Court Rules On Austrian Refusal To Allow Gay Marriage

A five-judge panel of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has rejected the referral request relating to the case of Schalk and Kopf v. Austria (application no. 30141/04) submitted by the applicants.

The Court’s Chamber judgment of 24 June 2010 has thereby become final (Article 44 of the European Convention on Human Rights).

Review Of Conduct of Moldovan Parliamentary Elections

Parliamentary elections in Moldova on 28 November met most Council of Europe and OSCE commitments, international observers have concluded.

Rome launch for new Council of Europe anti-child sexual abuse campaign

A new Council of Europe campaign aimed at fighting the sexual abuse of children has been welcomed by leading Italian experts ahead of its launch in Rome today.


“We need a large prevention strategy,” said Roberta Angellilli, EU Vice president and spokesman for the Rome municipal authority on children’s issues, in an interview with the Council of Europe. “Institutions must speak out and be on the citizen’s side, especially if the citizen is vulnerable.

Italy And Faroe Islands Scoop Song Contest Awards

R.esistance in dub, from Frioul, Italy and Orka, from the Faroe Islands, have won the Public and Jury prizes at the Liet International minority languages music festival in Brittany, France.

The festival - know as the European Minority song contest -  promotes contemporary songs in languages such as  Asturian, Breton, Corsican, Faroese, Frisian, Friulian, Gaelic, Galician, Irish, Sami, and Veps.

It is sponsored by the Council of Europe Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, the only world-wide agreement designed to protect minority languages.

More Information