The Council of Europe is the continent’s oldest political organisation, founded in 1949. It : • groups together 46 countries, including 21 countries from Central and Eastern Europe, • has application from 1 more country (Bélarus), • has granted observer status to 5 more countries (the Holy See, the United States, Canada, Japan and Mexico), • is distinct from the 25-nation European Union, but no country has ever joined the Union without first belonging to the Council of Europe, • has its headquarters in Strasbourg, in north-eastern France.