20/06/2011 Session
PACE today welcomed the decision by the Committee of Ministers and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to introduce a biennial programme and budget for 2012-2013, which the Assembly sees as a major step forward, provided that the rules of implementation allow a flexible use of appropriations. In an opinion adopted on the basis of a report by Erol Aslan Cebeci (Turkey, EPP/CD), PACE also said that the refocusing of activities must be well thought through and correspond to the aims of all the member states, and not just the objectives of the Committee of Ministers - that is to say the foreign affairs ministries - but also those of the specialised ministries.
The Assembly is aware that the purpose of the measures provided for by the reform is to adapt the Council of Europe to cope with new challenges, particularly the assistance to the new emerging democracies in the Mediterranean basin. In this context, it welcomes the Secretary General's decision to set up an annual Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg: a sort of Davos for democracy, with strong participation by civil society and INGOs.