The

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

Archives An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

are located at the headquarters of the Organisation at the Palace of Europe in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, France. They were set up in 1949 soon after the Organisation was created. Open to the public, they constitute a unique research source for the early history of

European integration European integration is the process of industrial, economic integration, economic, political, legal, social integration, social, and cultural Regional integration, integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integrat ...

. Files are declassified under the Council of Europe's one-year, 10-year and 30-year rules, which are explained on the Archives website. In 1960 the Archives of the

Treaty of Brussels The Treaty of Brussels, also referred to as the Brussels Pact, was the founding treaty of the Western Union (alliance), Western Union (WU) between 1948 and 1954, when it was amended as the Modified Brussels Treaty (MTB) and served as the foundin ...

Organisation, for social and cultural activities, were transferred to the Council of Europe Archives, when the Council of Europe took over these activities. Part of the archive collections can be searched online using the Council of Europe's Webcat database. In 2001 the Archives embarked on an ambitious programme of

mass deacidification Mass deacidification is a term used in library and information science as one possible measure against the degradation of paper in old books, the so-called "slow fires". The goal of the process is to increase the pH of acidic paper. Although acid- ...

and digitisation. The Archive is best known for its files containing all the proposed designs for the Flag of Europe. The Archives are also the repository for the instruments of ratification of the Council of Europe's international treaties, of which the best known is the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...

External links

Council of Europe ArchivesCouncil of Europe Search Tools

Brussels Treaty collection

External links

Further reading