01/10/2008 | Session
Addressing the Assembly, Nyamko Sabuni, Swedish Minister for Integration and Gender Equality, said that the active involvement of young people is crucially important in the struggle for human rights, democracy and unity of the continent. She also called on member states to provide financial support to youth organisations as a way of promoting the Organisation’s youth policies.
01/10/2008 | Session
New rules for financial markets must be formulated with a view to openness, transparency and much improved risk-management in financial institutions, according to rapporteur Anna Lilliehöök (Sweden, EPP/CD), presenting her report on “the OECD and the world economy” to the Assembly today. “To successfully work out better rules, we must work together internationally and in a systematic manner: inadequate rules, or rules applying to only one part of the market, risk doing more harm than good,” she said.
01/10/2008 | Session
The PACE today decided to confirm the ratification of the credentials of the Russian delegation, while reminding that it can be seized again of the matter “at any moment”. The parliamentarians considered that the recent war between Russia and Georgia constitutes in itself “a serious violation of the Statute of the Council of Europe” and of their obligations and commitments as member states. However, following the proposals by the rapporteur Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC), parliamentarians said it is essential to ensure that dialogue and mutual building of trust can be pursued between the two sides, but also between each of them and our Assembly.
01/10/2008 | Session
PACE called on the Committee of Ministers today to refresh the Council of Europe's youth agenda, which came into being after the events of May 68, and to involve young people fully in the Organisation's activities, particularly in the field of intercultural dialogue and education for democratic citizenship and human rights. At the same time, PACE issued a challenge to young people and youth organisations, calling on them to take advantage of the possibilities that exist for interaction with the Council of Europe, in particular with the Assembly.
01/10/2008 | Session
In his address to the Parliamentary Assembly on 1st October Mehmet Ali Talat, leader of the Turkish Cypriot Community, said: “The Parliamentary Assembly is the first international parliament to accept the elected representatives of the Turkish Cypriot people under its roof. Taking into consideration our YES vote for the United Nations Comprehensive Settlement Plan, which was aimed at solving the Cyprus problem, you have, since the year 2005, provided us with a window to breathe through in our long-lived political isolation. Turkish Cypriot parliamentarians have been able to step into the international arena, thanks to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.”
01/10/2008 | Session
The current situation offers the best opportunity in many years to reach a settlement that would restore peace and unity to Cyprus, says PACE. Following a debate on the situation on the island, parliamentarians called on “all the internal and external actors involved” to do their utmost to maximise the chances of the process succeeding. “President Christofias and Mr Talat,” said PACE, “are conscious that they cannot afford to fail.” The Assembly urged Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom, as the three guarantor states of the 1960 Constitution of Cyprus, to “fully and actively” use their influence to support the political process under way.
30/09/2008 | Session
PACE meeting this week in plenary session in Strasbourg, today re-elected Dean Spielmann as judge to the European Court of Human Rights with respect to Luxembourg.
30/09/2008 | Session
When electing judges to the European Court of Human Rights, the Assembly will in future be able to consider single-sex lists (where the candidates belong to the over-represented sex) in exceptional cases, where "all the necessary and appropriate steps" have been taken to include the under-represented sex. PACE elects judges on the basis of lists of three candidates submitted by each of the States that have ratified the European Convention on Human Rights. Since 2004, in order to encourage a gender balance in the Court, PACE has refused to consider single-sex lists of candidates "if that sex is over-represented in the Court".
30/09/2008 | Session
In his address to the Parliamentary Assembly on 30 September, Haris Silajdzic, Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said: “ Without a comprehensive reform of the Dayton Constitution, little progress will be made, threatening peace and stability in my country and the entire region.” Expressing hope for the continued help of the Venice Commission and other Council of Europe institutions, he emphasised that “helping to build a modern constitutional state that is true to its multiethnic character will make both Bosnia and Europe a better place.”
30/09/2008 | Session
In a resolution adopted today, PACE called upon the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to step up their efforts with regard to constitutional reforms, which should be implemented on the basis of a shared vision of the development of the country’s institutions, while respecting the autonomy of the two Entities and the Brcko district. “Without proper reforms, and in the absence of co-operation between the various structures and institutions at the level of the state and the Entities, Bosnia and Herzegovina will not be able to make full use of the benefits of European integration,” said the co-rapporteurs from the Monitoring Committee, Mevlüt Çavusoglu (Turkey, EDG) and Kimmo Sasi (Finland, EPP/CD).
30/09/2008 | Session
“We envisioned a Cyprus where any conflict between the communities will, in the context of a united economy, be replaced by healthy competitiveness and an alignment of interests between the various classes of the population, irrespective of which community they come from,” the President declared on 30 September in his speech to the Parliamentary Assembly. President Christofias stressed the “common vision” he shares with Mehmet Ali Talat – the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community who will also address the Assembly on 1 October ahead of a debate on the situation in Cyprus. He added: “I believe that we can and must succeed.”
29/09/2008 | Session
Speaking at the Assembly session, Jorge Pizarro, President of the Latin American Parliament, pointed out on 29 September, that inequity, exclusion and poverty in the world cannot be justified by the scarceness of resources or population growth. He expressed his concern that poverty is growing, and said Latin American countries, in addition to developed countries, have an important role to combat it.