22/11/2013 Standing Committee
"I am very well-acquainted with PACE and I want us to work together more closely,” said Austrian Foreign Affairs Minister and Chairman of the Committee of Ministers Michael Spindelegger, addressing PACE’s Standing Committee in Vienna.
Mr Spindelegger set out the priorities of the Austrian Chairmanship for the coming six months. They include initiatives to promote effective application of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, promoting social cohesion in Europe, action against trafficking in human beings and combating violence against women. With regard to this last point, he reported on Austria’s recent ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, known as the “Istanbul Convention”. He said that, during its Chairmanship, Austria would “promote measures for an early entry into force of the Convention", which requires 10 ratifications.
The President of the PACE welcomed the commitment made by Mr Spindelegger, “a former member of our Assembly”.