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Activities of the Assembly’s Bureau and Standing Committee (23 April 2012)

Progress report | Doc. 12902 Part II | 23 April 2012

Author(s):
Bureau of the Assembly
Rapporteur :
Ms Liliane MAURY PASQUIER, Switzerland, SOC
Thesaurus

1 Decisions of the Bureau of 23 April 2012 requiring ratification by the Assembly

1.1 Election of a judge to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Belgium

The Bureau took note of the decision of the sub-committee on the election of Judges to the European Court of Human Rights to not to accept the request by the Belgian government to withdraw the list of candidates and decided to transmit it to the Assembly for ratification.

1.2 Election observations

1.2.1 Parliamentary elections in Armenia (6 May 2012)

The Bureau approved the final composition of the ad hoc committee to observe these elections.

1.2.2 Parliamentary and presidential elections in Serbia (6 May 2012)

The Bureau approved the final composition of the ad hoc committee to observe these elections.

1.3 References and transmissions to committees

The Bureau considered and approved the references and transmissions to committees, subject to ratification by the Assembly (Appendix 1).

1.4 Composition of the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs

On the basis of proposals from the political groups, the Bureau nominated Mr Koç (Turkey, SOC) to replace Mrs Err (Luxembourg, SOC) and decided to submit this to the Assembly for ratification.

1.5 Issues raised by Committees:

1.5.1 Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights:

Further to a recommendation by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of 12 March 2012, the Bureau decided to ask the Assembly to request the Venice Commission for an opinion on the intended suspension of the constitutional amendment procedure in Belgium.

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The Assembly is invited to ratify the above proposals made by the Bureau.

2 Other decisions of the Bureau

2.1 Second part-session of 2012 (Strasbourg, 23-27 April 2012)

2.1.1 Requests for debates under urgent procedure and current affairs debates

The Bureau decided to propose to the Assembly:

  • to hold a debate under urgent procedure on “The situation in Syria” on Thursday 26 April 2012 and to refer this item to the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy for report and the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons for opinion;
  • to hold a current affairs debate on “The future of the ECHR and the Brighton Declaration” on Thursday 26 April and to propose that the debate should be introduced by Mr Franken (Netherlands, EPP/CD);
  • not to hold a current affairs debate on “Rule of law and legal certainty: their protection at international level”.

2.1.2 Draft agenda

The Bureau updated the draft agenda.

2.1.3 Joint committee (25 April 2012)

The Bureau took note of the draft agenda of the Joint Committee to be held on Wednesday 25 April.

2.2 Election observations

2.2.1 Russian Federation: presidential election (4 March 2012)

The Bureau approved the report of the ad hoc Committee which observed this election.

2.3 Order of precedence of vice-chairpersons of committees

The Bureau took note of the opinion prepared by the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs on the interpretation of Rule 45.3 of the Rules of Procedure regarding the order of precedence of committee vice-chairpersons.

2.4 Communications

The Bureau took note of communications by the Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, as well as the President and the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly.

2.5 Issues raised by Committees:

2.5.1 Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy

The Bureau authorised the fact-finding visit of Mr Çavuşoğlu (Turkey, EDG) to Kyrgyzstan in May or June 2012 in the context of the preparation of a report on the “Request for Partner for Democracy status with the Parliamentary Assembly by the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic”.

2.6 Appointment of Assembly representatives for official activities

The Bureau appointed the Assembly representatives for official activities (Appendix 2).

Appendix 1 : References and transmissions to committees

A. REFERENCES TO COMMITTEES

Witness protection as an indispensable tool in the fight against organised crime and terrorism in Europe -Motion for a resolution presented by Mr Gardetto and other - Doc. 12841 - Reference to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights for report

Violence on television and its consequences on children - Motion for a resolution presented by Ms Kovaćs and others - Doc. 12858 - Reference to the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media for report and to the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development for opinion

The impact of global financial power on democracies -Motion for a resolution presented by Mr Volontè and others - Doc. 12859 - Reference to the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy to be taken into account in the preparation of the report on “The crisis of democracy and the role of the state in today’s Europe” (Ref. 3711 of 4/10/2010)

The idea of Big Society, development of subsidiarity and common good - Motion for a resolution presented by Mr Toshev and others - Doc. 12860 - Reference to the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy for report and to the Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee for opinion

Stalking - Motion for a recommendation presented by Ms Wurm and others - Doc. 12861 - Reference to the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination for report

Chinese migration to Europe: challenges and opportunities - Motion for a resolution presented by Mr Dendias and others - Doc. 12862 - transmission to the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons for information

The urgent need to solve the IDP and refugee problems arising from the Nagorno Karabakh conflict - Motion for a resolution presented by Mr Rzayev and others - Doc. 12863 - transmission to Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons for information

The political transition in Egypt - Motion for a resolution presented by Mr Gardetto and others - Doc. 12866 - Reference to the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy for report

Refugees and the fight against AIDS - Motion for a resolution presented by Ms Fiala and others - Doc. 12867 - Reference to the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons for report and to the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development for opinion

LGBT-related claims for asylum - Motion for a resolution presented by Ms Strik and others - Doc. 12868 - transmission to the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons for information

Mass-unemployment as a systemic threat for the future of Europe, democracy and human rights - Motion for a resolution presented by Mr Gross and others - Doc. 12869 - Reference to the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development to be taken into account in the preparation of the report on “The young generation sacrificed: political, social, economic and other consequences of the financial crisis” (Ref. 3832 of 23/01/2012)

Strenghtening standards on democratic funcitioning of national parliaments: a guide to parliamentary good practice - Reference to the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs for report

The deterioration of the situation of imprisoned politicians in Ukraine - Reference to the Monitoring Committee to be taken into account in the preparation of the report on the monitoring of obligations and comitments by Ukraine

B. MODIFICATION OF A REFERENCE

The situation of Roma in Europe: movement and migration - Decision of the Bureau - Ref. 3722 of 8 October 2011 (reference to the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons for report and to the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy for opinion) - reference to the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination for opinion

Appendix 2 : Appointment of Assembly representatives for official activities

i Ms Naghdalyan (Armenia, ALDE), OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Economic Conference “Fostering Economic Co-operation and Stability in the OSCE region”, Batumi (Georgia), 11-14 May 2012;
ii Mr Çavuşoğlu (Turkey, EDG), 4th Congress of World and Traditional Religions, Astana (Kazakhstan), 30-31 May 2012;
iii Mr Zingeris (Lithuania, EPP/CD), 80th Rose-Roth Seminar “Eastern Partners: Contemporary Challenges and Future Prospects”, organised by the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in co-operation with the Parliament of Lituania, Vilnius, 18-19 June 2012 (at no cost for the Assembly).