Activities of the Assembly's Bureau and Standing Committee (20 April 2015)
Progress report
| Doc. 13750 Addendum I
| 20 April 2015
1 Decisions of the Bureau
of 20 April 2015 requiring ratification by the Assembly
1.1 Election observation
1.1.1 Turkey: parliamentary
elections (7 June 2015)
The Bureau approved the composition of the ad hoc committee
(see Appendix) and appointed Mr Tiny Kox (Netherlands, UEL) as Chairperson.
1.2 References and
transmissions to committees
1.2.1 References to committees
The Bureau considered and approved the following references:
- Doc. 13697, motion for a resolution, Guaranteeing equal rights
and protecting women against violence in the armed forces, reference
to the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination for report;
- Doc. 13706, motion for a resolution, Human rights education in
schools, reference to the Committee on Culture, Science, Education
and Media to be taken into account in
the preparation of the report “Towards a European framework of competences
for democratic citizenship, human rights and intercultural dialogue”;
- Doc. 13707, motion for a resolution, The humanitarian crisis in
Gaza, reference to the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced
Persons for report and to
the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy for opinion;
- Doc. 13708, motion for a resolution, The handling of international
public health emergencies, reference to the Committee on Social
Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development for
report;
- Doc. 13709, motion for a resolution, Ensuring the right of Dilgam
Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev to a fair trial: reference to the Committee
on Political Affairs and Democracy to
be taken into account in the preparation of the report
on “Escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and the other occupied territories
of Azerbaijan”;
- Doc. 13710, motion for a resolution, The need to eradicate statelessness
of children, reference to the Committee on Migration, Refugees and
Displaced Persons for report and
to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights for opinion;
- Bureau decision, request for an opinion from the Committee
of Ministers, Additional protocol to the Council of Europe Convention
on the Prevention of Terrorism, reference to the Committee on Legal Affairs
and Human Rights for report.
1.2.2 Modification of
a reference
- Doc. 13691, motion for a resolution, Human rights compatibility
of investor–State arbitration in international investment protection
agreements, reference to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights for report and to the Committee
on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development for opinion.
The Assembly is invited to ratify
the above proposals made by the Bureau.
2 Decisions of the Bureau of 20 April 2015 presented
for ratification by the Assembly separately
2.1 Composition of the Committee on Rules of Procedure,
Immunities and Institutional Affairs
On the basis of a proposal from the Socialist Group, the Bureau
nominated Mrs Gabriela Heinrich (Germany). (see document Commission
4 addendum 1).
3 Other decisions
of the Bureau
3.1 Second part-session
of 2015 (20 to 24 April)
3.1.1 Draft agenda
The Bureau updated the draft agenda.
3.1.2 Request for debate
under urgent procedure
The Bureau decided to propose to the Assembly to hold a debate
under urgent procedure on the Assembly’s Opinion on the Draft Additional Protocol to the Council of
Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism on Thursday
23 April in the morning.
It also decided to propose to the Assembly to hold a second
debate under urgent procedure on The
Human Tragedy in the Mediterranean: Immediate Action Needed on
Thursday 23 April in the morning and referred the matter to the
Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons for report.
3.1.3 Request for a current
affairs debate
The Bureau decided to propose to the Assembly to hold a current
affairs debate on The political and security situation
in Ukraine and its implication on Wednesday 22 April
in the morning, and appointed Mr Jordi Xuclà (Spain, ALDE) as the
introductory speaker.
3.1.4 Joint Committee
(Strasbourg, 22 April 2015 from 3.30 pm to 4.30 pm)
The Bureau took note of the candidature of Ms Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni
as the only candidate for the post of Deputy Secretary General of
the Council of Europe and decided to invite her for an interview
at its next meeting in Sarajevo on 21 May 2015.
3.1.5 Election of judges
to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Andorra, Austria,
Finland, Ireland, Liechtenstein and Monaco
The Bureau took note of the report drawn up by the Sub-Committee
on the election of judges following interviews with candidates for
the posts of judges to the Court in respect of these countries.
This report had been already declassified by the Sub-Committee and
submitted to the attention of all members of the Assembly (Doc. 13750 Addendum II).
3.2 References and
transmissions to committees
3.2.1 Extension of references
- Doc. 13273, Motion for a resolution, How to prevent inappropriate
restrictions on NGO activities in Europe?, extension until 31 December
2015;
- Doc. 13122, motion for a resolution, Media responsibility and media
ethics in a changing media environment, extension until 30 June
2015.
