06/09/2004 | President
Speaking to participants of a seminar on "The Council of Europe - Politics and Practice", organised in Oslo today in connection with Norway’s Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, PACE President Peter Schieder launched an appeal for reinforced co-operation with the EU and OSCE. "I strongly believe – and always did – that together we shall always be more successful in responding to the expectations of our citizens than working alone," he said. "Our co-operation with the EU should be reinforced, in promoting more systematic accession to CoE treaties, and in particular taking the necessary steps to allow EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights. This important topic will, I trust, be discussed by Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe member states when they meet for their third summit in Warsaw next spring," he said.
01/09/2004 | President
Peter Schieder, President of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, this morning made the following appeal: “We have just learned with great horror that hundreds of children and adults have been taken hostage in a school in Beslan, North Ossetia. We urge the perpetrators to free all of the hostages immediately. No cause can be furthered by such an act and nothing can justify it. “The Assembly stands ready to assist the Russian authorities in any way possible to secure a peaceful outcome,” he said. Peter Schieder also strongly condemned last night’s terrorist attack outside an underground railway station in Moscow, which killed ten people and left many wounded. On behalf of the Parliamentary Assembly, he extended his condolences to the families of the victims and expressed Europe’s full solidarity with the Russian people and authorities at this difficult time.
31/08/2004 | President
In a letter addressed to his French counterparts and to Reporters without Borders, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe, Peter Schieder, expressed his support this morning for the families of the French journalists Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot, who have been taken hostage in Iraq. "On behalf of the Assembly, I should like to assure the families of the two journalists of our support and our respect for the determination with which Mr Malbrunot and Mr Chesnot practise their profession in extremely difficult conditions." He firmly condemned the hostage-taking and called for the immediate, unconditional release of the two French journalists. "In holding freedom of expression hostage, the terrorists are trying to undermine democracy as a whole. There can be no justification for such an act," he concluded.
30/08/2004 | President
Assembly President Peter Schieder strongly condemned the terrorist act which, according to the FSB security service, caused the plane crashes last week in the Russian Federation. “In addition to the message of profound sympathy for the families of the victims which I sent to my counterparts at the Russian State Duma and the Council of the Federation, I would now like to express the Parliamentary Assembly’s full support in the fight against terrorism. “This heinous act illustrates the need to further improve international coordination against terrorism. No form of terrorism, whatever the cause it claims to serve, can ever be justified,” he said.
07/07/2004 | President
On hearing of the death of Austrian President Thomas Klestil, Parliamentary Assembly President Peter Schieder today expressed his profound sadness at the loss of a convinced European, totally committed to the process of European integration. He recalled that, when addressing the Parliamentary Assembly in January 2003, Mr Klestil had spelled out a vital and enduring end-goal for the consolidation of Europe, one which the Assembly – via its 600-plus parliamentarians – still endeavours to pursue: “At the very moment when Europe is on the verge of wiping out the divisions and dividing lines of the past, it seems to me more important than ever to promote dialogue on our common European future. This dialogue must be global, going beyond national or international institutions, and must involve civil society. In fact, I believe that our united Europe will endure only if it enjoys the participation and the ongoing confidence of all its citizens,” Mr Klestil had said. On behalf of the Parliamentary Assembly, Mr Schieder sent a letter of condolence to the widow of the Austrian President.
02/07/2004 | President
Assembly President Peter Schieder today adressed the following message to the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Bülent Arinç: "On behalf of the Assembly, I should like to offer my condolences on the tragic loss of life following this morning’s earthquake centred on the eastern province of Agri. Yet again, the Turkish people − already visited by so much devastation − have had to face natural catastrophe on a terrible scale. Fortunately the loss of life is not so high as in the past and hopefully the toll will not rise, but for the families bereaved, the random destructiveness which took away their loved ones must seem incomprehensible. My colleagues in the Assembly and I would ask you kindly to convey our heartfelt sympathy to those who have suffered ."
29/06/2004 | President
Assembly President Peter Schieder made the following statement today: “After almost two years of trying, four elections and six rounds of voting, Serbia finally has its first democratically elected president. I congratulate Boris Tadic on his success and wish him all the best in the challenge of living up to the hopes of the Serbian people who wish to live in a modern, open, tolerant and prosperous Serbia. The best way to achieve this goal is to take full advantage of Serbia and Montenegro’s membership of the Council of Europe."
25/06/2004 | President
Assembly President Peter Schieder will attend from 3 to 6 July in Edinburgh (United Kingdom) the 13th annual session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
22/06/2004 | President
The Norwegian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers intends to develop the role of the '45' in preventing conflicts, through measures aimed at promoting good governance and strengthening intercultural contact and dialogue. Adressing the Assembly, Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Jan Petersen, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, said his country "will support dialogue and contacts between religious communities. Norway believes that education has great potential for promoting knowledge and understanding between cultures and different ethnic groups."
22/06/2004 | President
During a meeting with members of the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe led by Konstantin Kosachev, Assembly President Peter Schieder strongly condemned the armed attack against a government building in Ingushetia, causing the deaths of some 50 people including civilians, a local UN staff-member and high-ranking representatives of the Ingush authorities. On behalf of the Parliamentary Assembly, which is currently holding its summer session in Strasbourg, Peter Schieder expressed his sympathy to the families of the victims. “This attack shows the need to further improve international co-ordination against terrorism worldwide,” he said.“Only the total rejection of violence as a means of political struggle and an unremitting commitment to the rule of law and human rights can bring peace to the region,” Mr Schieder pointed out.
21/06/2004 | President
In his opening speech, Assembly President Peter Schieder pointed out that the way the elections to the Parliament of the enlarged Union unfolded should give food for thought. Turnout diminished from 60 per cent 20 years ago to just over 45 per cent, while in many of the new member states participation was only 20 per cent or even less. Populist and extremist candidates or groupings obtained significant results in many countries. The votes for parties and candidates which were either very critical or openly dismissive of the EU had also increased, he pointed out. "It seems that the European Parliament is paying the price for everything that has not been done by EU governments to explain the European design and goals to their citizens. This is a challenge - not only for the EU but for all of us," he said. Mr Schieder called for a full public discussion of the benefits of the new Constitutional Treaty and said he hoped and expected that this would also open the way for EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights, a proposal which the Assembly has long championed, not least in connection with the Third Summit which has been, from the very beginning, actively promoted by the Parliamentary Assembly.
25/05/2004 | President
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities acts as a “laboratory of democracy” at local and regional levels, Parliamentary Assembly Peter Schieder said today, addressing the Congress during its opening session. “Your intiatives, debates and projects have served to water and fertilize the grass roots, especially where the seeds had fallen on long untended ground. And the Congress is looking more and more into how the grass is growing. Its country-by-country monitoring in the light of the European Charter of Local Self-Government is an important complement to the monitoring carried out by the Parliamentary Assembly,” said Mr Schieder.