20/08/2010 | Political Affairs and Democracy
Sinikka Hurskainen (Finland, SOC), PACE rapporteur on the situation in Belarus, will make a visit to Minsk from 23 to 25 August. She will meet the Chairman of the Council of the Republic Anatoly Rubinov, the Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the parliamentary Committee on relations with PACE Viktor Guminsky, the Minister of Justice Viktor Golovanov, the Prosecutor General Grigory Vasilevich, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Valery Voronetsky, the Minister of Information Oleg Proleskovsky and the Head of the parliamentary working group on the issue of the death penalty Nikolai Samoseiko.
29/06/2010 | Political Affairs and Democracy
In an information note on her fact-finding visit to Brussels from 9 to 10 June 2010, the rapporteur on the impact of the Lisbon Treaty on the Council of Europe (Kerstin Lundgren, Sweden, ALDE) considers that while the technical details posed by the EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights should be tackled at the intergovernmental level, it is the role of parliamentarians “to provide a powerful political signal in favour of a smooth accession process and its rapid completion”. According to Mrs Lundgren, accession modalities “should be kept as simple as possible”.
01/06/2010 | Political Affairs and Democracy
Discussing today a report by Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC) on democracy in Europe: crisis and perspectives, the Political Affairs Committee concluded that the world economic crisis had accentuated symptoms of crisis of democracy: lack of necessary regulation and political control over financial interests, highly centralised executive decision-making, concentration of power and money, disinterest in the current institutionalised procedures of democracy...
01/06/2010 | Political Affairs and Democracy
Discussing a report by Björn von Sydow (Sweden, SOC) on the situation in Kosovo[1] and the role of the Council of Europe, PACE Political Affairs Committee, meeting in Paris today, expressed its concern about the poor respect for the rule of law in Kosovo affecting the everyday lives of all persons, irrespective of the community they belong to, and their trust in the political system.
01/04/2010 | Political Affairs and Democracy
“I welcome the official condemnation of the Srebrenica massacre, declared by the Serbian Parliament, as a major step forward in the process of reconciliation taking place in the former Yugoslavia. This is a sign of present-day Serbia’s willingness to turn away from the past and to reinforce its place in a Europe which cherishes peace and shares common values,” declared Pietro Marcenaro (Italy, SOC), who is preparing a report on “reconciliation and political dialogue between the countries of the former Yugoslavia” for PACE.
24/03/2010 | Political Affairs and Democracy
Sinikka Hurskainen, Jacek Protasiewicz and Uta Zapf, who head the bodies dealing with Belarus for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the European Parliament and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, have firmly condemned the execution of Andrei Zhuk and Vasily Yuzepchuk which, according to human rights organisations, took place in Belarus last week in complete secrecy and which has yet to be confirmed officially by the authorities.
19/03/2010 | Political Affairs and Democracy
Concerned at the upsurge of piracy, PACE’s Political Affairs Committee has encouraged Council of Europe member states to provide naval escorts to ships crossing areas at risk and asked NATO, the EU and countries concerned to renew and strengthen their anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia. Following the proposals by the rapporteur, Birgen Keles (Turkey, SOC), the committee called for a common and more relevant domestic legal framework in order to criminalise the act of piracy wherever it takes place. The Assembly will debate this question during its Spring Session (26-30 April 2010).
18/03/2010 | Political Affairs and Democracy
“The Council of Europe should strengthen its involvement in Kosovo ,” said Björn von Sydow (Sweden, SOC), rapporteur for PACE's Political Affairs Committee, addressing the committee today in Paris. “Our Organisation should play a pro-active role in offering its expertise in its areas of excellence: democracy, the rule of law and human rights, with absolute priority being given to the rule of law,” he said.
18/03/2010 | Political Affairs and Democracy
“I am for dialogue with all the relevant parties, including with the Belarusian authorities. However, I do not believe that the Assembly should refrain from raising criticism or imposing conditions. A state which genuinely wants to engage with the Council of Europe cannot do so without accepting the rules of the game, and conditionality is one of them”, said Sinikka Hurskainen (Finland, SOC) PACE rapporteur on Belarus, speaking today in Paris.
05/03/2010 | Political Affairs and Democracy
PACE Sub-Committee on the Middle East, under the chairmanship of Lluís Maria de Puig (Spain, SOC), held a two-day meeting (4-5 March) in Izmir (Turkey) at the invitation of the Turkish delegation to PACE. Against the backdrop of PACE Resolution 1700 (2010) on the Situation in the Middle East, the Sub-Committee decided to prepare the second session of the Tripartite Forum, bringing together the PACE, the Knesset and the Palestinian Legislative Council.
25/02/2010 | Political Affairs and Democracy
“In Kosovo, there are more than 2 million Europeans who need the rule of law, good governance and respect for human rights, regardless of the community they belong to,” said Björn von Sydow (Sweden, SOC), rapporteur of PACE Political Affairs Committee, speaking today at the end of a five- day visit to Kosovo. “During my visit, I travelled extensively in Kosovo, meeting ordinary people from all communities. All of them highlighted widespread corruption, lack of a trustworthy judiciary and poor implementation of the law.
19/02/2010 | Political Affairs and Democracy
In the framework of his forthcoming report on the situation in Kosovo, Björn von Sydow (Sweden, SOC), PACE rapporteur of the Political Affairs Committee, will conduct for the second year, a fact-finding visit to Kosovo from 21 to 25 February. The main purpose of this second visit is to get acquainted with the situation of different communities on the ground, in a number of municipalities.* All reference to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.