31/01/2025 | 11:43:24 Thank you, Mister President. And I want to wish you well and congratulate you again on your re-election. You're doing an excellent job and I know that this Assembly is in very good hands for the coming year. In this, my final contribution to this Assembly, I want to raise the failure of this institution to address the long-standing injustice and repression meted out to the Kurdish people. Throughout my 7 years of attending this institution I have seen the courageous men and women who keep a... 30/01/2025 | 12:15:45 Thank you, Mister President, I want to start on behalf of the Group of the Unified European Left with a clear statement, that Mr Vladimir PUTIN’s illegal invasion of Ukraine was wrong and should not have happened. Indeed, we’ve made this point on several occasions in this Parliamentary Assembly. Let me also state that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine must be respected. It is also true to say that there were real provocations on the part of the West in the years preceding... 30/01/2025 | 11:31:00 Thank you, Madam Chairperson. I want to commend the rapporteur for this report and its very clear call for free elections in Belarus. It's a call that every political group here should endorse. There is no doubt that the last election held in 2020 was not free or fair. And that was before the constitutional changes in 2022 to allow LUKASHENKO to join the ranks of ALIYEV and PUTIN and effectively become presidents for life. The Venice Commission has spoken clearly on this issue. The election... 29/01/2025 | 18:35:10 On behalf of the Group of the Unified European Left, I want to congratulate the rapporteur for an excellent and very timely report. As Kate points out, Europe is facing a demographic challenge of huge proportions in the coming years. In a time span of 50 years, the old-age dependency ratio is projected to more than double, reaching 56.7% by 2050 in the European Union, compared to 25.9% in 2001. This dramatic shift in the age balance raises many fundamental questions, but in the short time... 28/01/2025 | 20:01:33 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) I want to broadly endorse this report, and especially the clear call for an end to the horrific slaughter of the Palestinian people. Anybody who believes in humanity must endorse the call for an immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire. In addition, we must be clear that the current ceasefire, whilst welcome, is certainly not permanent or unconditional. My only regret regarding this report is the absence of any clear direct... 02/10/2024 | 18:26:47 I will wait. Now. Okay, sorry for that delay. On behalf of the Group of the Unified European Left, I want to congratulate the two rapporteurs. This important report on Bosnia and Herzegovina highlights concerns regarding several commitments entered into upon its accession to the Council of Europe. It's important to note that Bosnia and Herzegovina has benefited from the co-operation programs of the Council of Europe since 2003. Successive action plans have been implemented covering the... 02/10/2024 | 10:32:35 Thank you, Madam Chairperson. This week we saw the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe at its worst, and at its best. Its worst moment was the continuing refusal to take a stand against the genocide being prosecuted against the Palestinian people. Its best moment was the powerful testimony of Julian ASSANGE at the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights yesterday. I salute Julian ASSANGE for his incredible courage and valour. I salute the work of all of those, both within and... 01/10/2024 | 20:37:38 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) The title of this current affairs debate references “the escalation of violence” and “the mounting humanitarian crisis, particularly in Gaza.” But it doesn’t say who is escalating the violence. And that significant, isn’t it? When it comes to other conflicts this assembly has no problem calling out the guilty party. But here we have an illegal war, another illegal occupation, but this time accompanied by a campaign of genocide against an... 01/10/2024 | 17:53:04 Thank you, Mister President. On behalf of the United European Left, I wish to state our huge concern at the continuing path of the authoritarian Azerbaijan regime towards ever greater levels of oppression towards its own citizens, as well as its appalling treatment of the former citizens of Nagorno-Karabakh and its bellicose and threatening behaviour towards its neighbouring country Armenia. This year both so-called Presidential and Parliamentary elections were held in a manner that would... 01/10/2024 | 16:05:17 Thank you, Mister President. On behalf of the United European left, I want to commend the rapporteurs of both of these reports. And I want to particularly welcome the speech by our new Human Rights Commissioner, who called out very clearly for a human rights compliance migration policy. That's what all of us should be able to agree on in this chamber. The first thing I want to say is that people fleeing conflict are dying, especially in the Mediterranean, en route to Europe due to to a lack...