23/06/2022 | 17:05:57 Thank you, Madam President. Dear colleagues, I will start with a quote: "The famine will start now and they will lift the sanctions and be friends with us because they will realise that it's impossible not to be friends with us." These are the words of Margarita Simonyan, the chief editor of Russia's main state-controlled propaganda channel, during the Saint Petersburg Economic Forum just earlier this week. Everything you need to know about Russia and its plans regarding the global food... 23/06/2022 | 12:01:11 Thank you, Chairman, and a very big thank you to Mr Titus CORLĂŢEAN for your very diligent work on this report. Acknowledging in the presence of the family members of some of the deceased today with us in the hemicycle, I just want to say I'm really truly sorry for your loss, and I'm really truly sorry that eight years in, you still do not have closure and justice. This 17th of July we will mark 8 years since the MH17 tragedy. I remember very well being in Kyiv on that day and reading the... 22/06/2022 | 17:36:35 Thank you, Chair. Dear colleagues, I begin by thanking the five rapporteurs and I would especially like to highlight the efforts of my colleagues from the Ukrainian delegation. I am so proud to see today in the rapporteur seats Ms Yevheniia KRAVCHUK and Ms Mariia MEZENTSEVA. They have produced a remarkable result and work through the reports despite extensive participation in humanitarian efforts and war efforts in Ukraine. They are just one example of how Ukrainians have learned to live with... 26/04/2022 | 11:30:54 Thank you, President. Dear Colleagues, Indeed this is an important report we are regarding today as the Council of Europe and the European Union are both very crucial mechanisms to promote basic European values, principles and aspirations. Both of these institutions were designed after the Second World War to promote dialogue and co‑operation, peace, and development and prevent further wars. Both of these institutions, however, failed, as we are all able to observe during the last eight years... 25/04/2022 | 19:09:13 The topic in this report is extremely important to tackle in the highly digitalised age that we live in. I would like to thank the rapporteur, first and foremost also as a mother. I have two young children, and everything that I've read in this report is actually a very detailed analysis which provides a guideline for parents and governments alike. Age-verification software, laws obliging device manufacturers to strengthen parental control, black and white lists of domains and websites are... 25/04/2022 | 17:17:18 Thank you President. Dear Colleagues, Secretary General, First of all, I would like to thank the honourable rapporteur, not so much for the report, but for the presentation of this report, for this excursion into the history of Europe in the recent years, but also in the history of this Assembly in recent years. The last three months have marked a renaissance of thought of the Council of Europe and this Assembly. After Russia escalated its military aggression against Ukraine two months ago... 15/03/2022 | 15:56:39 Colleagues, I usually write very detailed speeches which I read off papers, unless I forget something. Today I have also written down a couple of prompts. In all honesty, I don't think I'll be needing them because I will be speaking of the last 20 days. I will be testifying of the atrocities that have been happening and are still going on in the middle of Europe after Russia escalated its aggression against Ukraine to an unprecedented scale. I will be speaking of war crimes and crimes against... 26/01/2022 | 13:02:55 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) Dear Colleagues, I think we must all thank Lord Foulkes for this report as it presents the Council of Europe and member states with an extra instrument for the promotion and protection of human rights. As a human rights organisation, the Council of Europe has struggled for some time to ensure that the Convention rights and freedom are adhered to with the traditional framework of instruments and mechanisms for human rights protection failed on... 26/01/2022 | 11:50:10 Thank you, and first of all thank you to honourable Lord George FOULKES for this report which actually provides an out-of-the-box extra mechanism for human rights compliance. And the amendment in question actually intends to enforce the recommendations in this report even further and make sure that they are 100% implementable by providing an extra sanction which could be applied to countries that systemically breach and violate human rights in the form of actually having the risk of these... 25/01/2022 | 20:03:52 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) Dear Colleagues, Undoubtedly, media have a huge power over our lives. In times of crises, media provide communication instruments between governments and the public, while also serving as a “public watchdog” over democratic principles and human rights. It must be clear, however, that with the great power, great responsibility comes. The messages conveyed by journalists and opinion leaders can lead the public into chaos, panic or, to the...