Activities of the Bureau and the Standing Committee (27 April – 24 June 2012)
Progress report
| Doc. 12961
| 23 June 2012
1 Introduction
1. On 27 April 2012, the Bureau appointed me rapporteur
for this report. Since the last part-session of the Assembly, the
Bureau has met in Tirana on 24 May 2012. The Standing Committee
also met in Tirana, on 25 May 2012.
2. In line with my predecessors, this progress report covers
the period outside of Assembly sessions, leaving aside the decisions
which have already been ratified by the Assembly. Thus, the first
part of this report presents the Bureau’s activities since the end
of the 2nd part-session of 2012 (23-27 April 2012) up until the 3rd
part-session (25-29 June 2012). The activities of the Standing Committee
of 25 May 2012 are presented in Chapter 3 of this report.
3. The Bureau will hold its next meetings in Strasbourg during
the June part-session on Monday 25 June 2012 at 8 am and Friday
29 June at 8.30 am, and then at 9.30 am on 3 September 2012 in Nice
(France).
2 Activities
of the Bureau since the last part-session
2.1 Follow-up to the
second part-session of 2012 (Strasbourg, 23-27 April 2012)
4. On 27 April 2012, the Bureau approved the following
proposals made by the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly:
- Follow-up to the current affairs
debate on the future of the European Court of Human Rights and the Brighton
Declaration: the Bureau decided to refer this issue to the Committee
on Legal Affairs and Human Rights for report;
- Resolution
1880 (2012) on the follow-up by the Committee of Ministers
to the work of the Parliamentary Assembly: the Bureau requested
the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly to prepare concrete
proposals for the next meeting of the Bureau in Tirana. At its next
meeting on 24 May 2012, the Bureau invited all Committees and members
of the Assembly to work towards enhanced interaction between the
Assembly and the Committee of Ministers through the application
of the recommendations contained in paragraph 5 of this Resolution;
- Follow-up to the “free debate”: the Bureau requested the
Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly to inform all members
of the Assembly about the possibility, as from the June part-session,
to put relevant questions to different institutional entities of
the Council of Europe, which will be subsequently transmitted by
the Secretariat to these various entities for a written reply.
2.2 Terms of reference
of General Rapporteurs
5. At its meeting on 27 April 2012, the Bureau approved
the terms of reference of the General Rapporteurs on the Death Penalty
(Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights) and on the Budget
and the intergovernmental programme (Committee on Rules of Procedure,
Immunities and Institutional Affairs), which were subsequently ratified
by the Assembly.
2.3 Election observation
2.3.1 Parliamentary elections
in Armenia (6 May 2012)
6. On 24 May 2012, the Bureau approved the report issued
by the ad hoc committee.
2.3.2 Parliamentary and
early presidential elections in Serbia (6 and 20 May 2012)
7. On 24 May 2012, the Bureau approved the report issued
by the ad hoc committee.
2.3.3 Parliamentary elections
in Ukraine (28 October 2012)
8. On 27 April 2012, the Bureau decided to observe these
elections,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; ALDE: 5, EDG: 4, UEL:
1) and to authorise a pre-electoral mission approximately one month
ahead of the elections, composed of five members (one from each
group) who are also members of the ad hoc committee.
2.3.4 Parliamentary elections
in Georgia (October 2012)
9. On 27 April 2012, the Bureau decided to observe these
elections,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; ALDE: 5, EDG: 4, UEL:
1) and to authorise a pre-electoral mission approximately one month
ahead of the elections, composed of five members (one from each
group) who are also members of the ad hoc committee.
2.4 Election of the
Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe
10. On 27 April 2012, the Bureau decided to invite the
two candidates – Ms Battaini-Dragoni and Mr Stoudmann - for an
interview during the Bureau meeting of 24 May 2012 and agreed on
the modalities. The interviews were held, in camera, on 24 May 2012
in Tirana.
2.5 Issues raised by
committees
2.5.1 Committee on Political
Affairs and Democracy
11. On 27 April 2012, the Bureau authorised Ms Anne Brasseur
(Luxembourg, ALDE) to carry out a fact-finding visit to Tunisia
in the context of the preparation of the report on the “Political
transition in Tunisia”.
