28/09/2021 | 13:05:23 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) I want to commend the Rapporteur and support this resolution. The rapporteur makes a number of very important points about the impact of rising inequality across Europe which has led to deeper poverty, the erosion of social rights, reduced social mobility and greater social polarisation. A few short points in response to this report: The first is that the rapid rise in inequality in recent decades is no accident, but rather a direct result of... 27/09/2021 | 17:25:09 Thank you, Madam President. I want to thank all of the contributors for their thoughtful contributions. I want to tell you about my two most vivid memories of my trips to both Armenia and Azerbaijan. In Yerevan I saw the military cemetery and all of the new graves of young men, the same age as my oldest son - 18 in many cases - and the heartbreaking cries of loved ones mourning their lost sons. It was absolutely tragic. I'm sure my colleagues in Azerbaijan could have shown me a similar... 27/09/2021 | 16:31:39 Madam chairperson, dear colleagues, First I want to thank both delegations for the immense amount of work to facilitate my report and to visit their countries, Armenia in May and Azerbaijan in July. I regret I was not able to visit the conflict region. This affects the quality of the report without a doubt, and issues of access to what we call grey zones must be sorted out for the future. I've tried to avoid politics and keep to the humanitarian and linked human rights concerns. My report, as... 24/06/2021 | 16:59:25 Good afternoon, I want to warmly congratulate my friend and comrade Mr Momodou Malcolm JALLOW on this excellent report. I believe it will be historic when we pass this report today and absolutely essential. It's long overdue from the Council of Europe to acknowledge the link between contemporary racism and colonial history enslavements and the transatlantic slave trade. I can't emphasise enough just how important I think the issue of education is in this regard. When I grew up in England... 22/06/2021 | 19:34:56 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) I want to congratulate the rapporteur on an excellent report. I believe Europe now stands at a crossroads. We have an opportunity to take a different path to that of neo-liberalism that has been so dominant over the past 40 years. The Covid crisis demanded a rapid expansion of public financing and public intervention -to protect our health services , and our people and businesses. Suddenly the ideology of leaving society to the invisible hand... 22/06/2021 | 12:37:42 Good morning and thank you again for the opportunity to speak on this important topic. I want to welcome this report, which highlights important issues with regard to the rollout of Covid passes or certificates. This report highlights the importance of striking a balance between the rights of individuals to freedom of movement and the need to protect fundamental rights and guard against discrimination. The European Digital Green Certificate moves society in the right direction but it is not... 22/06/2021 | 10:12:09 Thank you very much. I want to commend this excellent report, it deserves every support. I think this concept of a right to know is both timely and very welcome. I particularly welcome the highlighting the importance of the Tromso Convention. I would echo the rapporteur's call for member states to sign up to this excellent initiative. When we talk about media freedom of course we have to highlight the horrific cases of the murders of journalists. I think whenever we think of media freedom we... 22/04/2021 | 13:06:47 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) Turkey has been moving away from democratic discourse and practice in recent years. The disgraceful decision to withdraw from the Istanbul convention should be seen in this context. This break from democracy has been stimulated by the dominant political actors under the role of the AK Party. In 2019, in the context of the democratic situation in Turkey, the Parliamentary Assembly reiterated that political opposition in and outside parliament... 20/04/2021 | 17:24:05 Good afternoon. Thank you. On behalf of the United European Left Group I want to welcome the opportunity to debate this very important issue. For me this is doubly important as I am also the rapporteur for the humanitarian consequences of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Our group is deeply concerned by the lack of progress on the fate of the captives and missing persons from the recent six-week conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. According to the press release of the... 20/04/2021 | 15:29:58 Thank you, Mister President. I just want to begin by congratulating the rapporteur on behalf of our group, the Unified European Left. I want to warmly welcome this draft resolution on fighting fiscal injustice and the taxation of the global digital economy. Our group congratulates the rapporteur for his content, offer our full support and note the significance of the timing of this resolution. Thankfully, after four decades of a race to the bottom in taxation of corporations we may finally be...