21/04/2026 | 16:29:25 Thank you. On Ms Yelyzaveta YASKO's question, the challenges of Russian propaganda have become clear by now, I think, to every member of this Assembly and to all the states of the Council of Europe. But the intensity of the propaganda and the tools that are being used vary from one country to another. Moldova has this dubious honour of being the Petri dish of Russian propaganda, where they've tried every tactic in the book in the hope of seeing which one works in order to take them on the... 21/04/2026 | 16:21:16 Well, first, on Ms Larysa BILOZIR's question, I would first take the opportunity to yet again thank our Ukrainian friends and neighbours for the incredible sacrifice they are making for keeping not just their country safe, but also the Republic of Moldova and in fact, all of us, in light of the incredible sacrifice that they are making daily. When it comes to the Transnistrian issue and the risks that it poses, I would emphasise the fact that since the Russian annexation of Crimea 2014, there... 21/04/2026 | 16:14:50 Thank you. The Parliamentary Assembly has developed its own procedures to review member states' progress in fulfilling their obligations. It is not for the Committee of Ministers, and even less so for its President, to interfere in these proceedings. From its part, the Committee of Ministers has received several several written requests from the Honourable Parliamentarian from Albania. It will respond to them in accordance with the rules of procedure. The Committee of Ministers expects all... 21/04/2026 | 16:06:27 Thank you. The event you referred to, Ms Mónika BARTOS, was a side event organised on the margins of the 42nd biannual Co-ordination Group meeting between the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), that took place in Strasbourg on 13 March. It was a joint initiative of the Moldovan Presidency and the Committee of Ministers and the Swiss Chairperson of the OSCE. It's the second time we are organising a side event on the margins of the biannual Co... 21/04/2026 | 16:03:11 Thank you. The Council of Europe and the United Nations (UN) are long-standing partners and share the priority of protecting and consolidating the universal human rights protection system in these challenging times. The standard setting, role and normative influence of the Council of Europe, as well as its fundamental human rights protection system based on the European Convention of Human Rights and European Court of Human Rights, are widely recognised. As such, the Council of Europe is a... 21/04/2026 | 16:01:07 Thank you. As I've mentioned during my previous intervention here, and as President Maia SANDU mentioned when Her Excellency was here, the movement for unification with Romania is part and parcel of Moldovan political discourse and has been so since Moldova's independence. For over 30 years now, it has been a constant feature in Moldovan political debates and in Moldovan elections. But at the same time, it is not an imminent issue on the political agenda of today. At the same time, we need to... 21/04/2026 | 15:58:39 Thank you. As you may recall, as a result of the open letter of nine member states, which was calling for an open-minded conversation about the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Secretary General decided to bring this issue for discussion within the framework of the Council of Europe and invited member states, ministers of justice to an informal ministerial conference on 10 December in Strasbourg. The Conference adopted conclusions in which they invited the... 21/04/2026 | 15:55:26 Thank you. The Council of Europe is one of the most vivid expressions of multilateralism. It is not only a creation of multilateralism, but it has also become a promoter of the value of multilateralism initially at the European level, then gradually beyond Europe and now on the international stage. As witnessed by the establishment of mechanisms to ensure accountability for Ukraine – the Claims Commission and the Special Tribunal for Ukraine, the Council of Europe is shaping multilateralism... 21/04/2026 | 15:52:07 But I still need to press the button. The story of the Republic of Moldova is a story of resilience against the odds. It's a story of resistance against immense pressure on our democratic institutions. And it's a source of pride that our society was able to resist this pressure. And when I say our society, I really mean it, because if it wasn't for the unity and solidarity of all our citizens, NGOs, independent media, the effort of the state institutions alone would not have been enough. And... 21/04/2026 | 15:34:55 President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Secretary General, Distinguished Members of the Parliamentary Assembly, Excellencies, It is a privilege to stand here before you today for our second exchange, in my capacity as President of the Committee of Ministers. Time moves swiftly, perhaps never more so than in moments of profound transformation such as those we are having to go through through today. In such times, institutions are tested not only in their ability to...