06/10/2006 | Bureau
"The legal order of the Republic of Montenegro meets the standards of the Council of Europe, provided that an appropriate constitutional reform is carried out in a manner which will ensure its legitimacy," concludes a report on the conformity of Montenegro’s legal order with Council of Europe standards made public today by PACE’s Bureau. According to the study, prepared by two experts from the Venice Commission as part of the Assembly’s opinion on the country’s request to join the Council, priority areas for reform are the protection of human rights and minority rights, together with the independence of the judiciary, corruption and the fight against economic and organised crime. The report also points out that one major challenge is the implementation of existing legislation, which is compatible with European standards.
02/10/2006 | Bureau
On the 50th Anniversary of the Hungarian 1956 upraising, the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has this morning thanked Hungary for ''its inestimable contribution to the cause of freedom'' declaring that ''it is the duty of this new and united Europe of ours to uphold the values of freedom, human rights, democracy and the rule of law that inspired the Hungarian and other European peoples at that time''.
06/09/2006 | Bureau
PACE Bureau called today on the Slovak government to take a firmer stand against the use of racist or xenophobic discourse in politics and in society, which contributes to a climate of violence by legitimising hatred and intolerance. Assembly members expressed great concern at the increase in xenophobic incidents in Slovakia during recent months and, in particular, the recent violent attack on a young ethnic-Hungarian woman.
03/10/2005 | Bureau
PACE’s Bureau today decided to send a fact-finding mission to the Chechen Republic on the occasion of the elections on 27 November 2005. The delegation – composed of one member from each political group together with Andreas Gross, the Chair of the ad hoc Sub-committee for the organisation of the Round Table on the political situation in the Chechen Republic, will report back to the Bureau with its conclusions.
27/09/2005 | Bureau
The head of a delegation of PACE parliamentarians meeting the Liechtenstein parliament this week said "a constructive dialogue" had begun over the constitutional and political practice in Liechtenstein following constitutional changes introduced in 2003. Marcel Glesener (Luxembourg, EPP/CD) said the talks covered the principle of "constitutional dualism", the process for appointing judges, the Prince's sanctioning of laws and his immunity for public acts. Also discussed was the "popular initiative" or referendum on questions about the beginning and end of life scheduled for later this year. In January 2004 PACE decided not to open a monitoring procedure as regards Liechtenstein following the constitutional changes, but to begin a dialogue on their application.
07/09/2005 | Bureau
The honouring of obligations and commitments by Ukraine and a debate on forced marriages and child marriages are among items provisionally scheduled for debate at the Parliamentary Assembly’s autumn session (3-7 October 2005). Invited speakers include Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, who will speak on the same day as debates on women and religion and on education and religion, and Volodymyr Lytvyn, Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament. Other reports on the draft order of business include the treatment of Bulgarian medical staff in Libya and language problems in access to public health care in the Brussels-Capital region. The Assembly itself will decide its own final order of business only on the first day of the session.
06/06/2005 | Bureau
At its meeting in Lisbon this morning the Assembly Bureau proposed that PACE hold two urgent debates at its next plenary session (20-24 June 2005), one on follow-up to the third Council of Europe Summit and the other on constitutional reform in Armenia, as well as a current affairs debate on the situation in the republics of Central Asia. The Bureau also decided to invite Soren Jessen-Petersen, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Kosovo, to attend the debate on the current situation in Kosovo. The Assembly itself decides its own final agenda on the first day of the session.
23/12/2004 | Bureau
Relations between Europe and the United States, Genetically Modified Organisms and the Third Summit are among items provisionally scheduled for debate at the Assembly’s winter session (24-28 January 2005). Other reports on the draft order of business, adopted last week by PACE’s Bureau, include observation of presidential elections in Ukraine and the Palestinian Authority, the circumstances surrounding the arrest and prosecution of leading Yukos executives, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the protection of human rights in Kosovo and Georgia’s honouring of its obligations and commitments. The Assembly itself will decide its own final order of business only on the first day of the session.
10/09/2004 | Bureau
An urgent debate on the challenge of terrorism in Council of Europe member states, as well as a joint debate on the political, human rights and humanitarian situation in the Chechen Republic, are among items provisionally scheduled for debate at the Assembly’s autumn session (4-8 October 2004). Other items on the draft order of business, adopted on Tuesday by the Assembly’s Bureau, include the honouring of obligations and commitments by Armenia and by Azerbaijan, global warming and women’s participation in elections. The accession ceremony for Monaco is also due to take place during the session. The Assembly itself will decide the final order of business only on the first day of the session.
10/09/2004 | Bureau
The Assembly’s Bureau approved a series of proposals for assistance to the Parliaments of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia this week – as well as a plan for a possible “Youth of the South Caucasus” conference next year in Tbilisi. Other ideas included organising more seminars and hearings in the region, further study visits and training for staff from the three parliaments, and encouraging contacts between political forces in the three countries. The proposals follow a visit by PACE Secretary General Bruno Haller to the region in July.
25/06/2004 | Bureau
The Bureau this morning adopted the following statement:“The Bureau strongly condemns the recent acts of violence committed by rebels in a series of attacks throughout the North Caucasus region this week. Its members, appalled by the scale of human suffering, express their condolences to the victims’ families.
25/05/2004 | Bureau
The honouring of obligations and commitments by Turkey and by Bosnia and Herzegovina, domestic slavery and the electronic media in Italy are among subjects provisionally scheduled for debate during the Assembly’s summer session (21-25 June 2004). Other items on the draft order of business, adopted on Monday by the Assembly’s Bureau, are a Europe-wide ban on corporal punishment of children and the Euro and the Greater Europe. The Assembly itself will decide the final order of business only on the first day of the session.