On November 14 Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe Edward Nalbandian chaired the Session of the Council of Ministers of the CoE.

In his speech Edward Nalbandian summarized the functioning of the Council of Ministers of the CoE during the Armenian Chairmanship.

Minister Nalbandian stressed that the priorities as well as objectives of the Armenian Chairmanship were defined in response to the challenges that the Council of Europe member States are facing today with regard to the protection of human rights, the further strengthening of democracy and respect for the rule of law.

According to the Minister, this is the reason why the main goals of the Armenian Chairmanship were combating racism and xenophobia; promoting European values through intercultural dialogue; strengthening European standards on human rights and on the rule of law; fostering democratic societies and reinforcing the role of the Council of Europe in the European architecture.

"During our Chairmanship we had maintained close cooperation with all statutory organs of the Council of Europe. We have had active interaction with the Secretary General and Secretariat, the Parliamentary Assembly, the European Court of Human Rights, the Commissioner of Human Rights, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.”- Minister Nalbandian stated.

“Armenia attached great importance to its Chairmanship of the Council of Europe. On October 2 President Serzh Sargsyan paid an official visit to the Council of Europe and met with the leadership of Organisation, and addressed the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.”

Upon the initiative of the Armenian Chairmanship numerous events took place and the most important ones among them are the High-Level Conference on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Europe ; the 2013 Exchange on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue: "Freedom of religion in today's world: challenges and guarantees"; the conference on “The European legal standards of the rule of law and the scope of discretion of powers in the member States of the Council of Europe”; the international Conference of capital cities of the Council of Europe member States “Making the metropolis citizen-friendly: a challenge for public authorities”; the 2013 European Heritage Days Programme and many other events.

During the term of our office the adoption and opening for signature of Protocols 15 and 16 to the European Convention on Human Rights were undertaken.

The Armenian Chairmanship also supported the ongoing reform process of the Organisation initiated by the Secretary General. Armenia brought its contribution to strengthening the capabilities of the Organisation and to maximising the efforts in addressing the challenges in the Council of Europe’s fields of excellence.

The Armenian Chairmanship contributed to the Council of Europe’s co-operation with international and regional organizations the UN, the EU, the OSCE and the high-level meetings are the evidence of this.

The Committee of Ministers closely followed the process of the European Union’s accession to the European Convention on Human Rights. Negotiators for the Council of Europe and the European Union finalised the draft instruments, paving the way for accession.”- Foreign Minister of Armenia noted.

After the closing of the Ministerial meeting the transition of the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to Austria took place. Upon this occasion greeting Michael Spindelegger, the Vice Chancellor and the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of Austria, Edward Nalbandian assured that Armenia will bring its contribution to the Austrian Chairmanship.

The intensive and active functioning of the Armenian Chairmanship was stressed in the speeches of the Heads of Delegations of Austria, Russia, the United Kingdom,

Germany, Portugal, Andorra, Slovakia and Sweden as well as the Head of the Conference of International Non-Governmental Organisations of the Council of Europe.

Before the Ministerial meeting Edward Nalbandian met with Thorbjørn Jagland, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

During the meeting the Secretary General of the CoE stressed that Armenia can be proud of such chairmanship and intensive activities. He also expressed gratitude for the active collaboration.
The sides also had an exchange of ideas concerning the agenda issues of the Council of Europe and the reform process of the Organization.

On the same day Edward Nalbandian together with Thorbjørn Jagland, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and Michael Spindelegger, the Vice Chancellor and the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of Austria, participated in the ceremony of changing the national flag of Armenia, which was raised in front of the City Hall of Strasbourg, with the national flag of Austria.