1. The rules and procedure
within the Committee of Ministers for answering written questions
from members of the Parliamentary Assembly are set out in the iGuide on the Committee of Ministers’
procedures and working methods (accessible via this link: IX/1.5).
2. The Statute of the Council of Europe does not contain any
specific provisions on the handling, by the Committee of Ministers,
of replies to written questions from members of the Parliamentary
Assembly. Under those circumstances, Article 19 of the Statute of
the Council of Europe which covers statements by the Committee of
Ministers to the Assembly, combined with Article 20 of the Statute,
which provides that decisions on statements to the Assembly are
taken unanimously, has always been applied to replies to written
questions. This practice was reviewed and reconfirmed by the Deputies
in 2008.Note
3. With regard to the written questions specifically mentioned
by Mr Omtzigt, the Chair, in accordance with the procedure adopted
by the Deputies, informed the President of the Parliamentary Assembly
respectively in October 2014, February 2015 and September 2015 that,
owing to a lack of consensus, it has not been possible to adopt
replies to Written Questions No. 665, 666 and 678.Note