The bodies of the Council of Europe
The bodies of the Council of Europe
From the outset, the Council of Europe had three statutory bodies: the Committee of Ministers and the Consultative Assembly, both political bodies, were assisted by the Secretariat, a purely administrative body. The structure and the powers and responsibilities of the Council of Europe are the result of a compromise between those who favoured a federalist model of European integration and the unionists, who, seeking not to interfere with state sovereignty, preferred no more than intergovernmental cooperation.