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... 09/04/2025 | 16:03:57 Thank you, Mister President. First of all, my colleague and joint rapporteur Mr Stefan SCHENNACH sends his profuse apologies. He has been elected leader of his party group and has had to return to Austria to participate in a debate in Parliament. He is in complete agreement with this report. On Monday, the Assembly decided to hold an urgent debate on the detention of the mayor of Istanbul, Mr Ekrem İMAMOĞLU, and the state of democracy and human rights in Türkiye, and we are honoured to be... 28/01/2025 | 11:49:55 Thank you, Madam Chair. I congratulate the rapporteur on her valiant efforts here. But I regret that the rules-based international order she wishes for here no longer exists. First, there is no single international order. There are multiple international orders. The United Nations and the UN Charter provide a general foundation but there are a variety of multilateral but not global institutions that co-ordinate or regulate members' conduct, providing some limited rule-based order such as the... 27/01/2025 | 17:03:47 Thank you, Mister Chairman. Sorry about that; technology defeated me. I am speaking to you today as the Chair of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Network of Election Observers. Over the past year, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe carried out 10 pre-election and election observation missions in four member states: North Macedonia, Bulgaria, the Republic of Moldova, and Georgia, with 64 Assembly members from 28 countries taking part. Our longstanding...