PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu welcomed the strong and fruitful co-operation between the Assembly and the Venice Commission, addressing today the 85th Plenary Session of the Venice Commission in the city. “Our respective roles are very complementary,” he said, stressing that PACE political messages had to be strengthened by standards and guidelines, based on the best European practices, which the Commission was doing, in particular in the field of election observation, monitoring of member states’ obligations and commitments, and standard-setting. As a result, the President said, we contribute to make our Organisation more pro-active, impact-oriented and effective in achieving its goals.
In the morning, the PACE Presidential Committee* held a joint meeting with the Enlarged Bureau of the Venice Commission in order to plan joint actions for the future. It was agreed tocontinue working closely in the member states presenting delicate political and institutional situations. “By acting together we can help the key political stakeholders in some countries to make the right choices and put the democratic process back on the normal track,” said the PACE President. He added that the two institutions could co-operate better in bringing non-member states closer to Council of Europe standards, particularly in the assessment of applications by countries to the newly established “Partnership for Democracy” status.
*The Presidential Committee comprises the President of the Parliamentary Assembly, the Chairs of the political groups and the Secretary General of the Assembly.
