18/05/2004 | News
"The democratic deficit is a topical issue in both the Western and Eastern parts of united Europe," said Borut Pahor, President of the Slovene Drzavni Zbor, introducing the conference sub-theme 'How democratic is our democracy?' today. "Thanks to a longer tradition, Western Europe has been facing this challenge more smoothly, yet our common European success will depend on people’s confidence in democratic institutions all over Europe. The new democracies, including those still outside the enlarged Union, all have the same task, namely to convince the people – on the basis of work and results – that they may decide their own fate through their will, expressed in democratic institutions," he said.
18/05/2004 | News
"The need for democracy is now accepted Europe-wide, but it must evolve to match far-reaching and rapid change," said Professor Philippe Schmitter, presenting a paper today on 'how democratic is our democracy?' He outlined four of some 30 ideas developed by a Council of Europe working group on the future of democracy: 'pairs' of candidates for each seat, guardians to watch guardians, a 'yellow card' for legislatures, and lottery prizes for voters.
18/05/2004 | News
Rapid development of information technology has created new opportunities for almost all areas of human activity. Modern technologies have also found their place in parliaments. Discussing the topic of 'Modern technology and democratic procedure', Ene Ergma, President of the Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu) distinguished three different stages: the computerization of parliamentary work, the use of modern technology in bringing the parliament closer to the citizens and the interaction between the citizens and the parliament.
18/05/2004 | News
Europe, in the year 2020. Europeans’ daily lives are closely tied up with the Internet and governments have set up a virtual electoral platform on the web. When citizens come to decide how to vote, they use a system called SmartVote. Through online questionnaires, SmartVote calculates how well the candidates’ proposals for action match voters’ own ideas. SmartVote is coupled with MP-Monitor, which profiles candidates on the basis of how they have voted in Parliament, Discussion Forum, which voters can use to exchange views with fellow citizens or candidates, and E voting, which facilitates online voting. Alexander Trechsel from the University of Geneva (Switzerland) notes that all the elements and features of this futuristic platform already exist, although not yet in an integrated system.
17/05/2004 | News
"Further European integration is a stimulating factor for the South Caucasus," the Speakers of the Parliaments of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia said at the end of a meeting organised by Assembly President Peter Schieder on the margins of a Parliamentary Summit bringing together more than 60 Speakers of Parliament from 17 to 19 May in Strasbourg. They stressed that “parliamentarians have an important role to play in developing regional co-operation and creating an atmosphere of confidence in the South Caucasus”.
30/04/2004 | News
The additional protocol on biomedical research increases the effectiveness of the protection of human dignity without imposing unnecessary barriers to the freedom of research, the Assembly said today. Adopting the proposals of the rapporteur (Majléne Westerlund Panke, Sweden, SOC), the Assembly welcomed this further enrichment of the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine and recommended that the Committee of Ministers open it for signature as soon as possible. It urged all states Signatories and Parties to the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine to sign it. The parliamentarians regretted that 28 out of the 45 member states of the Council of Europe have not yet ratified or acceded to the Bioethics Convention and urged them to do so as soon as possible.
29/04/2004 | News
The 2004 Europe Prize has been awarded today to the Belgian town of Oudenaarde. This decision was taken unanimously by the Committee on the Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs. Situated in the Flanders, 50 km west of Brussels, this town of 30,000 inhabitants has developed for many years six very active twinnings, with Coburg (Germany), Castel Madama (Italy), Bergen op Zoom (Netherlands), Arras (France), Hastings (Great-Britain) and Buzau (Romania). Its administration, local associations and schools actively cooperate with the Twinned Town Association established in Oudenaarde to give substance to the process of European integration, particularly in recent years.
29/04/2004 | News
Regardless of the nature of its future status, the full implementation of the ‘Standards for Kosovo’, endorsed by the UN Security Council on 12 December 2003, is the key to achieving stability and drawing Kosovo nearer to Europe, according to the Assembly. Following the proposals made by the rapporteur on the situation in Kosovo (Tony Lloyd, United Kingdom, SOC), the Assembly called on the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo to make the implementation of the ‘Standards for Kosovo’ a priority and to ensure the full participation of the Kosovo political leaders and the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in this process. The Mission should implement the reform of local self-government and public administration drawing extensively on the recommendations made by the Council of Europe (“the Civiletti report”).
29/04/2004 | News
Declaring that “Turkish Cypriots’ international isolation must cease” following their overwhelming support for the Annan Plan, the Parliamentary Assembly today decided to associate more closely elected representatives of the Turkish Cypriot community in the work of the Assembly and its committees, integrated to the Cypriot parliamentary delegation.
28/04/2004 | News
The Assembly today called for “a maximum of political pressure” on the leadership of Belarus until high-ranking state officials, including current Prosecutor General Victor Sheyman, were fully investigated for their role in the disappearances of four men in 1999 and 2000 and any subsequent cover-up. Sanctions should include the possible suspension of Belarus’s participation in Council of Europe agreements and activities as well as contacts on a political level, while co-operation with civil society should be stepped up, the parliamentarians said. They also encouraged those countries whose courts have international jurisdiction to open murder proceedings.
28/04/2004 | News
The Assembly continues to be committed to multilateralism and to a collective response to global threats. It is convinced more than ever that a multilateral system founded on the UN and its Charter is the only way to meet the complexity of today’s challenges. As regards institutional reform, the Assembly followed the rapporteur’s (Tana de Zulueta, Italy, SOC) proposals and called on the introduction of a “double veto” (veto only relevant if used by two permanent members). Parliamentarians wished to see a parliamentary dimension in the work of the General Assembly. With this aim in mind, national delegations could include parliamentarians endowed with the possibility to participate actively in its work. They called on the Committee of Ministers of the “45” to make concrete proposals as regards a permanent presence of the Council of Europe at the UN headquarters.
28/04/2004 | News
Profound transformations are taking place in Europe as a result of EU enlargement and the new design of EU cooperation following the Intergovernmental Conference. All bring with them the promise of expanded cooperation and closer ties among the European nations" said Bernard Bot, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and Chairman-in-office of the Committee of Ministers. " A discussion of the Council of Europe’s role and tasks in the European institutional landscape would justify a Summit. • I believe that the Summit should, as a minimum, lay down the guidelines for the Council of Europe’s future action and provide direction for its interaction with other international organisations", he said.