22/11/2024 Standing Committee
The Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which brings together around 60 parliamentarians from the Council of Europe’s 46 member states, met in Luxembourg on Friday 29 November 2024.
The meeting was opened by PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos, followed by a welcome address from the President of the Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies Claude Wiseler.
The parliamentarians then held an exchange of views with Yuriko Backes, Minister of Defence and Minister for Mobility and Public Works and for Gender Equality and Diversity, in the framework of Luxembourg's Presidency of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers.
It held two current affairs debates on "The intensification of repression in Azerbaijan: the situation of political prisoners, threats to democratic freedoms and parliamentary rights" and on "Foreign interference: a threat to democracy".
It also debated the observation of elections in the Republic of Moldova and in Bulgaria, and held a debate on the report “Civil society and the Parliamentary Assembly: towards greater transparency and engagement”.
At the end of the meeting, there was a round table on “The Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe as a platform for intercultural dialogue” (see programme).
Ahead of the meeting, a working breakfast of the Assembly’s Women@PACE group was held, with the participation of Her Royal Highness the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (not open to the press).
The Standing Committee, which acts on the Assembly’s behalf between plenary sessions, is made up of the President and Vice-Presidents of the Assembly, the chairpersons of political groups, the chairpersons of national delegations and the committee chairpersons.
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Practical information
The Standing Committee meeting will be held on 29 November 2024 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. at Neumünster Abbey, 28 rue Münster, Luxembourg. The meeting is open to the press, along with the round table which follows it, and both events will be broadcast live here. Photos can be downloaded here.
The committee adopts its final agenda at the opening of the meeting.
Hashtag: #PACEinLuxembourg.
Contacts:
- Fabiola Cavallini, Public Relations Service, Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies, mobile: +352 661 924 246, e-mail: [email protected]
- Angus Macdonald, Deputy Head of the PACE Communication Division, mobile: +33 6 30 49 68 20, e-mail: [email protected]