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Activities of the Bureau and Standing Committee (25 June 2012)

Progress report | Doc. 12961 Add. | 25 June 2012

Committee
Bureau of the Assembly
Rapporteur :
Mr João Bosco MOTA AMARAL, Portugal, EPP/CD
Thesaurus

Contents

1Decisions of the Bureau of 25 June 2012 requiring ratification by the Assembly
1.1 Election of judges to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Croatia
1.2 Election observations
1.3 References and transmissions to committees
2Other decisions of the Bureau
2.1 Third part-session of 2012 (Strasbourg, 25-29 June 2012)
2.2 Communications
2.3 Appointment of Assembly representatives for official activities
Appendix 1– References and transmissions to committees approved by the Bureau
Motions for recommendation and resolution
Requests from the committees
Appendix 2– Appointment of Assembly representatives for official activities

1 Decisions of the Bureau of 25 June 2012 requiring ratification by the Assembly

1.1 Election of judges to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Croatia

1. The Bureau took note of the recommendation of the Sub-Committee on the election of judges concerning the rejection of the list of candidates in respect of Croatia and decided to transmit this recommendation of the Sub-Committee to the Assembly for approval within the Progress report.

1.2 Election observations

1.2.1 Participation of co-rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee in election observation missions

2. The Bureau decided to add the co-rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee of the countries concerned as "ex officio" members of the ad hoc committees, not to be included in the d’Hondt quota for political groups.

1.2.2 Parliamentary elections in Ukraine (28 October 2012)

3. The Bureau decided to increase the number of observers to 41 persons, approved the partial composition of the ad hoc committee to observe these elections and appointed Mr Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC) as its Chairperson.

1.2.3 Parliamentary elections in Georgia (October 2012)

4. The Bureau decided to increase the number of observers to 31 persons, approved the partial composition of the ad hoc committee to observe these elections and appointed Mr Luca Volontè (Italy, EPP/CD) as its Chairperson.

1.3 References and transmissions to committees

5. The Bureau considered and approved the references and transmissions to committees, subject to ratification by the Assembly (Appendix 1).
6. The Assembly is invited to ratify the above proposals made by the Bureau.

2 Other decisions of the Bureau

2.1 Third part-session of 2012 (Strasbourg, 25-29 June 2012)

2.1.1 Requests for debates under urgent procedure and current affairs debates

7. The Bureau decided to propose to the Assembly:
  • to hold the debate under urgent procedure on “The crisis of democracy in Egypt” on Thursday 28 June 2012 and to refer this item to the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy for report;
  • to hold the current affairs debate on “European institutions and human rights in Europe” and to propose that the debate should be introduced by Ms Anne Brasseur (Luxembourg, ALDE);
  • not to hold the current affairs debate on “The European economic crisis and the increasing illegal organ trade”.

2.1.2 Election of judges to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Poland, the Russian Federation, Sweden and the United Kingdom

8. The Bureau took note of the report drawn up by the Sub-Committee on the election of Judges following interviews with candidates for the post of judge to the Court in respect of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Poland, the Russian Federation, Sweden and the United Kingdom and decided to transmit the report, including the recommendations contained therein, to all members of the Assembly.
9. The Bureau took note that, subsequent to the withdrawal of a candidate on the lists of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Russian Federation respectively, the procedure was suspended with respect to these countries and their authorities were invited to nominate a third candidate in order to complete the list for their countries.

2.1.3 Draft agenda

10. The Bureau updated the draft agenda.

2.1.4 Progress report of the Bureau of the Assembly and of the Standing Committee

11. The Bureau approved the progress report.

2.2 Communications

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

2.3 Appointment of Assembly representatives for official activities

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

Appendix 1 – References and transmissions to committees approved by the Bureau

Motions for recommendation and resolution

Doc 12920, Motion for a resolution on “Criminalising the purchase of sex to combat the trafficking of people for sexual exploitation”, to the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination for report;

Doc. 12921, Motion for a resolution on “Promoting the human rights of prisoners in Council of Europe member States”, to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights for report

Doc. 12924, Motion for a resolution on “Internet and politics: the impact of new information and communication technology on democracy”, to the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media for report and to the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy for opinion;

Doc. 12925, Motion for a resolution on “Metsamor nuclear power station – a permanent danger to the South Caucasus and Europe”, to the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development for information

Doc. 12926, Motion for a resolution on “Flights of shame in Europe”, to the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons to be taken into account in the preparation of the report on “Effective and fair returns of irregular migrants and failed asylum seekers” (Doc. 12771 - Ref. 3826)

Doc. 12927, Motion for a resolution on “Profiling of Roma and other asylum seekers from the Western Balkans”, to the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons for information

Doc. 12928, Motion for a recommendation on “Earthquakes and nuclear safety”, to the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development for information

Doc. 12931, Motion for a resolution on “Paving the way to full public participation in the drafting of a new constitution for Turkey”, to the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee) to be taken into account in the preparation of the report on the “Post-monitoring dialogue with Turkey”

Doc. 12932, Motion for a resolution on “Tackling intolerance and discrimination in Europe with a special focus on Christianity”, transmission to the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination for information

Doc. 12933, Motion for a resolution on “ The right to work for refugees”, to the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons for report

Requests from the committees

Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development (letter of 24 May 2012), “Activities of the Council of Europe Development Bank”, to the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development for report

Appendix 2 – Appointment of Assembly representatives for official activities

i Mr Patrick Moriau (Belgium, SOC), 38th session of the Parliamentary Assembly of French-speaking communities, Brussels, 8-12 July 2012 (at no cost to the Assembly);
ii Mr Christopher Chope (United Kingdom, EDG), 31st Council of Europe Conference of Ministers of Justice, Vienna, 19-21 September 2012.