2.5.2 Committee on Rules
of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs
12. On 27 April 2012, the Bureau took note of the letter
from the Chairman of the Committee concerning the discipline of
Assembly members in the Chamber and decided to refer this issue
to the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional
Affairs for report.
2.6 References and
transmissions to committees
2.6.1 References approved
by the Bureau
13. During the reference period, the Bureau approved
the following references, which were subsequently ratified by the
Assembly/Standing Committee:
- Doc. 12888, motion
for a resolution on “Tackling racism in law-enforcement institutions”,
to the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination for report;
- Bureau decision on “The future of the European Court of
Human Rights and the Brighton Declaration”, to the Committee on
Legal Affairs and Human Rights for report;
- Bureau decision on “The discipline of the members of the
Parliamentary Assembly”, to the Committee on Rules of Procedure,
Immunities and Institutional Affairs for report;
- Doc. 12907,
motion for a resolution on “Children in detention”, to the Committee
on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development for report;
- Doc. 12913,
motion for a recommendation on “Ending discrimination against Roma
children”, to the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination for
report
2.6.2 Request for modification
of a reference
14. The Bureau modified the following reference, subsequently
ratified by the Assembly:
- Doc. 12661, motion
for a resolution on “Counteraction to manifestations of neo-Nazism
and xenophobia” (Ref. 3816 of 3 October 2011), already referred
to the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy for report,
to the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination for opinion;
2.6.3 Requests for extension
of references
15. The Bureau approved the extension of the following
references:
- Ref. 3673 of 30
April 2012 on “Harmonisation of regulatory and para-regulatory provisions
of monitoring and post-monitoring dialogue procedures”, Committee
on Rules and Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs, until
31 December 2012;
- Ref. 3596 of 28 September 2009 on “Democracy and the limitation
of mandates”, Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, until
30 April 2013;
- Ref. 3684 of 21 June 2010 on “The rule of law in Council
of Europe member States: upholding the authority of the Parliamentary
Assembly’s recommendations”, Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights,
until 30 June 2013.
2.7 Communications
16. The Bureau took note of communications by the President,
the Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary General of the Council
of Europe, as well as by the Secretary General of the Parliamentary
Assembly at its meeting on 24 May 2012 in Tirana.
2.8 Co-operation with
the European Parliament
17. On 27 April 2012, the Bureau reconstituted the ad
hoc Committee to participate in the Joint PACE/EP Informal body
to co-ordinate information sharing in the context of the accession
of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Informal body met on 19 June 2012 in Paris with two main items on
the agenda:
- “EU accession
to the ECHR: stocktaking”, with introductory remarks by Mr Guerrero
Salom, member of the European Parliament delegation;
- “Election of Judges to Strasbourg Court: recent developments”,
with a short statement by Mr Holovaty, Rapporteur of the Parliamentary
Assembly on the Accession of the EU to the ECHR.
2.9 European Conference
of Presidents of Parliament (Strasbourg, 20-21 September 2012)
18. On 24 May 2012, the Bureau took note of the themes
of the conference: “Future of the European Court of Human Rights
– role of national parliaments”; “Is representative democracy in
crisis? Challenges for national parliaments” and “Arab revolutions:
challenges and opportunities”.
2.10 Youth Assembly
2012 (Strasbourg, 5-7 October 2012)
19. On 27 April 2012, the Bureau took note of a memorandum
on the state of preparation drawn up by the Secretariat on the instructions
of the President of the Assembly.
2.11 World Forum on
Democracy (Strasbourg, 5-11 October 2012)
20. On 27 April 2012, the Bureau took note of the updated
draft programme. At its following meeting, it approved the provisional
composition of an ad hoc committee to participate in the Forum (Appendix
2).
2.12 Composition of
the Monitoring Committee and the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities
and Institutional Affairs
2.12.1 Monitoring Committee:
21. On 24 May 2012, the Bureau nominated Mr Nikolaj Villumsen
(Denmark, UEL) on the basis of a proposal submitted by the UEL group,
which was subsequently ratified by the Standing Committee.
