Europe: a human enterprise

Council of Europe, Denis Huber

• Publisher: Council of Europe
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9789287189875
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Human Rights
• Index: Politics & International Relations

30 stories for 70 years of European history 1949-2019.

Founded in Strasbourg in 1949 to unite a continent ravaged by war, the Council of Europe has built a vast area of democratic security that protects 830 million people in 47 countries, from the United Kingdom to Turkey, from the Russian Federation to Portugal and from Iceland to Switzerland. Its core objective is preserving and promoting human rights, democracy and the rule of law.This book covers 70 years of history, during which Europe has changed profoundly, and – this is something we often forget – changed for the better. Our old continent, which was in ruins after the Second World War, found the energy to rise up out of the ashes. The contributions here go back over the highlights of this common history, from the creation of the European flag to the management of democratic and humanitarian crises, through the enlargement to east European countries after the fall of the Berlin Wall.Written by individuals who have worked for, or closely with, the Organisation, it paints a vivid picture – combining anecdotes with turning points in history – of what the Council of Europe has stood for since 1949, and of the values which it must continue to champion to keep the European ideal alive in people's hearts and minds.The 30 contributions compiled by Denis Huber include accounts by Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Gianni Buquicchio, Bruno Haller, Charles Kohler, Catherine Lalumière, Peter Leuprecht, Alexandre Orlov, Guido Raimondi, Catherine Trautmann, Jacques Warin and Hans Winkler.

Preface by Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe and Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe. Postface by Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Contents
• Preface. Stories in history
• The beginning. Summer 1949 in Strasbourg
• European Convention on Human Rights – November 1950. René Cassin, symbol of the Europe of human rights
• Adoption of the European flag – 1955. 12 gold stars on a sky blue background
• European Social Charter – 1961. In defence of Cinderella
• The Greek crisis – 1967-1969. Fighting a dictatorship in the “homeland of democracy”
• Portugal and Spain – 1974-1977. An Iberian dawn
• Abolishing the death penalty in Europe
• 1984-1985. “Ostpolitik” makes its appearance
• 1987-1988. Travels beyond the Iron Curtain
• Prohibition of corporal punishment. Take it like a man
• Fall of the Berlin Wall – 1989. One November night on the motorway
• 1989-2006. Europe, our common home
• My road to Damascus
• 1990. A memorable tour
• 1990. A Venitian story
• Strasbourg and Europe. A marriage of head and heart
• 1993. An Albanian summer
• The Vienna Summit – October 1993. Building a Greater. Europe
• Rwanda – 1994-1995. A dress that tells a story
• The Strasbourg Summit – October 1997. Reconciling Europe with itself
• Bosnia and Herzegovina – 1997. From indifference to difference: a Bosnian story
• 1994-1999. From “Mani pulite” to “Caviar-Gate”: the neverending fight against corruption
• Kosovo – 1999. Building democracy on a local basis
• Azerbaijan – 2001. The prisoners of Gobustan
• Chechnya 2000-2003. Heart-to-heart
• The Warsaw Summit – May 2005. A new ambition for the European continent
• Fighting against violence
• Serbia – 2006-2007. Blood and honey
• Belarus – 2001-2019. The wheel turning in a vacuum
• From Serbia to the Council of Europe. Violence and serenity
• Culture, the foundation for a European renaissance
• Postface. A human enterprise
• Appendices. The 47 member states of the Council of Europe with their accession dates
• The Council of Europe in brief
• Key dates
• The authors
• 70 years of history in photographs
• Copyright
• Table of contents