03/10/2025 Session
The Assembly is amending its Rules of Procedure on waiving the immunity of its members, and will update its Guidelines on this topic, to better reflect the central importance of free movement for parliamentarians in carrying out their work.
“National parliaments should facilitate travel by PACE members in the exercise of their functions and eliminate mechanisms or practices by which the right of members to participate in their meetings is hampered by discretion or interference by parliamentary or political authorities,” the parliamentarians said.
In a resolution based on a report by Sergiy Vlasenko (Ukraine, EPP/CD), they underlined the need to clarify the application and operation of the Assembly's rules on immunity so that these are easier to follow for national authorities. The amendments to the Rules proposed by the Assembly concern, in particular, the circumstances in which immunities apply, the procedures to be followed in case assistance is required to assert immunity, and the circumstances in which a waiver of immunity is required.
The Assembly also emphasised that the imposition of sanctions or travel restrictions – whether on entry or exit – or the ‘blacklisting’ of members of the Parliamentary Assembly as a result of opinions expressed or votes cast during Assembly debates “is a violation of the General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities, of democratic principles and of a state’s obligations as member of the Council of Europe”.
Finally, PACE invited states to review their visa requirements for members travelling on Assembly business, to ensure that the length and complexity of the form, the cost and the time taken in delivering the visa are reduced to the minimum necessary.