2.12.2 Committee on Rules
of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs:
22. On 24 May 2012, the Bureau nominated Mr Márton Braun
(Hungary, EPP/CD) and Mr Şaban Dişli (Turkey, EPP/CD) on the basis
of proposals submitted by the EPP/CD group. These nominations were subsequently
ratified by the Standing Committee.
2.13 Meetings elsewhere
than in Strasbourg and Paris
23. On 27 April 2012, the Bureau authorised the following
meetings to be held elsewhere than in Strasbourg and Paris:
- Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination,
4 June 2012, Tirana (at the request of the host parliament, the
meeting has been postponed to 13 September 2012);
- Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, 10-11 September
2012, Helsinki;
2.14 Appointment of
Assembly representatives for official activities
24. On 27 April 2012, the Bureau authorised Sir Alan
Meale (United Kingdom, SOC) and the Earl of Dundee (United Kingdom,
EDG) to participate at the Second High Level Meeting on local and
regional democracy on 14 May 2012 in Strasbourg.
2.15 Institutional representation
of the Parliamentary Assembly in 2012
25. The Bureau appointed the following Assembly representatives:
- European
Centre for Global Interdependence and Solidarity – North-South Centre: Sir Roger Gale (EDG,
Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media) and Ms Maryvonne
Blondin (SOC, Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable
Development) and as a substitute: Mr Stefan Schennach (SOC,Committee
on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development) and Mr Carlos Costa
Neves (EPP/CD, Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media);
- EUROPA NOSTRA Pan-European
Federation for Heritage: Mr Joseph Falzon (EPP/CD), Vice-Chairperson
of the Sub-Committee on Culture, Diversity and Heritage.
3 Activities of the
Standing Committee (Tirana, 25 May 2012)
26. The Standing Committee held a current affairs debate
on “The situation in Ukraine” with Ms Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin
as the introductory speaker.
27. The Standing Committee heard a welcome address from Ms Jozefina
Çoba Topalli, Speaker of the Assembly of Albania and held an exchange
of views with Mr Edmond Haxhinasto, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister
for Foreign Affairs of Albania, Chairperson of the Committee of
Ministers.
28. Following debates, the Standing Committee adopted the following
texts on behalf of the Assembly, which are available on the Assembly
website:
- Resolution 1883 (2012) on Jewish
cemeteries
- Recommendation
2001 (2012) on Protection of and access to the audiovisual
cultural heritage
- Opinion 282 (2012)
on the Draft fourth additional protocol to the European Convention
on Extradition.
29. The Standing Committee ratified the references as listed in
paragraph 2.6 of this report.
30. It ratified the credentials of new members of the Assembly
submitted by the delegations of Bulgaria, Denmark, Italy and the
Republic of Moldova, and approved the changes in the composition
of Assembly committees (as contained in paragraph 2.12).
31. The Standing Committee took note of the reports of the Ad
hoc Committees of the Bureau on the “Observation of parliamentary
elections in Armenia (6 May 2012)” and the “Observation of the parliamentary and
the early presidential elections in Serbia (6 May 2012)”.
Appendix 1 - Terms of reference
of General Rapporteurs
Committee on
Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Denomination: general rapporteur on abolition of the death
penalty
Term of office: one year renewable, subject to a maximum of
two years
Subject: the general rapporteur on abolition of the death
penalty is mandated to intervene in matters relating to the abolition
of the death penalty in different contexts (member and observer
states, partners for democracy, states applying for such a status).
He or she shall report periodically to the committee on the information collected
and the action taken.
