Council of Europe

The Council of Europe works in the fields of education, culture, youth and sport. The Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture is involved in the Council of Europe in its field in drafting international agreements and in implementing them in Finland.

Cooperation within the Council of Europe is based on the European Cultural Convention (1954). After being an observer since 1963, Finland signed the Convention in 1970 and became a full member of the Council of Europe in 1989.

In terms of the Ministry's work, the Council of Europe is an important, often unique, intergovernmental organisation. It has competence in the fields of education, research, culture, cultural heritage, youth and sport, whereas the European Union, for one, has limited competence in many of these fields. This makes the Council of Europe a key forum for policy development and technical assistance in several fields.

The instruments used to this end are binding treaties or conventions, and recommendations or declarations.