3.2.2 Reply after consultation
- Doc.
13678, motion for a resolution, For evenly balanced regions
in Europe, no further action.
3.3 Issues raised by
committees
3.3.1 Committee on Migration,
Refugees and Displaced Persons
The Bureau took note of the letter concerning the committee’s
decision not to elaborate a report on “The implementation of the
Hirsi judgment: have push backs come to an end?” (Doc. 13629, Reference 4094 of 26.01.2015) but to consider it in
the framework of the preparation of the reports on “The Mediterranean
Sea: a front door to irregular migration (Rapporteur; Ms Daphné
Dumery, Belgium, NR) and “Countries of transit: meeting new migration
and asylum challenges” (Rapporteur: Ms Tineke Strik, Netherlands,
SOC).
It also took note of the letter concerning the decision of
the committee not to carry out the visit of the Ad hoc Sub-Committee
to Ukrainian refugee camps in the Russian Federation, following
the Russian delegation’s decision to suspend all institutional contacts
with the Parliamentary Assembly. Instead, the Committee decided to
organise together with the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy
a joint hearing on “Ukraine: prospects for peace and humanitarian
challenges” to be held during the April part-session.
3.4 Appointment of an Assembly representative for
an official activity
The Bureau appointed Mr Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC) to
participate in a follow-up meeting of the 2014 Lisbon Forum entitled
“Financing of electoral campaigns: a challenge for the electoral
processes in the countries of the Southern Mediterranean”, organised
by the North-South Centre on 27-28 April 2015 in Tunis, Tunisia.
3.5 Meetings elsewhere
than Strasbourg and Paris
The Bureau authorised:
- the
Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
to meet in Chisinau on 18-20 May 2015;
- the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy to meet
in Rome on 4-5 June 2015.
Appendix - Ad Hoc Committee
for the observation of the parliamentary elections in Turkey (7
June 2015)
List of members
Chairperson
- Tiny KOX, Netherlands, UEL
Socialist Group (SOC)
- Maryvonne BLONDIN, France
- Paolo CORSINI, Italy
- Arcadio DÍAZ TEJERA, Spain
- Andreas GROSS, Switzerland
- Jonas GUNNARSSON, Sweden
- Tadeusz IWIŃSKI, Poland
- Marit MAIJ, Netherlands
- Melita MULIĆ*, Croatia
- Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria
- Yanaki STOILOV, Bulgaria
- John TOMLINSON, United Kingdom
Substitutes
- Birutė VĖSAITĖ, Lithuania
- Predrag SEKULIĆ, Montenegro
- Ingrid ANTIČEVIĆ MARINOVIĆ, Croatia
- Philippe BLANCHART, Belgium
- Ermira MEHMETI DEVAJA, “The former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia”
Group of the European People’s Party (EPP/CD)
- Volodymyr ARIEV*, Ukraine
- Corneliu Mugurel COZMANCIUC, Romania
- Nicole DURANTON, France
- Bernd FABRITIUS, Germany
- Anže LOGAR, Slovenia
- Aleksandar NIKOLOSKI, “The former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia”
- Catherine NOONE, Ireland
- Jan RZYMEŁKA, Poland
- Attila TILKI, Hungary
- Emanuelis ZINGERIS, Lithuania
Substitutes
- Viorel Riceard BADEA,
Romania
- Yves POZZO DI BORGO, France
- Andrej ŠIRCELJ, Slovenia
European Conservatives Group (EC)
- Richard BALFE, United
Kingdom
- Krzysztof SZCZERSKI, Poland
- Morton WOLD, Norway
Substitutes
- Ingebjørg GODSKESEN*,
Norway
- Arkadiusz MULARCZYK, Poland
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for
Europe (ALDE)
- Hendrik DAEMS, Belgium
- Terry LEYDEN, Ireland
- Kerstin LUNDGREN, Sweden
- Andrea RIGONI*, Italy
Substitutes
- André BUGNON, Switzerland
- Luis Alberto ORELLANA, Italy
- Alfred HEER, Switzerland
- Cӑtӑlin Daniel FENECHIU, Romania
Group of the Unified European Left (UEL)
Rapporteur AS/MON (ex-officio)
Secretariat
- Bogdan TORCĂTORIU, Administrative
Officer, Election observation and Interparliamentary cooperation Division
- Franck DAESCHLER, Principal administrative assistant,
Election observation and Interparliamentary cooperation Division
- Anne GODFREY, Assistant, Election observation and Interparliamentary
cooperation Division
* members of the pre-election delegation
