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14 Colum. J. Eur. L. 509 (2007-2008)
The Two Europes of Human Rights: The Emerging Division of Tasks between the Council of Europe and the European Union in Promoting Human Rights in Europe

handle is hein.journals/coljeul14 and id is 515 raw text is: THE TWO EUROPES OF HUMAN RIGHTS: THE EMERGING
DIVISION OF TASKS BETWEEN THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE AND
THE EUROPEAN UNION IN PROMOTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN
EUROPE
Olivier De Schutter*
This article addresses the division of tasks between the Council of
Europe and the European Union in the protection offundamental
rights in Europe. As part of its project to establish an area of
fteedom, security, and justice, the EU has recently sought to
develop a more proactive fundamental rights policy. However, in
the debate on the shape of the EU's fundamental rights policy, one
issue that has repeatedly surfaced is the EU's relationship with the
Council of Europe, the leading regional organization for standard-
setting and monitoring in the field of human rights. In particular,
some have questioned whether the principles of subsidiarity and
proportionality which should guide the Union's exercise of the
powers it shares with the member states should take into account
either the fact that the Council of Europe has already defined
standards in the area of fundamental rights for the EU member
states, or the fact that the forum of the Council of Europe might be
better suited than the EU for the development of new standards
where new problems emerge. This study is an attempt to answer
this question in a rapidly changing political environment.
1.     IN TRO D U CTION   ........................................................................................... 5 10
II.    T H E  C O N TEX T  ............................................................................................ 5 12
III.   THE DEBATE SURROUNDING THE EU FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AGENCY ..... 517
A. Reactions within the Council of Europe to the Proposal for an EU
Fundam ental Rights A gency  ............................................................ 517
B. The Reality of the Duplication of Tasks between the EU
Fundamental Rights Agency and the Council of Europe Bodies ..... 522
1.  Tw o  m eanings of m onitoring ..................................................... 523
2. The EU Member States implementing Community law ............ 524
3 .  T hird  countries ........................................................................... 526
C .  A n  E valuation  .................................................................................. 529
1.  The risk  of dividing  lines in  Europe ...................................... 529
2.  Econom izing  resources .............................................................. 530
3. The risk of weakening the European system of human rights
p rotection   ................................................................................... 5 32
Olivier De Schutter is Professor at the Catholic University ofLouvain (UCL) and at the
College of Europe (Natolin), and a Member of the Global Law School Faculty at New York University.
He is a visiting professor at Columbia University (2007 08).
509

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