It also resolved to ask the Committee of Ministers, which is the Council’s ministerial-level decision-making body, to request the Russian Federation “to immediately withdraw from the Council of Europe”.

The resolution was adopted during an extraordinary session as a direct consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It came after the Committee of Ministers asked PACE to give its opinion on excluding the Russian Federation from the Council of Europe.

“This was a historic event at a crucial point for the organization. It is the first time ever that a resolution has been passed that a member state can no longer be a member of the organization,” said Ms Schou (Conservative Party), who was the rapporteur on the issue and was responsible for drawing up the background report and the adopted text.

“The background to this war and how it has developed makes it a serious and fundamental breach of international law and of the Council of Europe’s Statute. It became increasingly clear to all those taking part in the session that there was no other alternative than to request the Russian Federation to withdraw from the Council. A member state that launches a military attack on another member state has no place in the Council of Europe,” she continued.

“It has been intense and thorough work. I am very pleased that a record number of members took part in the session and that the resolution was unanimous. This means it carries the weight that such an extraordinary resolution depends on. A united Council of Europe is a stronger Council of Europe.. It is of great significance that Europe stands together on all measures to stop Russia’s attack on Ukraine,” said Ms Schou.

Shortly before the debate ended and the opinion was put to the vote, it became known that the Russian Federation had sent a letter to the Council of Europe’s Secretary General giving notice of their withdrawal from the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights. However, this was of no consequence for the process in the Parliamentary Assembly, which carried out the vote as planned.

“This was an attempt to control the narrative. But history will show that it was the Parliamentary Assembly which first made it clear that the Russian Federation no longer had a place in the Council of Europe,” explained Ms Schou.

The extraordinary plenary session was held in hybrid mode. Head of delegation Ingjerd Schou and substitute member Linda Hofstad Helleland (both Conservative Party) represented the Storting’s PACE delegation in Strasbourg. Lise Christoffersen (Labour Party), Lise Selnes (Labour Party) and Ingvild Wetrhus Thorsvik (Liberal Party) took part digitally.

The Council of Europe and its parliamentary assembly

The Council of Europe was founded in 1949, and currently comprises 47 member states. The principal aim of the Council of Europe is to work towards strengthening human rights, parliamentary democracy and the rule of law in its member states.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) consists of 324 MPs (and the same number of substitutes) from the member states’ national assemblies.

PACE is an advisory body which plays an important role in the Council of Europe. It adopts resolutions and recommendations to the member states’ parliaments and governments in a wide range of fields, and monitors the extent to which its member states comply with their obligations as a member.

The Storting's delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe