23/01/2019 | 16:48:50 Joe, it is a great pleasure to see you in the chair today. I am tempted to tell you that a friend of mine thought that the Irish backstop was the full-back in the Irish rugby football team, but I think I had better answer this excellent debate, which has had a huge number of participants. Everyone here who wanted to speak has been able to speak, and I can deal with only some of the highlights. I was impressed by the fact that in their referendum the wise Swiss people voted overwhelmingly in... 23/01/2019 | 10:03:35 I start by paying a warm tribute to the rapporteur on the topic, Ms Gülsün BİLGEHAN, who is sadly no longer a member of the Assembly. During her years in the Assembly, she did a tremendous job promoting the core values of the Organisation. The report on “Media freedom as a condition for democratic elections” is further proof of her excellent work and of her commitment to upholding the principles and standards of the Council of Europe. It is a great honour for me to be asked to present the... 22/01/2019 | 10:51:38 I too greatly welcome the report, having proposed the original motion on which it is based. I also congratulate Dame Cheryl GILLAN and her advisers on producing an excellent report. I fervently hope that the Venice Commission will adopt these recommendations. I was going to quote Clement Attlee, as Richard Balfe has done, and say that the referendum is a device for dictators and despots. In fact, that was also repeated by Margaret Thatcher in 1975. I like to quote Clement Attlee, but I am not...