05/12/2008 | President
In a letter today to the Chairman of the delegation of the Russian Federation to PACE Konstantin Kosachev, and to the Speaker of the State Duma Boris Gryzlov, PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig has expressed his sincere condolences at the death of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and all Russia.
05/12/2008 | President
PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig welcomed the co-operation agreement signed today between the Assembly and the Latin-American Parliament (Parlatino), following similar agreements with the Assembly of the CIS and the Pan-African Parliament. The aims of this agreement are to structure and expand the co-operation between the two bodies and promote the shared values of democracy, the rule of law and defence of human rights.
02/12/2008 | President
“Our two assemblies have a major part to play in the normalisation process between Georgia and Russia,” PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig said today in his speech at the Congress’s plenary session, referring to the recent conflict between the two countries. “We share a common concern to strengthen democracy in Europe. Firstly, we must prevent any violence and ensure that the populations affected by the conflict are able to live in peace and dignity. The Congress through its work at local and regional level, can make a significant contribution to moving things forward. We must on no account break off relations with the populations of Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” the President said.
10/11/2008 | President
PACE President Lluis Maria de Puig has warned of the "danger" that tolerence in society is most severely tested when times are hard economically. Addressing an event at the European Parliament in Brussels to mark the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night in 1938 when Jewish-owned buildings were smashed and burned across Nazi Germany, Mr de Puig pointed out that the Depression of the 1930s had been a contributory factor. Europe still faces challenges of intolerance, he said. "Old demons have often been replaced by new."
07/11/2008 | President
“I strongly condemn this vicious attack on civilians, who were simply going about their daily business at a market,” said Lluís Maria de Puig, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), following the bombing of a minibus in Vladikavkaz yesterday.
06/11/2008 | President
Following the start of dialogue aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig has urged the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to continue down this road. “I wish to congratulate Presidents Aliyev and Sarksyan, and President Medvedev, who facilitated the meeting, on their commitment to finding a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The start of this dialogue, which will be followed by intensified diplomatic efforts and the promotion of a series of confidence-building measures, is a window of hope for the entire region,” said the President.
06/11/2008 | President
“The partnership between Europe and Israel is highly advanced in the economic, transport and energy fields, and we must obviously continue along these lines. However, from the Council of Europe’s point of view, the best way to invest in the future of Israel and the whole region is to invest in the development of democracy, human rights and the rule of law for all those who share the same territory and the same desire to live in peace and prosperity”, said the President of the PACE, Lluís Maria de Puig, at the political conference “European Friends of Israel” held in Paris today.
04/11/2008 | President
Following the start of dialogue aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig has urged the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to continue down this road. “I wish to congratulate Presidents Aliyev and Sarksyan, and President Medvedev, who facilitated the meeting, on their commitment to finding a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The start of this dialogue, which will be followed by intensified diplomatic efforts and the promotion of a series of confidence-building measures, is a window of hope for the entire region,” said the President.
31/10/2008 | President
“I am heartened by the clear political will of the Georgian authorities to fully implement the requirements of the Assembly as expressed in Resolution 1633,” said PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig, at the end of a one-day visit to Tbilisi (30 October). The President was visiting Georgia with PACE’s Presidential Committee in the framework of the implementation by Georgia and Russia of Resolution 1633 on the consequences of the war between the two countries, adopted by the Assembly at its October 2008 session.
27/10/2008 | President
PACE President Lluis Maria de Puig has ended a six-day official visit to Mexico (21 to 26 October 2008) by expressing the hope that the country can further contribute to advocating Council of Europe values in the region. Mexico has held observer status with the Assembly since 1999. The President also expressed his appreciation for Mexico’s leadership among Latin American countries in abolishing the death penalty, explained the Assembly’s ongoing work on ‘feminicides’ and urged Mexico to ratify the Council of Europe Convention against Human Trafficking.
27/10/2008 | President
PACE's Presidential Committee, led by its President, Lluís Maria de Puig, will visit Tbilisi on 30 October 2008. The visit is part of the follow-up to Resolution 1633 on “The consequences of the war between Georgia and Russia”, adopted by the Assembly on 2 October 2008. The Assembly’s Bureau asked the Presidential Committee to visit Tbilisi and Moscow for meetings at the highest level with the authorities concerning the implementation of the resolution.
17/10/2008 | President
PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig will pay an official visit to Mexico from 21 to 26 October 2008, at the invitation of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the parliamentary delegation to the PACE. Mexico enjoys observer status with the Council of Europe since 1999. In Mexico City, the President is due to meet the Speakers of the Mexican Senate, Gustavo Madero Muñoz, and the Chamber of Deputies, César Duarte Jáquez, as well as the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Patricia Espinosa Cantellano (to be confirmed), as well as the members of Mexico’s delegation to PACE.