New prospects of cooperation between the European Union (founded in 1957, it has now 27 member states) and the Council of Europe (created in 1949, it has 47 members), the two main international organisations in the continent, open up. This is the message sent today from Strasbourg by the leaders of the EU and the CoE that will meet for "a high-level coordination meeting". Many are the items on the agenda: "enforcement of the Memorandum of Understanding"; "cooperation between the CoE and the EU to promote democracy"; "cooperation between the two organisations for the neighbourhood policy". It has also been stated that in Lisbon the EU decided to endorse the European Convention on Human Rights. About this, Terry Davis, secretary general of the CoE, stated: "I am glad of the fact article 6 of the EU Reform Treaty makes up the legal grounds for endorsing the Convention". The EU’s endorsement, which will take place with the enforcement of the Treaty itself, "will fill an important gap in the protection of human rights in Europe, and people will no longer be deprived of the right to be granted an appeal in the event of a breach of a human right in the areas in which the EU member states have transferred their powers to Brussels".
