21/04/2026 | 19:38:37 Thank you, Mister President. The election of judges to the European Court of Human Rights is one of the most essential responsibilities entrusted to our Assembly by the Convention. It is not just another technical procedure. It is about ensuring that the women and men called upon to protect the fundamental rights of over 400 million Europeans are the best qualified, the most independent and the most impartial. The report before us today is a continuation of work that has been going on for a... 21/04/2026 | 17:46:40 Thank you, Mister President. Ladies and gentlemen, First of all, I would like to thank the rapporteur for the high quality of his extremely well-documented work, which is of particular importance at a time when discrimination based on religion is increasing almost exponentially, not only in our member states but – it has to be said and we should be alarmed – throughout the world. Discrimination, whether religious or otherwise, is fracturing our societies and democracies, and undermining our... 21/04/2026 | 17:22:22 Thank you, Mister President. The purpose of this amendment is to reaffirm a fundamental reality of democratic functioning. Of course, we must promote dialogue between the parties and a political culture based on transparency, respect and responsibility. We must, and do, unambiguously condemn violence and hate speech, but that does not mean that democratic debate should be sanitised or reduced to an artificial consensus. It can legitimately be confrontational and based on deep political... 21/04/2026 | 10:54:29 Thank you, Mister President. Yes, violence against politicians is a threat to democracy. But we need to address the causes. The rise of the far right in France and Europe is accompanied by the trivialisation of racist, Islamophobic, antisemitic, homophobic and misogynist discourse, often relayed by certain media. The example of Mr Bally BAGAYOKO, the newly elected mayor of Saint-Denis-Pierrefitte in France, is revealing. Since his election, he has been subjected to an outpouring of racist... 30/01/2026 | 10:22:25 Thank you, Mister President. So I'm going to talk about democracy and the rule of law in the European Union (EU). For several months now, farmers in the European Union have been mobilising on a massive scale. At issue is the Mercosur agreement, by far the largest and most harmful free trade agreement ever negotiated by Brussels. This agreement will have far-reaching consequences, with devastating effects for our agriculture, public health and the environment, but also for our European... 29/01/2026 | 17:08:24 Thank you, Mr President, Ladies and gentlemen, The report presented to us today on the prohibition of conversion practices is an essential, courageous and, unfortunately, always necessary report. My group congratulates and thanks the rapporteur, Ms Kate OSBORNE. There can be no ambiguity: conversion practices are incompatible with human rights, human dignity and real equality for all. As this report reminds us, conversion practices are not only scientifically unfounded, but profoundly abject... 29/01/2026 | 11:46:38 Thank you, Madam President, The dramatic situation in the Middle East confronts our common humanity with the challenge of its own survival. In Palestine, genocide continues unabated. The population is still being subjected to an intolerable humanitarian blockade, and civilian massacres are continuing, despite a ceasefire that is in reality only partial. Israel continues to think itself above international law and, to our shame, most of our governments allow Benjamin NETANYAHU to act with... 28/01/2026 | 18:41:21 Thank you, President. This report reminds us of something that is fundamentally true, and my group thanks the rapporteur for her work: democracy does not fall from the sky, it is learned, practised and taught. Schools are one of the first places where this experience is possible. We fully agree with this observation. Schools are not just places where knowledge is imparted; they are also places where people socialise, build social links and learn to live together. Yet all over Europe, this... 28/01/2026 | 17:42:38 Thank you, President. At present, Israel is not respecting the ceasefire. Military incursions are continuing, civilians continue to be killed and the humanitarian blockade of Gaza continues. A ceasefire that is violated on a daily basis, without control mechanisms or sanctions, is nothing more than a diplomatic illusion. We still have full political responsibility. We must ensure the immediate protection of civilians and the strict application of international law in Gaza and the West Bank... 27/01/2026 | 11:35:13 Thank you, Madam President. Mr Secretary General, on 22 May this year, nine Council of Europe member states published an open letter calling into question the independence of the European Court of Human Rights, criticising it for restricting their action in the field of migration, when all the Court does is ensure respect for human rights for all. The letter echoed the clichés of the far right, portraying migrants as a threat and calling for a degraded application of human rights on their...