also taken on the role of human rights watchdog for the post-communist democracies, helping them combine political, legal and constitutional changes side by side with economic changes.
