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

Progress report | Doc. 12830 Part 2 | 23 January 2012

Author(s):

Bureau of the Assembly

Rapporteur :

Mr Mevlüt ÇAVUŞOĞLU, Turkey, EDG

1 Decisions of the Bureau requiring ratification by the Assembly

The Bureau met on 23 January 2012 in Strasbourg.

1.1 1st part of the 2012 Ordinary Session (Strasbourg, 23-27 January 2012)

1.1.1 Requests for debates under urgent procedure and current affairs debates

The Bureau received the following four requests:

• on 19 December 2011, a request by the Political Affairs Committee, supported by the Monitoring Committee, to hold a debate under urgent procedure on “Russian Federation between two elections”;
• on 20 January 2012, a request from the Chairperson of the Danish Delegation, Mr Larsen, to hold a current affairs debate on “The state of democracy in Hungary”;
• on 22 January 2012, a request from three political groups, EPP/CD, UEL and EDG, to hold a current affairs debate on “The Russian Federation between two elections”;
• on 23 January 2012, a request from Mrs Brasseur on behalf of the ALDE group to hold a debate under urgent procedure on “The state of democracy in Hungary”;

The Bureau considered these requests and decided to propose to the Assembly to hold a current affairs debate on “Russian Federation between two elections” on Thursday 26 January at 10 am and to propose that the debate should be introduced by Mr Gross (Switzerland, SOC)

1.1.2 Election of a judge to the European Court of Human rights in respect of Belgium

The Bureau took note of the recommendation submitted by the sub-committee on the election of Judges to the European Court of Human Rights and decided to transmit it to the Assembly for ratification within the Progress report.

1.1.3 Draft agenda

The Bureau updated the draft agenda.

1.2 Progress report of the Bureau of the Assembly and of the Standing Committee (7 October 2011 – 21 January 2012) (Rapporteur: Mr Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (Turkey, European Democrat Group)

The Bureau approved the Progress report.

1.3 Vice-Presidents of the Assembly in 2012

The Bureau took note of the list of candidates (Appendix 1).

1.4 Election of the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe

The Bureau considered and agreed to the draft job description / competence framework as proposed by the Committee of Ministers for the post of Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe (Appendix II) and decided to submit this decision, together with the decision already taken on 12 December 2012 to shorten the term of the Deputy Secretary General, to be elected in 2012, to three years, to the Assembly for ratification.

1.5 Election observations

1.5.1 Parliamentary elections in Morocco (25 November 2011)

The Bureau approved the report of the ad hoc Committee which observed these elections.

1.5.2 Parliamentary elections in the Russian Federation (4 December 2011)

The Bureau approved the report on the observation of these elections and took note of the press release issued by the post-electoral observation mission (19-21January 2012).

1.5.3 Presidential elections in Russia (4 March 2012)

The Bureau approved the composition of the ad hoc committee for the observation of these elections and appointed Mr Kox, (Netherlands, UEL) as its Chairperson.

1.5.4 Elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council and for the Presidency of the Palestinian National Authority (4 May 2012):

The Bureau decided - in principle and subject to the reception of an invitation by the competent authorities and the confirmation of date - to observe these elections, and decided to constitute an ad hoc Committee for this purpose composed of 30 members, (in accordance with the D’Hondt system: EPP/CD: 11, SOC: 9; EDG: 5, ALDE: 4, UEL: 1) and authorised a pre-electoral mission to take place approximately one month ahead of the election.

1.5.5 Parliamentary elections in Armenia (6 May 2012)

The Bureau decided - in principle and subject to the reception of an invitation by the competent national authorities - to observe these elections, and decided to constitute an ad hoc Committee for this purpose composed of 30 members, (in accordance with the D’Hondt system: EPP/CD: 11, SOC: 9; EDG: 5, ALDE: 4, UEL: 1) and authorised a pre-electoral mission to take place approximately one month ahead of the election.

1.5.6 Parliamentary elections in Serbia (May 2012):

The Bureau decided - in principle and subject to the reception of an invitation by the competent national authorities and the confirmation of date - to observe these elections, and decided to constitute an ad hoc Committee for this purpose composed of 30 members, (in accordance with the D’Hondt system: EPP/CD: 11, SOC: 9; EDG: 5, ALDE: 4, UEL: 1) and authorised a pre-electoral mission to take place approximately one month ahead of the election.

1.6 Reports by ad hoc committees of the Bureau

1.6.1 Ad Hoc Committee on the implementation of Resolution 1416 (2005) on the conflict over the Nagorno Karabakh region dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference (Appendix III)

The Bureau approved the report by the Chairperson of the ad hoc Committee.

