24/01/2019 | 16:42:17 It has been an interesting, informative and contentious debate, and that was to be expected. I think I am right in saying that we have heard from 18 speakers, 10 of whom were from Turkey. Those speakers, not just from Turkey but from other countries as well, were divided fairly evenly between those who support the criticisms in the report and those who take issue with some of them. We all have to recognise the part that Turkey has played in handling a desperate refugee crisis from Iraq and... 24/01/2019 | 15:34:34 As you correctly say, the Monitoring Committee was seized of the need to prepare an urgent debate report entitled “The worsening situation of opposition politicians in Turkey: what can be done to protect their fundamental rights in a Council of Europe Member State?” It was submitted following a request by the Group of the Unified European Left. Madam President, you will understand that these reports have to be prepared at very short notice. Unfortunately, Ms Marianne MIKKO and Mr Nigel EVANS... 23/01/2019 | 10:02:26 We now come to the joint debate on two reports, both from the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media. The first is entitled “Media freedom as a condition for democratic elections”, Document 14669. It will be presented by Lord George FOULKES on behalf of the rapporteur, Ms Gülsün BİLGEHAN, who is now no longer a member of the Assembly, and with an opinion from the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy presented by Ms Olena SOTNYK, Document 14809. The second is entitled... 21/01/2019 | 18:04:14 In the summer of 2016, the United Kingdom, through a referendum of its people, decided to leave the European Union. Fairly shortly after that vote, a Withdrawal Act was passed by a large majority of the House of Commons that says that the United Kingdom will leave the European Union on 29 March this year. That will hopefully be with a withdrawal agreement, but the default position is that we shall leave without any agreement at all. In the United Kingdom that is now a matter of law. There... 10/10/2017 | 12:24:33 Thank you, Mr President. Sadly, that concludes the speakers whom I am able to accommodate because of time and the President’s commitments. Thank you, Mr President, for this exchange of views. In concluding your speech you emphasised one of the core ideas at the heart of the Council of Europe, which is to build friendship between European nations. For me and, I hope, for all of us, friendship means unity, shared values, honesty and, above all, respect. The Council of Europe is what it is today... 10/10/2017 | 12:00:28 (...) Welcome to Strasbourg and to the Council of Europe. It is an honour and pleasure to host you at a moment when the Czech Republic is chairing the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. In April 1999, you visited the Council of Europe in your capacity as Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. At that time? you gave a passionate speech in this Chamber about the return of your country – the Czech Republic – into the family of free democracies after 40 years of totalitarian rule... 26/04/2017 | 12:01:18 (...) We will now hear an address by Mr Prokopios Pavlopoulos, President of the Hellenic Republic, after which he will take questions from the floor. Mr President of the Hellenic Republic, it is a great honour for me to welcome you to this house of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, in which the elected members of 47 countries’ parliaments come together. We are especially honoured, Sir, to welcome you here in Strasbourg at a decisive moment for our continent, in which the current...