21/06/2023 | 20:32:08 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) Dear Colleagues, Allow me to congratulate our Rapporteurs for their work. The death of 600 people some days ago in the sea of Pylos, Greece, on top of more than 25 000 that have already perished in Mediterranean waters during the last decade, reminds us in the most tragic way of our huge responsibilities. An important part of this responsibility concerns their integration into our societies, which is the focus of our Joint Debate. However, we... 19/06/2023 | 17:37:12 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) Dear Colleagues, Bearing in mind that Turkey constitutes the only member state that has returned from a post monitoring to a full monitoring procedure, allow me to say that the election observation mission in Turkey, has confirmed all the previous findings of the Assembly as regards the numerous and serious deficiencies observed in the functioning of its democratic institutions, the rule of law and the protection of human rights, more... 25/04/2023 | 18:56:36 I want to start by thanking and congratulating our rapporteur, Ms Ria OOMEN-RUIJTEN. Dear Colleagues, Assessing the functioning of these established mechanisms for the co-operation between the Assembly and other parliaments from the wider region provide us with the opportunity to discuss the partnership's strengths but also – and this is more important – ways to improve its effectiveness. Granting partnerships for democracy studies has yielded important results on both ends. For our partners... 12/10/2022 | 18:47:30 Thank you, Mister Chair. Dear Colleagues, I want to thank Ms Stephanie KRISPER for her report. The fundamental aim of this report, with which we fully agree, is that asylum seekers who have been denied asylum in search of countries, should not in any circumstance be deported to unsafe third countries. I want to also thank and congratulate Mr Pierre-Alain FRIDEZ for an excellent and thorough report, which underlines, first and foremost, that pushbacks have taken worrying proportions. We feel... 11/10/2022 | 10:21:28 Dear Colleagues, I wish to congratulate Mr George PAPANDREOU for this important report. In the many discussions we have had at Committee level, prior to this debate, it has become clear that the European Union has fallen short on the promises it has delivered to the Western Balkans and that its credibility is at stake. This is a negative development that has led to widespread disappointment, anti-European sentiment and a democratic deficit in the region. The Western Balkans, dear colleagues... 23/06/2022 | 10:56:25 I will pick up where Mr Bernard FOURNIER left off. I would also like to thank everyone here in the room and also everyone who took part in our discussion and who provided their input, helping us to pinpoint all the various issues which are covered in the report - almost all of the issues, in fact. I would like to focus on some of the points made by colleagues. I will not be covering all of the topics, because most of the speakers actually dovetail nicely with what we said in the report at the... 23/06/2022 | 10:14:20 Taking up from where my colleague left off, there is a second important theme in our report, namely the vulnerability of Malta's political and democratic institutions to conflicts of interest and corruption. The independent public inquiry commission that was established on recommendation of the Assembly concluded that in Malta there is a culture of impunity and institutional omertà, which undermines the proper functioning of the democratic and rule-of-law of institutions. Again, while a... 22/06/2022 | 12:52:50 Your Excellency President of the Hellenic Republic, On behalf of the Group of the Unified European Left, I'd like to warmly welcome you, and I'd like to thank you for your presence here today. The question that I would like to submit on the part of my group has already been made by the socialist groups, so I'll focus on something else. Something else upon which you touched upon in your presentation, and that concerns social rights, the protection of the underprivileged, labour rights, social... 20/06/2022 | 16:31:34 Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I would also like to start by thanking and congratulating our rapporteur for this excellent report. Dear colleagues, We fully endorse what the charter for a known racist and inclusive society stipulates amongst others, namely that we remain deeply concerned about the resurgence of rhetoric presenting migrants and refugees as a threat to and embedded to society, which increases negative reactions among the public to immigration and immigrants. This is... 26/04/2022 | 17:53:35 Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Allow me first to start by congratulating and thanking our rapporteur for this well-written report. The report highlights the grave consequences that discrimination based on social origins can have on the fabric of our societies and the quality of our democratic institutions. Most importantly, the report shows how poverty, inequalities, lack of equal opportunities, and social exclusion are directly related to the persistence of such abusive practices, social...