1.6.2 Ad Hoc Committee on promoting dialogue between the Georgian and Russian Assembly delegations

The Bureau approved the oral report by the Chairperson of the ad hoc Committee.

1.7 References and transmissions to committees

The Bureau considered and approved the following reference, subject to ratification by the Assembly (Appendix III):

• Doc. 12818, Request for an opinion by the Committee of Ministers, Draft fourth additional protocol to the European Convention on Extradition (ETS No. 24), to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights for report

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

i On the basis of proposals from the political groups, the Bureau nominated members of these two committees and decided to submit them to the Assembly for ratification.

ii In respect of Ukraine: following a vote, appointed Mrs Herasym’yuk (EPP/CD) and Mrs Liovochkina (EDG) as member of the Monitoring Committee, for ratification by the Assembly;

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

Appendix 1 – ELECTION OF THE VICE-PRESIDENTS OF THE ASSEMBLY FOR 2012

19 January 2012

CANDIDATURES

GROUPS /GROUPES	COUNTRY / PAYS	CANDIDATES / CANDIDATS
GROUP I / GROUPE I	France	Mme Arlette GROSSKOST
	Germany / Allemagne	Mr Joachim HÖRSTER
	Italy / Italie	Mr Luigi VITALI
	Russian Federation / Fédération de Russie	Mr Leonid SLUTSKIY
	United Kingdom / Royaume-Uni	Mr Robert WALTER
GROUP II / GROUPE II	Poland / Pologne	Mr Andrzej HALICKI
	Spain / Espagne	vacant seat / poste vacant
	Ukraine	Mr Ivan POPESCU
GROUP III / GROUPE III	Republic of Moldova / République de Moldova	Mme Liliana PALIHOVICI
	Netherlands / Pays-Bas	Mr Tiny KOX
	Norway / Norvège	Ms Karin WOLDSETH
	Portugal	Mr Joao Bosco MOTA AMARAL
	Romania / Roumanie	Mr Cezar Florin PREDA
	Serbia / Serbie	Ms Nataša VUČKOVIĆ
	Slovak Republic / République slovaque	Mr Pavol KUBOVIČ
	Sweden / Suède	Ms Marietta de POURBAIX-LUNDIN
GROUP IV / GROUPE IV	Liechtenstein	Mr Gebhard NEGELE
	Lithuania / Lituanie	Mr Emanuelis ZINGERIS
	Luxembourg	Mme Lydie ERR
	Malte	Mr Francis AGIUS

Appendix 2

Ministers’ Deputies - CM Documents

CM(2011)180 prov2, 10 January 2012 [(1) This document has been classified restricted at the date of issue; it will be declassified in accordance with Resolution Res(2001)6 on access to Council of Europe documents.]

1130 Meeting, 11 January 2012

1 General questions

1.7 Deputy Secretary General – Procedure for Election

Draft competence framework

Mission:

Within the framework of the Statute of the Council of Europe and under the authority of the Secretary General, the Deputy Secretary General supports the Secretary General in the effective, strategic management of the Secretariat, in line with decisions and priorities of the Committee of Ministers.

The above mission shall be carried out in accordance with Committee of Ministers’ Resolution Res(55)29, on the functions of the Deputy Secretary General whereby the Deputy Secretary General shall act as the permanent assistant of the Secretary General in all matters, in supervision of all departments of the Secretariat, except the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly, as well as replace the Secretary General and undertake all his/her duties and responsibilities when he/she is absent or otherwise unavailable.

The Deputy Secretary General carries out additional tasks and leads on priority initiatives as delegated by the Secretary General.

Criteria:

Article 2 of the Regulations relating to the appointment of the Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General and Secretary General of the Assembly having the rank of Deputy Secretary General sets the following criteria for the choice of candidates:

a The recruitment of persons of the highest ability and integrity and suitability for the post to be filled.

b The qualifications and experience of persons already employed by the Council of Europe shall be taken into consideration, so that members of the Secretariat may have reasonable prospects of promotion.

c The desirability of ensuring an equitable geographical allocation of appointments among nationals of the member States subject to the overriding interests of efficiency. No office in the Secretariat shall be considered to be the prerogative of any particular member State.

As regards the equitable gender balance of appointments, reference is made to the joint interpretative statement on the rules and procedures for the future elections of the Secretary General.

1. To assess suitability for the post (experience):

• extensive experience in senior management in international organisations;
• proven experience of leading senior managers in a culturally diverse environment;
• proven experience of dealing with programme, administrative, budgetary and personnel questions as well as change management.

