20/04/2026 | 16:34:53 Welcome, Mister Minister [in French]. Welcome to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. We are living in times of sorrow and uncertainty, with a war of aggression in Europe and a state of war in the Middle East that directly affects Europe. Thousands of Ukrainians have died in the war. A French soldier died some days ago in Lebanon. The economic consequences of the war have only started, but the middle class is suffering a lot. How do you foresee the possibility of peace in... 20/04/2026 | 12:46:32 Thank you very much, colleagues, for all your comments. The election in Hungary was a very special moment for this institution because, as some of our colleagues have said, NGOs and some political parties, especially the parties that won the elections, didn't want to engage with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). We were the only international institution that had engagement with all the political actors in those elections. So for us, it was very important. In... 20/04/2026 | 11:54:34 Madam Chair, At its meeting on 2 March 2026, the Bureau appointed me as the rapporteur for this report, which covers activities from the last Bureau meeting of the first part-session of Friday 30 January 2026, until this morning's press session Bureau meeting. As you know, the progress report is basically a compilation of the decisions taken at Bureau meetings. Furthermore, Addendum 1 on gender equality in the functioning of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in 2025... 29/01/2026 | 11:36:42 Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to begin by congratulating Mr Piero FASSINO, one of the true professors from whom we have the privilege to learn in this institution every single day. Once again, he has demonstrated that moral clarity and political firmness are fully compatible with balance and elegance. Institutions are strengthened when those who are part of them treat one another with seriousness and respect. There is no such thing as old or new politics; there is only good or bad... 27/01/2026 | 19:24:34 Thank you, Madam Chair, Dear colleagues, Even though the next November general elections will be crucial for the future of the entire country, the news is currently focused on the governance of the Republika Srpska. I wish to remind you that the recent conflict escalated after the Republika Srpska adopted legislation asserting ownership and control over public assets, in defiance of the Constitutional Court and the Office of the High Representative. The ensuing confrontation led to legal... 26/01/2026 | 11:32:52 Thank you, President Emanuelis ZINGERIS. Dear President Theodoros ROUSOPOULOS, It's not an easy task today, this farewell ceremony, because you are not only a president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, a member of the Group of the European People's Party, you are also a friend. The words 'thank you' do not suffice. We all know that the time that you have dedicated to your presidency, the personal engagement and your commitment in terms of time and energy. We all know... 02/10/2025 | 12:57:13 Thank you, President. In this report that comes from the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons that should have been about the humanitarian crisis and journalists, we have had a passionate debate about genocide, a question that belongs to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, that has not been taken into account. About the flotilla, a question for the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy without listening to the Committee. And about the two-state solution... 02/10/2025 | 11:20:57 Thank you. Thank you, President. There is a problem with, there are two problems with this report. First of all, the historical events and that has happened with a new peace initiative that is supported by everybody in the region, all the Arab countries and all the European countries. And this should be the scope and the goal to focus by this organisation. And the other thing is that this report has gone beyond the mandate. This was a question of the humanitarian crisis that, of course, we... 01/10/2025 | 17:54:01 Thank you, Chair. Colleagues, Yesterday the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights unanimously adopted the Draft Opinion on the Draft Convention for Establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine. A new brick in the legal building that we are making in which the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine was a historical path. I would like to thank the Committee rapporteur and Chair Lord Richard KEEN for his excellent in-depth work and report. Due to the... 01/10/2025 | 10:12:44 Thank you, President. We are having this debate because there is a big concern about what is happening in Serbia. Student protests have continued to demonstrate since last November in Serbia. The terrible accident in Novi Sad, where 16 people died, ended in social turmoil. Nobody likes the scenes of violence that we have seen. At the beginning, the students were demanding official accountability for the deaths caused by the collapse of the outdoor canopy of the railway station and an end to...