04/06/2012 | Political Affairs and Democracy
“By denying the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica, the newly elected President of Serbia, Tomislav Nikolić, has cast a shadow on the presidency,” said Pietro Marcenaro (Italy, SOC), Chair of PACE Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy and former Rapporteur on reconciliation and political dialogue between the countries of the former Yugoslavia...
09/05/2012 | Political Affairs and Democracy
“The so-called ‘elections’ in Syria, organised by the Assad regime against the backdrop of continuing violence and numerous violations of Kofi Annan’s peace plan, merely add yet another obstacle to the search for a peaceful political outcome to a conflict that has already led to more than 11,000 deaths, hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and tens of thousands of refugees,” said today Pietro Marcenaro (Italy, SOC), PACE Rapporteur on the situation in Syria.
23/04/2012 | Political Affairs and Democracy
"The Parliament of Morocco was the first to seek and to be granted Partner for Democracy status. It therefore played a pioneering role in this field and paved the way for others. The Parliament must continue to assume this difficult but honourable role, ensuring that the political commitments and the reforms covered by Resolution 1818 (2011) are implemented in an exemplary way", Luca Volontè said at the end of his visit.
13/04/2012 | Political Affairs and Democracy
Luca Volontè (Italy, EPP/CD), rapporteur of the PACE Political Affairs Committee on the “Evaluation of the Partnership for Democracy in respect of the Parliament of Morocco”, will make a fact-finding visit to Rabat on 17 and 18 April. On 21 June 2011, the Parliament of Morocco was the first to benefit from Partner for Democracy status with PACE, established in 2010 to strengthen institutional co-operation with the parliaments of non-member states in neighbouring regions.
15/03/2012 | Political Affairs and Democracy
PACE’s Political Affairs Committee has repeated its call to the Iraqi authorities to stop turning Camp Liberty – a site near Baghdad where around 800 members of an Iranian opposition group are now living – into a prison. In a statement adopted yesterday, the committee called for armed units and surveillance to be removed from the camp, as well as free movement for its residents and improved conditions, including access to medical services, lawyers and UN monitors.
24/02/2012 | Political Affairs and Democracy
Björn von Sydow (Sweden, SOC), PACE Rapporteur on the situation in Kosovo,* has welcomed the agreement reached today in the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina on two key issues, namely Kosovo’s representation in regional forums and technical details of how Serbia and Kosovo will manage their joint borders. “I congratulate the Serbian and Kosovo negotiators, whom I met during my recent visits to Belgrade and Pristina, for their goodwill and responsible leadership, which demonstrate their willingness to move forward and to be part of the European family,” Mr von Sydow said.
25/01/2012 | Political Affairs and Democracy
Strasbourg, 25.01.2012 - Representatives of the the Parliamentary Assembly of the 47-nation Council of Europe (PACE) and the European Parliament have urged national governments – notably the UK and France – not to stand in the way of the EU signing up to the European Convention on Human Rights...
20/01/2012 | Political Affairs and Democracy
“The whole region is facing decisions which call for considerable responsibility and risks which can be tackled only by courageous leadership. Pro-European leaders should demonstrate that they are prepared to take on responsibility”, PACE rapporteur on the situation in Kosovo*, Björn von Sydow (Sweden, SOC), said today at the end of a two day visit to Belgrade.
17/01/2012 | Political Affairs and Democracy
Björn von Sydow (Sweden, SOC), Chairperson of the Political Affairs Committee of the PACE will pay a fact-finding visit to Belgrade on 19-20 January, in the framework of the preparation of his report on the situation in Kosovo. During his visit, he is due to meet the Speaker of the Parliament Slavica Djukić Dejanović, Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković, First Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivica Dačić, and Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić, as well as the Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Goran Bogdanović.
15/12/2011 | Political Affairs and Democracy
The authorities in Belarus are “deliberately turning their back on Europe and the values it upholds”, PACE Political Affairs Committee said today, giving its full backing to the EU’s targeted sanctions of the country. Approving a draft resolution and a draft recommendation, based on a report by Andres Herkel (Estonia, EPP/CD), the committee expressed its “deep concern” at the deteriorating situation of human rights and civil and political liberties in the country.
14/12/2011 | Political Affairs and Democracy
In a draft Resolution adopted unanimously at a meeting in Paris today, PACE Political Affairs Committee stresses that the Council of Europe standard-setting, advisory and monitoring role should be appropriately reflected in the political documents of the Eastern Partnership of the EU (EaP) and the findings of its monitoring mechanisms fully taken into account.
30/11/2011 | Political Affairs and Democracy
PACE rapporteurs on Belarus, Andres Herkel (Estonia, EPP/CD), and on the death penalty, Renate Wohlwend (Liechtenstein, EPP/CD) have expressed their dismay at the death sentence handed down today on Dmitry Konovalov and Vladislav Kovalev by the Belarusian Supreme Court, which found them guilty of the fatal bombing in the Minsk Metro on 11 April 2011.