23/06/2026 | 11:59:38 Madam President. In this Assembly, we usually have many different and divergent views, but we are certainly at our strongest when we are united. I thank all the 20 colleagues who spoke with almost one voice this morning, including our esteemed colleagues from Türkiye, with just two exceptions, all condemning this unprecedented attack on democracy. Just after I took up my monitoring post, I said that one of the problems of reporting on Türkiye is that every year there's a new democratic or... 23/06/2026 | 11:02:23 Thank you, Madam President. Chair, Colleagues, Ladies and gentlemen, I speak to you today in partial despair about yet another development that strikes at the heart of democratic politics in Türkiye. In late May this year, the Ankara appeals court chamber declared the main opposition party, the Republican People's Party's (CHP) November 2023 leadership contest void and ordered the replacement of the party's elected leadership with a former leader who was widely regarded as a complete failure... 22/06/2026 | 16:59:25 I was pleased to be an election observer for the Hungarian election and did so in Budapest, surely one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and a very warm and welcoming people. As we see in most elections I've observed in recent years, there were no real problems on polling day, well run and free and fair. As usual, the election fraud takes place many months and years before, with changes to election law to assist the government party, as my colleague Mr Damien COTTIER alluded to. This was... 27/01/2026 | 17:44:50 Mr Vice-President, This evil war of aggression threatens not only Ukraine, but the whole of Europe. There can be no lasting peace in Europe if the Kremlin's campaign succeeds. Peace built on the acquiescence to territorial conquest will be a fragile, dangerous illusion. To secure a durable peace, we must ensure that Russia does not win. That means enabling Ukraine to prevail on the battlefield. So any negotiated settlement is founded on justice, territorial integrity and accountability. Now... 27/01/2026 | 16:15:44 President, I congratulate Mr Damien COTTIER on his excellent report, Elections in times of crisis, because it sets out a clear practical roadmap to strengthen legal clarity for emergencies, bolster operational preparedness, protect electoral infrastructure from foreign interference and cyber threats, adapt and preserve robust election observation and build long-term resilience across the electoral cycle. Colleagues, These are not abstract ideals. They are urgent, actionable priorities and Mr... 26/01/2026 | 17:17:37 Madam Vice-President and colleagues, I'm presenting the annual report on the Assembly's election observation activities in 2025 in my capacity as Chair of the Parliamentary Alliance for Free and Fair Elections. In 2025, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe participated in 11 pre-electoral and election observation missions in five countries: Kosovo, Albania, Poland, the Republic of Moldova and the Kyrgyz Republic. Our delegations remain strong and diverse. Women's participation... 01/10/2025 | 17:26:02 Mister President, I congratulate the rapporteur on this excellent report. This is a rare win for our Council. The magic words are in Article 2, and I quote, "The international claims commission for Ukraine is hereby established as an independent body within the institutional framework of the Council of Europe." This Assembly invented the concept of an international claims commission; we set up the Register of Damage, which can be transferred to the commission when fully operational. And we... 30/09/2025 | 11:18:33 Mr Chairman, May I begin by saying how much I, the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee) and election observation missions will miss the sage advice of our esteemed colleague, Mr Stefan SCHENNACH. During our visit to Türkiye in June, Mr Stefan SCHENNACH showed his deep knowledge of and concern for the political prisoners we met: Osman KAVALA, Ekrem İMAMOĞLU and Figen YÜKSEKDAĞ ŞENOĞLU. Colleagues, They felt... 25/06/2025 | 16:22:22 Thank you, Mister President. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza was caused by the evil terrorist organisation Hamas when it invaded Israel and brutally murdered 1 200 men, women and children and kidnapped 250 more. They are the cause of the war in Gaza. Hamas, of course, is funded and supplied with guns, missiles and bullets by Iran. The war in southern Lebanon was caused by the evil terrorist organisation Hezbollah launching missiles into northern Israel. Hezbollah gets its money, guns... 09/04/2025 | 17:13:50 Mister Vice-President, This has been a good debate and I am grateful that there is strong support for our resolution and our recommendations. I counted 17 speakers in support of our report and two against. Let me reassure all colleagues that it gives us no pleasure whatsoever to make these recommendations. Just 3 months after the 6 countries created the Council of Europe, Türkiye joined and has been an esteemed member since 1949, all of our 75 years of existence. Some supporters of the...