08/10/2021 | President
PACE President Rik Daems has ended a three-day working visit to Poland, during which he met the Speakers of both Chambers of the Polish Parliament (Sejm and Senate), held talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau and other senior officials from the government, and held exchanges...
04/10/2021 | President
PACE President Rik Dames today made the following statement: ‘The recent arrests and detentions in Crimea with regard to Crimean Tatars, including the Deputy Head of Mejlis Nariman Dzhelyal, raise serious concerns. This is all the more worrying as some of them, reportedly, were subjected to...
30/09/2021 | President
Welcoming the adoption by the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) of some seven resolutions and five recommendations on the environment and climate change, its President Rik Daems announced the launch of the #EnvironmentRightNow hashtag initiative. “We need this initiative to go viral...
30/09/2021 | President
Rik Daems, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), will make a working visit to Poland from 5 to 7 October 2021, during which he will hold a series of high-level meetings, in particular with the Speaker of the Sejm (lower house of the Polish Parliament), the...
17/09/2021 | President
PACE President Rik Daems has ended a two-day working visit to Finland, during which he received strong support for his proposal of a “paradigm shift” on the environment and human rights, moving from policy to principle. In addition to this priority issue, discussions also focused on relations...
16/09/2021 | President
Rik Daems, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), will make a visit to Finland on 16-17 September, during which he will hold a series of high-level meetings, in particular with the Speaker of Parliament, the Foreign Minister, parliamentarians, the Chairperson and...
06/09/2021 | President
“I am shocked to learn that Belarusian opposition leaders Maria Kalesnikava and Maksim Znak have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms on so-called conspiracy charges,” PACE President Rik Daems said today. “These sentences are entirely without merit, and both of these courageous individuals...
17/08/2021 | President
“The entire world is watching the events unfolding in Afghanistan with grave concern and sadness. The international community should remain united and firm in demanding an immediate end to violence and the respect of human rights for all, both in the current situation and once a system of...
30/07/2021 | President
Ending his working visit to Georgia (27-28 July 2021), PACE President Rik Daems made the following statement: "I wish to express my gratitude to the Georgian authorities and, in particular, to the Chairperson of the Georgian Parliament, Kakha Kuchava, and the head of the Georgian delegation to...
23/07/2021 | President
Rik Daems, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), is to make a working visit to Georgia on 27 and 28 July 2021. In Tbilisi he is due to meet the Speaker of Parliament and Prime Minister, as well as the Foreign, Justice and Internal Affairs Ministers. Meetings...
13/07/2021 | President
“At a moment when we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Parliament of Morocco’s partner for democracy status with PACE, I would like to congratulate the parliament on the progress it has made as regards the representation of women (21 per cent), since the adoption of the quota system in...
09/07/2021 | President
PACE President Rik Daems will make a working visit to Rabat from 11 to 14 July, during which he will hold high-level meetings with Moroccan authorities. Meetings (to be confirmed) are scheduled with the Presidents of the House of Councillors and the House of Representatives, the Head of...