08/03/2024 | Secretary General of the Assembly
Despina Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis, Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, participated today, on the occasion of International Women's Rights Day, in a round table organised by the General Council (Parliament) of Andorra. Speaking to members of the General...
07/12/2023 | Secretary General of the Assembly
Opening an international conference in Cologne today on “Money and democracy – an uneasy relationship”, PACE Secretary General Despina Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis emphasised that the undue and untransparent influence exerted by money on the democratic functioning of state institutions had “harmful...
16/11/2023 | Secretary General of the Assembly
“We need to rethink and innovate democracy” so that it is equipped to tackle the problems of today and, at the same time, is ready to face the challenges of tomorrow. “We can only achieve this if young people are heard and involved, on an equal footing and in a balanced way, in the political...
14/06/2023 | Secretary General of the Assembly
“Human rights and good administration are not privileges, but necessities, PACE Secretary General Despina Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis underlined, addressing the Conference “The Ararteko Act. Proposals for the Future: Rethinking Ombuds-institutions” on 13 June at the Basque Parliament in Vitoria...
06/12/2022 | Political Affairs and Democracy
The PACE Sub-Committee on External Relations met in New York on 28-30 November 2022 on the occasion of the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, with Antonio Gutiérrez Limones (Spain, SOC) in the Chair and with the participation of PACE Secretary General Despina Chatzivassiliou...
20/10/2022 | Secretary General of the Assembly
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) held a meeting of Secretaries General of parliament on Thursday 20 October, in the chamber of the Palais de l’Europe in Strasbourg. After welcome addresses by PACE President Tiny Kox and the PACE Secretary General Despina Chatzivassiliou...
20/10/2022 | Secretary General of the Assembly
“Thanks to your efforts and creativity, you have enabled your respective parliaments to continue to function in times of Covid and to maintain dialogue with our Parliamentary Assembly and the continuity of your work,” said PACE President Tiny Kox, opening a meeting of Secretaries General of...
24/09/2022 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
On 24 September, the city of İzmir (Türkiye) held a ceremony to celebrate the official award of the Europe Prize 2022, in the agora of the ancient city of Smyrna and in the presence of a large public and local, regional and national representatives. On this occasion, Selin Sayek Böke, Chairperson...
20/09/2022 | Election observation
A parliamentary conference on the theme “Holding elections in a time of crisis: challenges and opportunities” is to be held on 9 and 10 May 2023 in Bern, Switzerland, organised jointly by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the Swiss Parliament in the context of the...
17/03/2022 | Women@PACE
“We stand in solidarity with you,” the women MPs of the newly-created Women@PACE group declared, welcoming their Ukrainian counterparts at a first ever meeting of the group in Strasbourg on 15 March 2022. They paid tribute to the outstanding courage and strength of women in Ukraine, and more...
08/03/2022 | Secretary General of the Assembly
One year into her term of office, the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), Despina Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis, is proposing to offer the 245 or so women MPs represented in the Assembly the opportunity to raise their voices in an informal “Women@PACE” group. "Women play a major...
01/03/2021 | Secretary General of the Assembly
Despina Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis begins today her mandate as Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly. The first woman to occupy this post since the Assembly's creation in 1949, she was elected by parliamentarians on 26 January for a 5-year term of office at the last PACE session held in...