18/02/2010 | President
Mevlüt Çavusoglu, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), today warmly welcomed Russia’s ratification of Protocol No. 14 to the European Convention on Human Rights. “This ratification will further enhance the protection of the fundamental rights of all individuals within the jurisdiction of the 47 Council of Europe member states,” he said.
18/02/2010 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu and the leaders of the five political groups together with the monitoring co-rapporteurs for Albania will visit Tirana on 22 and 23 February. They will meet the President of the Republic, the Speaker of the Parliament, the Prime Minister, leaders of political parties and representatives of the international community. Their visit is a response to the request made by the Assembly to “support the process of resolving the current political situation and assist President Topi in his role of mediator and his efforts to restore political dialogue”.
15/02/2010 | President
In a letter to Viktor Yanukovych, PACE President, Mevlüt Çavusoglu, congratulated him on his election and invited him to address PACE in the near future, preferably during its April session in Strasbourg (26-30 April). In his letter, the President stressed that PACE members would particularly appreciate hearing his views on the situation in his country and his policies for the future at this important moment for Ukraine. He recalled that the Parliamentary Assembly was a forum for dialogue and co-operation which gave an opportunity to exchange views with parliamentarians from 47 European countries.
11/02/2010 | President
Shortly after his election as PACE President, Mevlüt Çavusoglu met the President of Turkey, Abdullah Gül, the President of the Turkish Parliament, Mehmet Ali Sahin, and the Turkish Minister for EU Affairs, Egemen Bagis. M. Çavusoglu thanked them for their support and welcomed major reforms implemented in Turkey. "I am convinced that these reforms will continue successfully. The Assembly will assist Ankara in achieving the necessary reforms," said PACE President, who, at the same time, has asked Turkey to support the process of reforms undertaken in the Council of Europe.
11/02/2010 | President
Immediately after his election as President of PACE, Mevlüt Çavusoglu visited Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs in Ankara. He thanked him for his support and kind visit to Strasbourg on 29 January. The President said that their talks had concentrated on the important reforms which have been made by Turkey. He added that he firmly believed that the reforms will continue successfully and that PACE will do its utmost to assist Turkey in this process. “As far as the the Council of Europe's reform process is concerned, I have asked for Turkey's support,” he concluded.
11/02/2010 | President
During their official visit to Turkey, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, David Bakradze and his parliamentary delegation met with PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu in Ankara on 9 February. Mutual goodwill and the intention to co-operate were at the heart of their discussions, the PACE President said. Mr Çavusoglu also announced that he was very pleased to accept the official invitation by the Georgian Speaker to visit Georgia.
04/02/2010 | President
Mevlüt Çavusoglu, PACE President today welcomed the creation, by the Belarus parliament, of a working group “on the issue of death penalty as an instrument of punishment” composed by members of both chambers. He encouraged the working group to examine experience of Council of Europe member states in this field as it showed that there were no valid reasons to maintain the death penalty. “This is a positive step in the right direction. PACE stands ready to assist the Belarus parliament in this process,” he said.
29/01/2010 | President
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu today met the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Mevlüt Çavusoglu at the end of the Assembly’s plenary session in Strasbourg. He congratulated the President on his election. Mr Çavusoglu is the 25th President of PACE, and the first Turk to hold this position.
27/01/2010 | President
On the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Mevlüt Çavusoglu (Turkey, EDG), PACE President, stressed that remembering was the best way to prevent a repeat of the tragedy of the Holocaust. “Under Resolution 60/7 of 2005, the United Nations General Assembly declared 27 January as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Exactly 65 years ago, on 27 January 1945, the Soviet military liberated some 7,000 prisoners remaining in the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland.
19/01/2010 | President
Lluís Maria de Puig, visiting the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) yesterday, carried out his last official act as President of the Parliamentary Assembly. He chose this prestigious university to receive a collection of more than 100 Council of Europe publications relating to the organisation's activities in the fields of education, communication and culture. The President of PACE emphasised the “often discreet, but always irreplaceable” role of “the 47” in protecting and promoting culture in Europe. “Although our fellow citizens all too often focus on Brussels, another Europe exists which would feel bereft without our organisation's work on culture; this is a continent which wants education, in the context of European construction, to have its rightful place at the very heart of society.”
15/01/2010 | President
Statement by Micheline Calmy-Rey, Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers and Lluís Maria de Puig, President of the Parliamentary Assembly Strasbourg, 15.01.2010 - “We welcome the approval, for ratification, of Protocol No. 14 to the European Convention on Human Rights by the Russian State...
15/01/2010 | President
PACE President, Lluís Maria de Puig, has called on Council of Europe member states to shoulder their humanitarian responsibilities following the Haiti devastation. “At this moment in time our thoughts lie with the victims, and the families and friends of the victims. The uncertainty and lack of communications just add to the suffering of all those involved. My condolences go to the people of Haiti, as well as to our colleagues in the United Nations and others who are caught up in the earthquake and who may have died, gone missing, been injured or are suffering,” the President added.