News - Council of Europe

German voluntary contributions for CoE priority programmes exceed 1,7 million € in 2011

[05/12/2011] Throughout 2011, Germany has consistently shown its support for the Council of Europe by concluding voluntary contribution agreements for individual projects. In 2011 contributions amount to € 1,770,000. Projects supported include strengthening the European Court of Human Rights, the Commissioner for Human Rights and Council of Europe monitoring mechanisms, as well as enhancing national preventive mechanisms against torture, the training programme for Roma mediators, strengthening civil society in Belarus and building a Europe for and with children. In addition, Germany has contributed annually to the Human Rights Trust Fund since it was set up in 2008. The amount contributed in 2011 is € 600,000.

"The Council of Europe needs sufficient funding for specific projects fostering our core values - human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Despite painful budgetary constraints we support such activities through targeted voluntary contributions, complementing thus the funds allocated in the ordinary budget of the Council of Europe. This applies in particular to the European Court of Human Rights which must maintain its high level of human rights protection", said Ambassador Julius Georg Luy.

Project on strengthening the capacity of local authorities in Ukraine: Switzerland makes voluntary contribution 

[25/03/2011] Switzerland intends to make a voluntary contribution of € 523 000 to the Council of Europe for the implementation of a 3-year project on strengthening the capacity of local authorities in Ukraine. A first instalment of € 175 000 has been made available to the Council of Europe to finance the first year of the project.

The agreement was signed on 24 March 2011, by Ambassador Paul Widmer, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the Council of Europe, and on behalf of the Council of Europe Secretariat by Jean-Louis Laurens, Director General of Democracy and Political Affairs.

Switzerland considers strengthening democracy a priority domain for action. It therefore had already financed a similar Council of Europe project on strengthening local and regional government structures in Albania with a voluntary contribution of € 300 000 in 2009.

Making a difference: Voluntary contributions - Facts and figures

Voluntary contributions from governments and institutions rose steadily between 2001 and 2009 and now finance a significant share of Council of Europe activities.

The trend was confirmed in a facts and figures publication ‘’Making a Difference’’. It revealed that the Organisation now relies on voluntary contributions to support country specific cooperation programmes.

The report lists the European Union, Sweden, Finland, Norway and the Netherlands as the most generous voluntary contribution donors 2004-2009. Non-Council of Europe countries such as Canada, the United States of America, Japan and Israel also helped to fund activities, as did the other International Organisations, foundations and parts of the private sector, including the Microsoft Corporation.

In 2001, according to the report, voluntary contribution receipts amounted to €13 437 741. By 2009, voluntary contribution receipts were valued at €28 857 638.

Between 2001 and 2009, European Union Joint Programme receipts jumped by some 770%. Voluntary contributions from other sources increased by 251% over the same period. However, voluntary contributions from member states were 37% lower in 2009 than in 2001.

The report concludes that “voluntary contributions to the Council of Europe have more than doubled since 2001 while over this same period, the Organisation’s ordinary budget has consistently been the subject of a policy of zero real growth.”

“With extrabudgetary requirements for 2011 estimated at some €37 million, additional efforts are therefore vital if the ambitions set for the Council of Europe are to be realised.”

Report ''Making a Difference''

Germany makes voluntary contribution

[03/03/2011] The Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany has made a voluntary contribution of € 60 000 to the Council of Europe towards the Action Plan to support the local elections in Albania (8 May 2011).

The agreement was signed on 2 March by Ambassador Dr. Hans-Dieter Heumann, Permanent Representative of Germany to the Council of Europe, and on behalf of the Council of Europe Secretariat by Jean-Louis Laurens, Director General of Democracy and Political Affairs.

Finland makes voluntary contribution

[21/02/2011] The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland has made a voluntary contribution of € 530 000 to the Council of Europe towards the implementation of a number of projects in 2011. The projects include work in the fields of Children’s rights, Roma, LGBT, Gender budgeting, the Moscow School of Political Studies and the European Court of Human Rights.

The agreement was signed on 21 February by Ambassador Irma Ertman, Permanent Representative of Finland to the Council of Europe, and on behalf of the Council of Europe Secretariat by Jean-Louis Laurens, Director General of Democracy and Political Affairs.