25/06/2010 | Session
PACE has called for a ban on all acoustic devices which discriminate against young people, such as the Mosquito “youth dispersal” device which emits a powerful sound signal audible to almost everybody under 20, but few over 25, in order to prevent young people from loitering. In a recommendation unanimously adopted today, based on a report by Piotr Wach (Poland, EPP/CD), the Assembly – which brings together parliamentarians from the 47 member states of the Council of Europe – said the “highly offensive” device discriminates against young people, treating them as if they are “unwanted birds or pests”.
25/06/2010 | Session
Many elderly women are poor because they have no pension or their pension is insufficient, PACE warned today. Also, traditional pension systems favour the linear career paths of men and are disconnected from the realities of present-day society. Following the proposals by Anna Curdová (Czech Republic, SOC), the Assembly called for “fair and equitable pensions offering every man and woman a reasonable standard of living”. The adopted text urges European states to guarantee a personal pension entitlement and to revise their pension laws in order not only to prohibit discrimination between women and men but also to provide for “positive discrimination in favour of women”.
25/06/2010 | Session
Following the new rules governing the duration of the mandate of its co-rapporteurs, now limited to five years, the Monitoring Committee appointed yesterday as co-rapporteurs:
24/06/2010 | Session
Ahead of the parliamentary elections in November 2010, PACE today called on the Azerbaijani authorities “to ensure the necessary conditions for the full compliance of the forthcoming elections with the European standards”. In line with the conclusions of the monitoring co-rapporteurs, Andres Herkel (Estonia, EPP/CD) and Joseph Debono Grech (Malta, SOC), it encouraged the authorities to co-operate with the Venice Commission in order to continue with the revision of the electoral code and to “generate conditions for a fair electoral campaign” by fully implementing the law on the freedom of assembly and by ensuring the freedom of the media.
24/06/2010 | Session
Strasbourg, 24.06.2010 – At the end of a debate on the handling of the H1N1 pandemic, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) today endorsed the conclusions of its Health Committee, which were published on 4 June last. According to the Assembly, the handling of the pandemic by the...
24/06/2010 | Session
Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly on 24 June, President Gjorge Ivanov recalled the priorities of his country’s current Chairmanship of the Organisation’s decision making body, the Committee of Ministers: strengthening human rights protection, fostering integration while respecting diversity, promoting youth participation.
24/06/2010 | Session
PACE today called on Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza “without prejudice to its own security”. In a resolution adopted by a large majority following an urgent debate, the Assembly welcomed the announcement of a partial easing of the blockade as a “first step”, but said there should be access by land and sea to allow in the goods necessary for “normal living conditions” and to permit economic development. Presenting the report to the Assembly, Piero Fassino (Italy, SOC) said lifting the blockade was “essential” to defuse tension and pave the way to a resumption of dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians.
24/06/2010 | Session
The Assembly has warned that the influence of some “extra-institutional actors” on the democratic process – for example, those involved in criminal activity – is a matter for concern, and called for greater transparency. Debating a report by Hendrik Daems (Belgium, ALDE), the parliamentarians said that influence which stems from special interests which are opaque was particularly worrying, and pledged to look into the question more deeply.
23/06/2010 | Session
The Assembly today proposed a set of measures aimed at enhancing people's participation in the conduct of public affairs. They include the elaboration of an Additional Protocol to the ECHR guaranteeing the right to participate in the conduct of public affairs as a human right and a fundamental political freedom. The adopted text, based on the report by Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC), also proposes to set up a Strasbourg Democracy Forum as an umbrella structure providing an international reference in the field of democracy and a laboratory for new ideas.
23/06/2010 | Session
Debating today the state of democracy in Europe and the progress of the Assembly`s monitoring procedure, the Assembly said some of the member countries assessed were still in need of electoral reform in spite of a general improvement noted in election laws. Parliamentarians discussed how well democratic institutions are working in Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Monaco, Moldova, Montenegro, and Serbia while Bulgaria was involved in post-monitoring dialogue.
23/06/2010 | Session
In a resolution adopted today on the basis of the report by Emanuelis Zingeris (Lithuania, EPP/CD), the Assembly recommended that its member states “adopt a less national policy and a more European coordinated … reaction to face the global economic crisis”. Governments should also “pay more attention to the fight against corruption inside state institutions”. Furthermore, the PACE calls upon national parliaments to “monitor closely the reform process of economic and financial governance”.
23/06/2010 | Session
Addressing the Assembly on 23 June, the French sociologist Alain Touraine highlighted the relevance of democracy in view of the current financial crisis in Europe. He stressed the importance of strengthening general participation in the political process, and called on the Assembly's role to avoid any democratic deficit. "Media need to be reliable: freedom is essential and monopoly is dangerous for the state of democracy in Europe," he added.