23/01/2012 | Session
Jean-Claude Mignon (EPP/CD) from France has just been elected PACE President. Taking over from Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (Turkey, EDG), he is the 26th President of the Assembly since 1949 and the first French person to hold this office in 23 years. “First and foremost, I want to make sure in my new position that the rule of law, respect for human rights and the promotion of democracy are not just empty words, and that we are moving forward in these areas, including beyond our borders, in particular by engaging with Europe’s neighbours who are moving down the path to democracy,” he said today.
23/01/2012 | Session
When adopting its final agenda at the opening of the Winter Session 2012, PACE decided to hold a current affairs debate on "The Russian Federation between elections," on Thursday 26. However, it decided not to follow the proposal of the Danish delegation to the PACE to hold a current affairs debate on "The situation of democracy in Hungary". Speeches by British Prime Minister David Cameron and Finnish President Tarja Halonen will be among the highlights of the session.
23/01/2012 | Session
The credentials of the Ukrainian delegation to the Assembly were challenged on procedural grounds on the opening day of the session in Strasbourg. Making the challenge on behalf of the EPP/CD group, Egidijus Vareikis (Lithuania) considered that three members of the Ukrainian delegation should not be seen as members of the opposition and therefore the political balance of the delegation was not respected.
23/01/2012 | Session
At the opening of its winter plenary session today, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) elected its Vice-Presidents. The seat for the Vice-President in respect of Spain remains vacant...
23/01/2012 | Session
“At the end you can always say that we have done not enough, but I can assure you that I did my best during my Presidency to strengthen the Parliamentary Assembly and its institutional role”, Mevlut Cavusoglu today at his last press conference in his capacity of President of the Assembly. Referring to the vote of the French Parliament Lower Chamber on the bill criminalizing the denial of the so-called ‘Armenian genocide’, Mr Cavusoglu said that in fact “France is criminalizing freedom of speech”, which goes against the Council of Europe values.
20/01/2012 | Session
The Danish delegation to the PACE today requested that a current affairs debate on “The state of democracy in Hungary” be held during the next part session (23-27 January 2012). This proposal, which will be submitted to the Bureau of the Assembly at its meeting on Monday 23 January at 8 am, will not be approved until the Assembly has adopted its final agenda at the opening of the session.
12/01/2012 | Session
Speeches by British Prime Minister David Cameron and Finnish President Tarja Halonen will be among the highlights of the PACE winter session to be held in Strasbourg from 23 to 27 January 2012. Statements will also be made during the session by British Minister for Europe David Lidington, representing the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers; Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze; United Nations Under-Secretary-General Michelle Bachelet; and UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova.
22/12/2011 | Session
Addresses by British Prime Minister David Cameron, Finnish President Tarja Halonen and Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze will be among highlights of PACE’s winter session (23-27 January 2012). There has also been a request for an urgent debate on “The Russian Federation between two elections”.
07/10/2011 | Session
At the last session, as part of a Council-wide reform process, the Assembly approved in principle a series of measures to enable it to become more politically relevant, more effective and more visible, as well as improving its members’ involvement. Adopting the proposals presented by Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC) and Egidijius Vareikis (Lithuania, EPP/CD), the Assembly amended several provisions of its Rules of Procedure and terms of reference of its committees in order to implement the decisions taken in June 2011.
07/10/2011 | Session
Concerned about the wide discrepancy across Europe in how undocumented migrant children are treated, the PACE today recommended that member states put in place a firm legislative basis and implement their laws in practice, so as to guarantee undocumented children’s right to education, health care and housing.
07/10/2011 | Session
PACE has called for the Council of Europe to lead the way in establishing global standards for data protection. Adopting a resolution on the protection of privacy and personal data on the Internet, based on a report by Andreja Rihter (Slovenia, SOC), the Assembly said the Council’s Convention on Automatic Processing of Personal Data was the most advanced set of standards in the world at present.
06/10/2011 | Session
“The hour of the Palestinian spring is here,” declared the President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas, addressing the Assembly today. Mr Abbas said that in the light of the stalemate in negotiations, the “only alternative” for Palestinians was to turn to the international community to open new horizons for the peace process, through UN recognition of the state of Palestine on the basis of the 1967 borders.