08/04/2025 | 18:19:36 Thanks to all the colleagues for their comments. With all due respect to my colleague Mr Zsolt NÉMETH, whom I know is both a decent and very capable person, what I see is a campaign, even repression from Hungary to the United States against diversity, against migrants, against minorities, labelling them as a threat, criminalising peaceful protests. But the real threat is the concentration of power, control of free media, taking power from local governments, corruption, which has killed people... 08/04/2025 | 17:10:09 Dear fellow Europeans, From Sarajevo to Sofia, from Belgrade to Bratislava, from Budapest to Bucharest, from Athens to Istanbul, people are rising up not with violence, but with courage and hope with a desire for dignity and democracy. In Skopje, their slogan echoes "Who is next?" after a fire in Kočani stole the lives of 59 young people, victims of corruption and neglect. In Bratislava, Slovak and European Union (EU) flags fly side-by-side as crowds declare "Slovakia is Europe", "Our future... 25/06/2024 | 11:54:55 My Report is a call for the spirit of educated engagement where we can bring all into our political life. As someone mentioned – Mr Ioannis OIKONOMOU – in ancient Athens, politics was not simply a fight for power, it was a capacity to imagine a much better future collectively and actually make it happen. And on the contrary, Lord David BLENCATHRA, democracy was a way to make sure that we do not have concentration of power. And as Lord George FOULKES said earlier, this is one of the big... 25/06/2024 | 10:06:51 Esteemed colleagues, A few days ago I was in a lively discussion with a young woman. She posed a question: Does my vote even matter? I answered: Yes. If politics seems slow and complex, every vote does count. Democracy is a process, a change that takes time and effort. Yet her feelings need to be recognised by us all, as they represent many young voters and, I would add, many parts of our society. Her questions challenge our understanding of the strains of disillusionment, such as what has... 11/10/2023 | 15:49:16 It's heart-wrenching to witness the anguish caused by terror, to feel the pain of families torn apart, and the agony of those whose children are held captive in Gaza. These horrors are beyond imagination, yet they are an ugly reality. These atrocities transcend the bounds of imagination, yet they are an inescapable reality. In the strongest of turns we must resolutely denounce the extremist Hamas for their unforgivably barbaric deeds. For many of us in this room, this horror and terror have... 12/10/2022 | 17:58:34 I believe the report itself has the answers to many of the points that were put here. But I want to make just two or three points. First of all, in this report, dear Chair – and I assume that most reports, all reports, that the Council of Europe makes – is to ensure the rights, the voices, the sense of justice, the protection of each and every one. In this case, of each and every Hungarian citizen. This is not against Hungary. This is in favour of each and every Hungarian citizen. That is... 12/10/2022 | 17:06:52 Thank you very much, after that very interesting debate. We change gears to Hungary. Hungary is a beautiful country with a proud people. In this report we evaluate the compliance of its government with the principles Hungary itself has signed on to those of the Council of Europe. But it also is intended for the benefit of the nation and people of Hungary, whose fate and decisions made by the government affect us all in our unified European family. Let me thank our colleagues from Hungary and... 11/10/2022 | 11:49:46 Thank you very much. First of all, let me thank all my colleagues for the warm support for this report and their comments. On the country-specific comments, the goal of this report is not to avoid the conflicts we have in the region, but to see how the Council of Europe can be a major player towards the resolution of these. The accession process and the reform process where the Council of Europe has a role can become a catalyst for solving these problems. Secondly, democracy, I believe, is... 11/10/2022 | 10:06:55 Thank you very much, Mister Chair. The Balkan Peninsula is a beautifully diverse region. However, many ethnic groups, minorities or even these small nascent countries themselves have often felt deep insecurity. Under despotic or authoritarian regimes, citizen felt oppressed, minorities excluded or persecuted, any sense of justice, equality, and freedom squashed. The imprint that this is left on our collective consciousness is that, when in trouble, we look for a big brother protector or... 15/03/2022 | 20:04:13 On February 24th, this war seemed to be but a bad dream, yet we woke up to a nightmare that was real when we believed we would never again see on this continent. The first reaction of many of us was a big "why?". Why such irrationality, megalomania, brutality, and fratricidal cold-blooded war? Then the "why" became a big "no". A "no" of indignation, a "no" to the lies and fake news, a "no" to the destruction of cities, a "no" to the unimaginable suffering, war crimes, deaths of innocent...