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The Venice Commission at 35 – ‘a refuge in perilous times’

The Venice Commission at 35 – ‘a refuge in perilous times’

14/10/2025 | President

PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos has hailed the work of the Venice Commission – the Council of Europe’s group of independent legal experts – at a ceremony in the city’s Ducal Palace to mark the Commission’s 35th anniversary, describing it as a “refuge in perilous times”. Drawing a parallel...

Malta
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‘Democracy will continue to grow through youth education, inclusion and participation,’ says PACE President

13/10/2025 | President

Speaking at the 10th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Youth in Valletta on 9 October, PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos called on Ministers to integrate youth perspectives into every policy and to move from participation to co-decision-making,“ in order to give young...

'I can only conceive of a life living in freedom' - María Corina Machado, talking to the PACE President in...

13/10/2025 | President

"I ended up in politics because I can only conceive of a life living in freedom," Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado told PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos in a 2024 video podcast. The President spoke with her at length for his vodcast series, "Round table with the President”, after...

Maria Corina Machado
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Theodoros Rousopoulos: ‘Today’s Nobel Peace Prize is a powerful recognition of the collective will of the...

10/10/2025 | President

Reacting to the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize award announced today, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President Theodoros Rousopoulos made the following statement: “I warmly congratulate María Corina Machado on being awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. Just a year ago, our Assembly...

Side-event 'Young people for democracy'

PACE President: ‘Young people must not simply be the subjects of policy, but the shapers of it’

09/10/2025 | President

“Democracy must be learned, lived and renewed with each generation, and the Parliamentary Assembly has made this renewal part of its daily work,” said PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos at an event on 8 October, on the sidelines of the 10th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible...

‘Our parliaments are places where democracy breathes,’ says PACE President, addressing the Maltese Parliament

08/10/2025 | President

“Our parliaments are not just places where laws are made — they are where democracy breathes. They give voice to disagreement, ensure transparency, and uphold the bond of trust between citizens and the state,” said PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos, addressing the Maltese Parliament on 6...

Viktoria Roshchyna

Victory for Viktoria: PACE to honour journalists who risk and lose their lives to tell the truth

26/09/2025 | President

PACE will launch an annual “Victory for Viktoria” commemoration to honour war correspondents and journalists who risk, and often lose, their lives defending the right to information and truth in conflict zones. The initiative was proposed by PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos and welcomed by...

PACE President at Ministers of Justice Conference in Malta

PACE President: ‘We can make our cooperation faster and smarter than criminal networks’

20/09/2025 | President

“The struggle against crime and the need for international cooperation are part of the very fabric of political life and of our common European history,” said PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos on 19 September in Valletta (Malta) at a conference of Ministers of Justice on cross-border...

'We must not cover the truth': PACE President marks European Holocaust Memorial Day for Roma and Sinti at...

05/08/2025 | President

Speaking at Birkenau, the PACE President, Theodoros Rousopoulos, underlined the Assembly’s strong commitment to remembrance, calling for truth, no matter how painful. “We must not cover the truth — not in images, not in words, not in history,” he said. “Because a masked past will soon fade out...

‘The serious politician is losing ground to the populist’ warns PACE President, urging a return to the...

31/07/2025 | President

Warning that “the serious politician is losing ground to the populist”, PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos has urged politicians to return to the values of trust in order to retain public support during an address to Speakers of Parliament from around the world. In a speech yesterday to the...

PACE President welcomes a historic ECHR judgment in the case of Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia

09/07/2025 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights

Theodoros Rousopoulos, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), today made the following statement: “On the eve of the eleventh anniversary of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, the European Court of Human Rights delivered a judgment attributing...

PACE President: ‘Andorra’s voice in the Council of Europe has always been strong and clear
©Consell General del Principat d'Andorra

PACE President: ‘Andorra’s voice in the Council of Europe has always been strong and clear’

04/07/2025 | President

“Andorra's voice in the Council of Europe has always been strong and clear,” said PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos, addressing the General Council (the Parliament of Andorra) in plenary session today, during an official visit to the country. In this regard, he recalled that the Andorran...