Responsibilities:
The role of the general rapporteur is to:
- follow activities and maintain
working relations with different Council of Europe bodies dealing
with issues relating to the abolition of the death penalty (including
the Committee of Ministers, the Commissioner for Human Rights, the
Committee for the Prevention of Torture and relevant departments of
the Council of Europe Secretariat);
- follow activities and maintain working relations with
Council of Europe observer states, partners for democracy and other
states applying for such status, seeking advice as necessary from
international organisations working in the field;
- represent the Committee on behalf of the Assembly when
relevant and appropriate;
- in appropriate cases make statements and launch appeals
on behalf of the Committee;
- follow up previous resolutions and recommendations of
the Assembly on death penalty issues, including Resolution 1807 (2011)
on “The death penalty in Council of Europe member and observer states:
a violation of human rights”, Resolution
1560 (2007) on “Promotion by Council of Europe member
states of an international moratorium on the death penalty”, Recommendation 1760 (2006)
on “Position of the Parliamentary Assembly as regards the Council
of Europe member and observer states which have not abolished the
death penalty”; Recommendation
1627(2003) and Resolution
1349 (2003) on “Abolition of the death penalty in Council
of Europe observer states”, andcontinue
topromote the Assembly's decisions
which appear in these texts.
Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities
and Institutional Affairs
Denomination: general rapporteur on the budget and intergovernmental
programme
Term of office: three years (the Council of Europe budget
and intergovernmental programme are drawn up on a biennial basis;
the current budget covers 2012 and 2013)Note
Subject: it is the duty of the general rapporteur on the budget
and intergovernmental programme, in close consultation with the
Secretary General of the Assembly, to act on the Assembly’s behalf
in respect of all matters concerning: the preparation of the Council
of Europe draft budgets and those of the Parliamentary Assembly,
the budgetary prospects of the Organisation, the choices made with
regard to the intergovernmental programme of activities and its
funding, the powers and responsibilities of the Assembly with regard
to finances, and issues concerning the development of the rules
governing the Organisation’s finances, the staff regulations, etc.
He or she will report regularly to the Committee on any information
obtained or action taken.
Responsibilities:
The role of the general rapporteur on the budget and intergovernmental
programme is to:
- follow the
activities of and maintain working relations with the Committee
of Ministers Rapporteur Group on Programme, Budget and Administration
(GR-PBA) and to represent the Assembly at its meetings;
- maintain working relations with the Secretary General
of the Council of Europe and the Staff Committee;
- follow the activities of and maintain working relations
with the co-ordinating committees of the co-ordinated international
organisations, responsible for recommendations relating to salaries
and pensions in respect of these organisations;
- liaise with the committees of national parliaments and
interparliamentary assemblies responsible for budgetary issues;
- prepare Assembly resolutions and opinions on the Council
of Europe draft budget and on the Assembly’s draft budget and monitor
the Assembly’s decisions in such matters;
- present to the Bureau of the Assembly the annual report
on the use made by the Assembly’s political groups of their allocations.
Appendix 2 - Composition
of the ad hoc Committee to participate at the World Forum for Democracy
(Strasbourg,
5 – 11 October 2012)
LIST OF MEMBERS / LISTE DES MEMBRES
Chairperson / Président(e)
……..
Members of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy
// Membres de la Commission des questions politiques et de la démocratie
To be appointed (20 members maximum)
Members from other Committees/Membres d’autres Commissions
(5 members of each committee maximum)
AS/JUR
Mr Mevlüt ÇAVUŞOĞLU (Turkey, EDG)
Mr Tamás GAUDI NAGY (Hungary, NR)
Mr Rafael HUSEYNOV (Azerbaijan, ALDE)
Ms Elena NIKOLAEVA (Russian Federation, EDG)
Mr Jordi XUCLA (Spain, ALDE)
AS/SOC
the Earl of DUNDEE (United Kingdom, EDG)
Mr Michael HANCOCK (United Kingdom, ALDE)
Mr Ertuğrul KÜRKÇÜ (Turkey, UEL)
Ms Carina OHLSSON (Sweden, SOC)
Mr Luca VOLONTÈ (Italy, EPP/CD)
AS/EGA
Mr Jonas GUNNARSSON (Sweden, SOC)
Mr Boris SHPIGEL (Russian Federation, EDG)
…/…
AS/CULT
Mr Paolo CORSINI (Italy, SOC)
AS/MIG
Mr René ROUQUET (France, SOC)
