EU Accession to ECHR

Yesterday and the day before, the Spanish Presidency of the European Union and the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency organised a conference on EU accession to the ECHR. The entry into force of the European Union's Lisbon Treaty at the end of last year in combination with the upcoming entry into force of Protocol 14 ECHR will enable this accession. Accession will mean that a judge elected in respect of the EU will become part of the Court, bringing in particular expertise. Individuals will be able top bring complaints about the EU to Strasbourg after exhausting the EU's own existing system of remedies. For answers to some of the main questions concerning the issue, click here. For the speech that Council of Europe's S-G Thorbjørn Jagland delivered, see here.