2. To assess highest ability (skills):

• insight on international affairs; strategic thinking;
• leadership skills; capacity for dialogue; trust-building; inspires and motivates a culturally diverse staff;
• skills to manage a large Organisation; delegates authority and empowers staff while remaining accountable; innovative thinking;
• ability to translate strategy into actions; ability to plan pro-actively; delivers results, with efficiency and transparency;
• team player;
• ability to co-ordinate functioning of the support services of the organisation, with a concern for innovation and effectiveness;
• good communication skills; negotiating and advocacy skills; proven ability to establish, maintain and use strong and effective networks; capacity to interact effectively with diverse interlocutors; highly developed ability to explain and to persuade; ability to tackle sensitive issues while promoting Council of Europe values;
• very good knowledge of at least one of the official languages of the Council of Europe (English and French) and practical knowledge of the second official language.

3. To assess highest integrity (values):

• commitment to human rights, democracy and the rule of law;
• respect for diversity;
• openness to scrutiny.

Appendix 3

AS/Bur/Adhoc NK (2011) 01, 9 January 2012

Bureau of the Assembly

Ad Hoc Committee on the implementation of Resolution 1416 (2005) on the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference

Report by Mr Jordi Xuclà i Costa, Chairperson of the ad hoc Committee

Background information

1. The Ad hoc Committee was established by the Bureau at its meeting of 18 March 2005 with an initial mandate to focus on the implementation of paragraph 5 of Resolution 1416(2005). Subsequently, following proposals by the Chairperson of the Ad hoc Committee, the Bureau, at its meeting of 16 March 2006, decided to enlarge the mandate of the Committee by deleting the reference to paragraph 5 to enable it to “ensure the implementation of Resolution 1416(2005)” [(2) See AS/BUR/NK(2005)02 rev2] and to “actively contribute to the creation of a positive climate around the peace process without interfering with the negotiations” [(3) Idem paragraph 37]. In this context, it approved the proposals for future action presented by the Chairperson of the Ad hoc Committee: [(4) Idem paragraph 38].

2. The Bureau, at its meetings of 25 April 2005 and 16 March 2006, approved the composition of the Ad hoc Committee as follows:

• Chairpersons of the national delegations of Armenia and Azerbaijan;
• the co-rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee for Armenia and Azerbaijan;
• representatives of political groups not represented by the members above;
• representatives of the main opposition party in Armenia and Azerbaijan.

3. At the Bureau’s meeting of 25 April 2005, the Bureau appointed the late Lord Russell-Johnston as Chairperson of the Ad hoc Committee.

4. The ad hoc committee was reconstituted in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

5. Between 2005 and 2007 the ad hoc committee held five meetings.

6. In view of the difficulties in obtaining an agreement by both delegations directly concerned to convene a meeting of the ad hoc committee as well as on possible issues to be discussed, the then President of the Assembly, Mr Lluís Maria de Puig, decided to hold separate consultations with the chairs of the delegations concerned, as well as representatives of the opposition. The objective of these consultations was twofold: to identify if and when it would be fruitful to convene the ad hoc committee and to de-escalate the tension between the two delegations and the rhetoric employed by them. These consultations took place within the context of each part-session in 2009.

7. In 2010, Mr de Puig’s successor as President, Mr Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, decided to pursue these separate consultations, which also took place in the framework of each part-session throughout the year. Furthermore, issues related to the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh were also raised by the President in the course of his official visits to the countries concerned in 2010.

8. At its meeting of 28 January 2011, on the proposal of the President, the Bureau of the Assembly decided to reconstitute the Ad Hoc Committee on the implementation of Resolution 1416 (2005) on the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference, approved its composition [(5) See appendix 1] and appointed me as its Chairperson. It further instructed me to report back to the Bureau before the end of 2011 on the results of the work of this ad hoc committee, with a view to making a decision on the future of this Ad hoc Committee. This is the purpose of this report.

Work of the Ad hoc Committee in 2011

9. As Chairperson, I initially held separate consultations with the delegations concerned. Subsequently, I convened two meetings of the Ad hoc Committee: one on Monday 20 June 2011 [(6) AS/Bur/Adhoc NK (2011) OJ 01] and the other on Monday 3 October 2011 [(7) AS/Bur/Adhoc NK (2011) OJ 02] .

10. Also, at each part-session of 2011 I maintained bilateral contacts with the heads of both delegations concerned. I also used all meetings of the Monitoring Committee in which I participated during 2011 to explore the possibilities of advancing the implementation of resolution through dialogue with the heads of both delegations concerned.

