01/07/2016 President
“Parliamentary diplomacy is a key to solving complex problems such as international terrorism, the refugees and migrants crisis, ‘frozen’ and ‘burning’ conflicts and institutional crisis,” said PACE President Pedro Agramunt, addressing the 25th Annual Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE in Tbilisi today.
“We have a duty to prevent new divisions in Europe,” he said, pointing out a growing lack of cohesion and mutual trust among the member States. “Dialogue and co-operation among parliamentarians, the very essence of parliamentary diplomacy, make a positive contribution to easing inter-state tensions, and building confidence,” he added.
He called for the continuation of the co-operation initiated 21 years ago between PACE and the OSCE PA and praised, in particular, the work of the two assemblies, together with ODIHR and the Venice Commission, to set and implement a useful framework for monitoring elections.