1. The European Union and its Member States welcome this regular thematic debate on the death penalty, an issue where all Council of Europe Member States share a common position, common values and common ideals. An issue where this Organization has been playing and continues to play a pioneering and leading role.

2. Although widely known, it is never too much to repeat our position. The European Union and its Member-States oppose the capital punishment in all times and in all circumstances. The death penalty undermines human dignity and makes any miscarriage of justice irreversible and fatal. Furthermore, the death penalty does not have any proven deterrent effect.

3. Abolition of death penalty is an explicit and absolute condition to become a Member of the European Union and also a prerequisite for membership to the Council of Europe. It represents a distinctive achievement of our continent. Reintroduction of the death penalty by any member State would be contrary to the fundamental values and obligations underlying both Organizations. This is a policy area where there is a strong consensus within the European Union and it constitutes a priority of the EU’s external action.

4. The large majority of the Council of Europe's Member States, including all members of the European Union have reaffirmed their commitment to the abolition of the capital punishment in all circumstances, in other words also in time of war or of imminent threat of war, by ratifying Protocol no.6 and Protocol no.13 to the European Convention of Human Rights. We would like to appeal to member countries that have not yet done so to ratify it as a matter of priority, and we urge all member states of the Council of Europe to uphold and ensure compliance with the legal and political obligations inherent to their membership status.

5. The EU and its member states regret that there is one European country that still applies the death penalty. We thank the Secretariat for the Information Document (CM/Inf(2018)23) on the situation in Belarus, prepared for this debate. We welcome the Council of Europe efforts to provide assistance to Belarus in this context and the report presented to all Member-States with the activities promoted in the country. But we deeply regret that since our last discussion, only six months ago, new executions have been carried out and several death sentences have been up-held by the Supreme Court. Tangible steps taken by Belarus to respect universal human rights, including on death penalty, will remain key for the shaping of the EU's future policy towards Belarus.

6. Likewise, we also regret the continued application of this punishment in Japan and in some states of the United States, both observer States of the Council of Europe.The EU recommends that Japan abolish the death penalty or establish an immediate moratorium on executions. The EU welcomes the public debate on the matter and the declaration by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations which calls for the abolition of the death penalty by 2020. In the United States of America, the death penalty has been abolished in law or de facto in the majority of its States and we commend the ongoing debate towards abandoning this practice in the remaining States.

7. For all these cases, we reiterate our concern and we call on the respective national authorities to commute any remaining death sentences and to establish a moratorium on the death penalty and to ensure conditions of detention in respect of human dignity. We would also like to recall that according to international minimum standards, countries should not carry out executions of persons below eighteen years of age at the time of the crime, pregnant women, new mothers and mentally disabled persons.

8. The EU has clearly expressed the priority it gives to the cooperation with the Council of Europe on this matter and welcomes the possibility to develop it further. We thus consider it important to permanently evaluate how to further coordinate, complement and reinforce our common message and our action towards a common objective: the global abolition of capital punishment. We welcome the Joint Declaration by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on behalf of the EU, and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, issued on the European and World day against the death penalty, just a few days ago. The EU and Council of Europe cooperation will be shown by supporting the upcoming resolution of the UN General Assembly calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. Also, the text of the draft resolution to be submitted to the UNGA, that this Committee of Ministers adopted a few weeks ago on the Cooperation between the CoE and the UN has two meaningful references to the issue of the death penalty.

9. The EU and Belgium will host the 7^th World Congress against the Death Penalty in Brussels at the end of February 2019. This major event will encourage the last retentionist countries towards abolition.

10. We would also call on Member States of the Council of Europe to continue taking effective measures to prevent their involvement , however indirect, in the use of death penalty by third countries, for instance by adopting measures that prevent the trade in goods that could subsequently be used to carry out executions.

11. Only a coordinated and continued action of each and every relevant actor, by means of all available instruments in all suitable fora, can ensure the success of our common goal: the universal abolition of capital punishment. 

12. Mr. Chairman, we ask this statement to be included in the minutes of this meeting.

The following countries Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Montenegro, Republic of Moldova, Norway, San Marino, Serbia, Ukraine, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia align themselves with this statement.