11. The Armenian delegation declined to take part in either of the two ad hoc committee meetings held in 2011.

12. In this context, it may be noted that the Azerbaijani delegation attended the meetings.

13. It should also be noted that according to the ad hoc committee’s mandate, two national delegations were each to appoint a representative of the main opposition party to the ad hoc committee. The delegation of Azerbaijan appointed Mr. Sabir Hajiyev as representative of the main opposition party. On the other hand, the delegation of Armenia did not appoint a representative of the main opposition party to be incorporated into the ad hoc committee.

14. During the two ad hoc committee meetings held in 2011 the ad hoc committee members who took part in the meetings and were not part of national delegations expressed their desire to work within the framework of the commission for compliance with Resolution 1416 (2005 ) on the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference.

15. In my capacity as President, given the clear mandate of Resolution 1416 (2005) on the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference, considering that the ad hoc committee was reconstituted in four successive years since 2005, appreciating the will of the ad hoc committee members who are not part of national delegations to continue working on the fulfilment of that resolution, I propose the reconstitution of the ad hoc committee for the year 2012 in order to continue the mandate granted by the Bureau of the Assembly.

Appendix 1

Ad Hoc Committee on the implementation of Resolution 1416 (2005) on the conflict over the Nagorno- Karabakh region dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference / Commission ad hoc pour la mise en œuvre de la Résolution 1416 (2005) sur le conflit du Haut-Karabakh traité par la Conférence de Minsk

Composition [(8) According to the criteria approved by the Bureau on 16 March 2006 (AS/Bur/NK (2005) 02 rev. 2) / Conformément aux critères approuvés par le Bureau le 16 mars 2006 (AS/Bur/NK (2005) 02 rév. 2).]

Chairperson: Mr Jordi XUCLÀ i COSTA, (Spain/ EspagneALDE / ADLE)

a Chairpersons of the following national delegations to the Assembly / Présidents des délégations nationales suivantes auprès de l’Assemblée :

• Mr/M. Davit HARUTYUNYAN (Armenia/Arménie, EDG/GDE)
• Mr/M. Samad SEYIDOV (Azerbaijan/Azerbaïdjan, EDG/GDE)

a Representatives of the main committees concerned by the conflict / Représentants des principales commissions concernées par le conflit :

• the rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee for Armenia and Azerbaijan / les rapporteurs de la Commission de suivi pour l’Arménie et l’Azerbaïdjan :
• Mr/M. Axel FISCHER (Germany/Allemagne, EPP/CD) 
• Mr/M. John PRESCOTT (United Kingdom/Royaume-Uni, SOC)
• . Mr/M. Pedro AGRAMUNT (Spain/Espagne, EPP/CD)
• . Mr/M. Joseph DEBONO GRECH (Malta/Malte, SOC)

a Representatives of political groups who are not represented by the members appearing in categories a and b above / Représentants des groupes politiques qui ne sont pas représentés par les membres figurant dans les catégories a et b :

• Mr/M. Grigore PETRENCO, (Moldova/Moldavie, UEL/GUE)
• Mr/M. Jordi XUCLÀ i COSTA, (Spain/Espagne ALDE/ADLE)

a Representatives of the main opposition party / Représentants du principal parti d’opposition :

• . … (Armenia/Arménie)
• Mr/M. Sabir HAJIYEV (Azerbaijan/Azerbaïdjan)

(appointed by the national delegations)

Appendix 4 – Oral report by the Chairperson of the ad hoc committee

(extract of the draft minutes of the meeting of the Bureau on 23 January 2012)

“Concerning the second ad hoc Committee, the Ad Hoc Committee on promoting dialogue between the Georgian and Russian Assembly delegations, I would like to state the following:

Before convening the first meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee, I felt that bilateral consultations with the Chairs of the Georgian and Russian delegations were necessary. During 2011, I held several meetings with the Chairs of both delegations, trying to find a compromise solution for the convocation of the Ad Hoc Committee.

It followed from my discussions, that there was no agreement of both delegations to resume the meetings of the Ad Hoc Committee. Therefore, no meetings were held during 2011.

As my mandate is about to finish, I leave it up to the new President of the Assembly to suggest whether the Ad Hoc Committee should be reconstituted.”

Appendix 5

A. REFERENCES TO COMMITTEE

Draft fourth additional protocol to the European Convention on Extradition (ETS No. 24) - Request for an opinion by the Committee of Ministers - Doc. 12818

Proposal: reference to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights for report