09/10/2009 | President
The Chair of the Committee of Ministers Samuel Žbogar, the PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland today made the following statement: "We are deeply concerned that Vasily Yusepchuk, a Belarusian citizen may face imminent execution after the Belarus Supreme Court has rejected his appeal against the death penalty. We appeal to President Alyaksandr Lukashenka to grant clemency to Mr Yusepchuk, to declare forthwith a moratorium on the use of the death penalty in Belarus, and to commute the sentences of all prisoners sentenced to death to terms of imprisonment".
08/10/2009 | President
PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig will be making an official visit to Turkey from 10 to 13 October. He is scheduled to hold meetings with the President, Abdullah Gül, the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly, Mehmet Ali Sahin, the Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (to be confirmed), the Minister for European Affairs and chief negotiator with the EU, Egemen Bagis, and the Chair of the Turkish national parliamentary delegation to the PACE, Mevlüt Çavusoglu. Mr de Puig will also hold talks with the leaders of the political parties represented in parliament.
15/09/2009 | President
Addressing today’s meeting of the General Assembly of the European Network of Local and Regional Authorities for the Implementation of the European Landscape Convention (RECEP-ENELC), the President of PACE pointed out that the Assembly has already adopted a recommendation on the conservation and use of the landscape potential of Europe.
14/09/2009 | President
During the course of five informal meetings between the Presidential Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly and the Bureau of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, we have reached an agreement on a proposed package of measures to enhance dialogue and co-operation between the two statutory organs of the Council of Europe.
11/09/2009 | President
“Human rights are present in all spheres of society” said Lluís Maria de Puig, President of the PACE, at a Conference in Paris on the future of human rights and democracy in Europe. At the outset, the Council of Europe’s main aim was to seek universal solutions to specific situations; now it felt that each country should make its own contribution to universal issues such as terrorism, global warming and problems arising in the financial sector. Mr de Puig called for an approach which incorporated human rights into the response to political and economic issues.
02/09/2009 | President
“The agreement between Armenia and Turkey to normalise their relations is excellent news,” said PACE President Lluís-Maria de Puig. “This is something that PACE has long been hoping for, and working towards. The two governments have accepted that, whatever the difficulties of the past, they must look to the future – on behalf of all their peoples. The Assembly, a forum where Armenian and Turkish parliamentarians work together as colleagues, stands ready to help in any way it can to advance this process."
18/08/2009 | President
“I strongly condemn yesterday’s terrorist attack in Nazran, which will bring only further sadness and anger to this troubled part of Europe,” said Lluís Maria de Puig, the President of the PACE. “My thoughts are with those facing grief and distress.”
11/08/2009 | President
PACE President, Lluís Maria de Puig, and various Assembly rapporteurs expressed their grief and shock this morning following the murder in Grozny of Zarema Sadulayeva, head of the NGO "Save the Generation," and of her husband: "We have just been horrified to learn that the bodies of Zarema Sadulayeva, head of the NGO "Save the Generation," and of her husband, have been discovered lifeless in the boot of their car. We wish to pay tribute to the courage and commitment of Mrs Sadulayeva and above all to express our condolences to their family and our solidarity with their friends and colleagues.
07/08/2009 | President
On the eve of the 60th anniversary of PACE's first meeting, that took place on 10th August 1949, its President, Lluís Maria de Puig, gives a very positive account of its achievements, but recalls that the work of the Council of Europe and its Assembly as the “conscience of Europe” is far from over: “I am among those who consider the Organisation’s record after sixty years as very positive. At a time of budgetary austerity we can say that the Council of Europe represents “good value for money” for its Member States. It has successfully conducted a highly ambitious political project, bringing together under the same roof, around the same values, all the countries of a continent with a wide range of histories, cultures, languages and traditions...
17/07/2009 | President
PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig today ended a two-day official visit to Italy, during which he met the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Gianfranco Fini (photo), the Vice-President of the Senate Vannino Chiti, the Minister for Relations with the Regions Raffaele Fitto, and the members of the Italian delegation to PACE. Mr de Puig also had a meeting at the Vatican with the Secretary for Relations with States, Dominique Mamberti.
13/07/2009 | President
PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig today ended an official visit to Italy on 16 and 17 July, during which he met the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Gianfranco Fini (photo), the Vice-President of the Senate Vannino Chiti, the Minister for Relations with the Regions Raffaele Fitto, and the members of the Italian delegation to PACE. Mr de Puig also had a meeting at the Vatican with the Secretary for Relations with States, Dominique Mamberti.
06/07/2009 | President
“The founding mission of the Council of Europe, namely to build peace and create a common area governed by the rule of law, democracy and human rights, is far from complete,” declared PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig, speaking today at the opening of the 4th Summer University for Democracy. “The Council of Europe must project its human rights values beyond Europe’s borders, and a new phase has begun with the creation of a new ‘partner for democracy’ status with PACE, in order to strengthen co-operation with the countries of the southern Mediterranean, Central Asia and the Middle East,” added Mr de Puig.