Council of Europe overview

Ireland was one the ten original signatories of theTreaty of London in May 1949, establishing the Council of Europe as the first pan-European intergovernmental organisation. It was created in response to the horrors of the two world wars of the 20th century and is dedicated to the promotion of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

Since then, the 10 original members (Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom) have been joined by almost all other European countries, and the organisation now has 46 member states. The Council of Europe includes all EU Member States. No state has joined the EU without first being a member of the Council of Europe.

The Council of Europe is based in Strasbourg, France, with its headquarters in the Palais d’Europe.

Despite their overlapping use of the symbols, and their similar-sounding titles, the Council of Europe is an entirely separate entity to the European Union. The European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) is however an important source for the protection of rights and freedoms within the EU. The Council of Europe counts all 27 EU states as members as well as nineteen additional members, including Ukraine, Turkey, Norway, and the United Kingdom.

In July 2026, Ireland will assume the presidency of the European Union from July to December. The presidency of the Council of the EU is a vital role for European cooperation and stability. It allows member states to bring in different aspects of policy or expertise, which benefit the EU as a whole.

The Council of Europe now has 46 Member States and 5 Observer States. Each of the Member States is a party to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Signed by Ireland in 1950, the ECHR was designed to safeguard human rights, democracy and the rule of law and has been the cornerstone of human rights law across the continent for over seventy years

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), a subsidiary body of the Council, oversees implementation of the Convention across the Council’s Member States.

Ireland has ratified a number of important Council of Europe conventions. They cover a wide breadth of topics and areas, providing safeguards for the rights of Irish people. Ireland participates in important monitoring mechanisms, which aim at following the implementation of Council of Europe’s conventions in Ireland such as:

• The Convention on Anti-Human Trafficking (GRETA);
• The Framework Convention on National Minorities;
• The Group of States against Corruption (GRECO);
• The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT);
• The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI);
• The European Social Charter;
• Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO)

Ireland continues to take part in the Council of Europe’s work in the development and implementation of standards and principles, for instance by becoming one of the fist signatories of the Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer, in May 2025.

The Council of Europe provides the benefit of

• In promoting and defending democracy, human rights, and the rule-of-law, the Council makes Europe a more democratic and better place in which to live, study, work, and travel.
• The European Pharmacopoeia, an integral part of the Council of Europe, plays an important role in protecting everyone’s health by setting and monitoring internationally-recognised standards for safe medicines and medical treatments.
• The European Court of Human Rights helps protect our fundamental freedoms by allowing anyone to take a case to it if they believe their fundamental rights, as enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights, have been violated.
• The Council of Europe is responsible for making the world a safer place through its formulation of a range of key international conventions that, amongst many other things, contribute to the global fight against cybercrime, money laundering, human trafficking and terrorism.
• The Council of Europe works especially hard to eradicate racism and xenophobia, thereby fostering more tolerant, open-minded societies across Europe.
• The Council formulates international conventions that aim to protect its core principles throughout Europe.

The Council formulates international conventions that aim to protect its core principles throughout Europe.