Political aims

During the Second Summit in Strasbourg in October 1997, the Heads of State and Government adopted an action plan to strengthen the Council of Europe's work in four areas: democracy and human rights, social cohesion, the security of citizens and democratic values and cultural diversity.

The Council of Europe's third Summit of Heads of State and Government, held in Warsaw on 16 and 17 May 2005, concluded by adopting a political declaration and an action plan laying down the principal tasks of the Council of Europe in the coming years:
- promoting the common fundamental values of human rights, the rule of law and democracy;
- strengthening the security of European citizens, in particular by combating terrorism, organised crime and trafficking in human beings;
- fostering co-operation with other international and European organisations.

Today, the Organisation continues to grow while at the same time increasing its monitoring to ensure that all its members respect the obligations and commitments they entered into when they joined.