01/10/2025 | 18:24:04 Thank you, Mister President. Dear colleagues, Today we debate the closure of the post-monitoring dialogue with Bulgaria not because this mechanism achieved its goals, but because after 26 years, it has become ineffective. The report notes progress, yes. A difficult one, a fragile one. I took every step in this process. But it also makes clear how much remains unfinished. I will stress two issues that cut to the heart of democratic resilience: the rule of law and media freedom. Bulgaria still... 01/10/2025 | 17:45:28 Thank you, Mr Chair. Colleagues, The Draft Convention before us establishing the International Claims Commission for Ukraine is more than a legal text. It is a statement of principle, a commitment to accountability and a promise of remedy to victims of aggression. Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has brought immense suffering. Lives lost, millions displaced, homes and schools destroyed, hospitals and cultural heritage in ruins, ecosystem damage. They are not statistics. They are the... 01/10/2025 | 11:17:25 Is it better now? Thank you so much. The report raises awareness about the plight of Ukrainian journalists held in captivity by the Russian aggressor. Their only crime is telling the truth. They've been silenced, separated from their families, and in too many cases, tortured, disappeared or killed. Each one of them is an example of how the aggressor has tried to bury the truth. We heard just now some of their names. As George ORWELL said once: "Journalism is printing something that someone... 25/06/2025 | 20:04:54 Thank you, Mr Chair. Dear colleagues, "if we sacrifice our values in response to terrorism, we are delivering the terrorists a victory they could never achieve on their own." These words of former US President OBAMA capture the very heart of our debate now. I commend the Council of Europe Committee on Counter-Terrorism for drafting a protocol that amends the Warsaw Convention, establishing the first international binding, comprehensive definition of terrorism. This definition rightly reflects... 24/06/2025 | 17:07:22 Thank you, Mr Chair. Dear colleagues, as a member of this Assembly, I firmly support the two draft resolutions before us on the legal and human rights aspects of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine, and on political negotiations to secure the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war. I would like to congratulate all our rapporteurs for their excellent work. These issues are deeply interconnected. Over a year ago, the journalist Ms Viktoriia ROSHCHYNA was abducted in Russian... 09/04/2025 | 20:10:04 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) Dear Madam Chair, Ladies and Gentlemen, Today, we are discussing how to ensure that the values of the European Convention on Human Rights are not just ideals on paper but real safeguards in our lives. This means guarenting justice even when it involves powerful actors—like investigating a murder thoroughly, even if the suspect is a state official; protecting citizens’ property from unfair confiscation; or preventing the misuse of... 09/04/2025 | 18:07:06 Thank you, Mister President. Dear colleagues, It is, indeed, more than 11 years since Russia invaded Ukraine. It is more than three years since the Russian Federation launched its full-scale, brutal and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. A war that constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and assault on the very principles that bind us as a European Community – sovereignty, territorial integrity, democracy and the rule of law. The report is not only timely, it is... 08/04/2025 | 11:15:58 Thank you, Madam Chair. Esteemed colleagues, American historian Ms Anne APPLEBAUM once said that liberal societies can be destroyed not just from the outside, but from within, unless we choose to protect them. That warning rings true today. Our democracy is threatened. Autocratic influence is trying very hard to seep in. Since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, the international order has been under growing pressure. And even more so after the start of the full-scale Russian war of... 30/01/2025 | 12:59:30 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) Dear Mister President, Dear colleagues, Let me start with a story. It was 1 February 1945 when the so-called People’s Court was set up in Bulgaria by the Soviet-installed authorities. Thousands were convicted, including 2 730 sentenced to death and thousands of imprisonments. Very few attorneys had the courage to follow their professional duty and represent the accused before that politically-motivated Court. They served with honour, but... 29/01/2025 | 13:04:45 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) Dear Madam Chair, distinguished colleagues, I will vote for the draft resolution. It is very true that quality history education is particularly important for understanding the conflicting nuances of the past and the complexities of the present. History of each and every one of our countries unfortunately has such events. In two days, my country Bulgaria marks the Day of Appreciation and Tribute to the Victims of the Communist Regime...