Four meetings a year
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe discusses timely matters and presents initiatives, on the basis of which the Committee of Ministers makes decisions. Assembly initiatives have been behind the most important Council of Europe conventions, such as the European Human Rights Convention (1950) and the European Social Charter (1961). Assembly discussions, reports and studies have led to changes in national legislation in such areas as the family and civil society, administrative law, consumer protection, animal testing, minority rights, and drug and alcohol policies.
The Assembly meets four times each year, in January, April, June and October. Sessions last about a week and take place at the seat of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg (the Palais de l'Europe). In January the Assembly elects the President and 19 Vice-Presidents and appoints ten committees. The Bureau includes the President, the Vice-Presidents and the chairs of the political groups. Representatives serve a one-year term, beginning at the start of the January session.
Sessions are public and are webcast live. There is a link to webcasts on the Assembly's front page (when it is in session).
The Assembly has ten standing committees, which have been mandated to deal with political affairs; economic affairs and development; social, health and family affairs; legal affairs and human rights; culture, science and education; the environment and agriculture; migration, refugees and population; equality and non-discrimination; rules of procedure; and the honouring of obligations and commitments by member states (Monitoring Committee).
The Bureau includes the President and Vice-Presidents of the Assembly and the chairpersons of the political groups. The Standing Committee comprises the members of the Bureau together with the committee chairpersons and the chairpersons of the political groups and national delegations. It meets at least three times a year and makes decisions for the Assembly between sessions. The Joint Committee includes representatives of the Assembly and the Committee of Ministers, which is the Council of Europe's decision-making body.
The Finnish delegation appoints one member and one alternate to nine of the committees and their subcommittees plus two members to the Monitoring Committee. The delegation decides on committee members and alternates. A list of current Finnish committee members can be obtained from the delegation's secretariat.
The members of the Assembly belong to five political groups: the Socialist Group, the Group of the European People's Party, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, the European Democrat Group and the Group of the Unified European Left. A small number of members do not belong to a political group. National parliaments' political make-up is reflected in the composition of delegations.
The official languages of the Council of Europe are English and French. Assembly documents are published in both languages. Working languages also include German, Italian, Russian and Spanish. Speeches given during sessions are simultaneously interpreted into all the other working languages.
The Council of Europe has its headquarters in Strasbourg. The Secretariat has a staff of about 1,300 persons.