12/07/2006 | President
PACE President René van der Linden has written to the Speakers of the Russian State Duma and Federation Council to express his great shock and sadness at the tragic air crash in Irkutsk on Sunday. “I would like to convey my personal condolences, as well as those of the Parliamentary Assembly, to your country, your parliament and most of all to the bereaved families,” the President wrote.
10/07/2006 | President
Countries in South-Eastern Europe aspiring to EU membership must continue reform and respect their Council of Europe obligations, but the EU must also keep its promises, PACE President René van der Linden said today in an address to Balkan heads of state in Dubrovnik. "If the EU does not stick to the promises it has made about the Western Balkans’ long-term prospect of membership, Europe and the EU will lose their credibility," said Mr van der Linden. "But your countries also need to respect their obligations – to carry out wide-ranging, profound reforms in order to transform your societies into real democracies."
07/07/2006 | President
In a letter sent to the Speakers of the Spanish Congress of Deputies,Manuel Marin Gonzalez and of the Senate, Javier Rojo Garcia, PACE President René van der Linden said it was with great shock and sadness that he learnt of the tragic underground train crash that happened in Valencia on 3 July. "We are all aware that in these moments there are families and friends who lost their loved ones, and victims marked physically and psychologically for life - a tragedy for all. It will be difficult for them to forget this 3rd of July, but I am convinced that at moments like this the gesture of solidarity shown by members of parliament will be very much appreciated by all of them. I would like to convey my personal condolences, as well as those of the Parliamentary Assembly, to your country, your parliament and most of all to the bereaved families.
07/07/2006 | President
René van der Linden has urged Bosnia and Herzegovina’s parliamentarians to restart discussions immediately, after the October general elections, on constitutional reform which would progressively replace the mechanisms of "ethnic representation" with "representation based on the civic principle". Such a change of system, while difficult, was "imperative", he said. "The Dayton Peace Agreement was a cease-fire that stopped the war, but it is not enough to address the general recognised need to strengthen state institutions that are currently too weak to allow BiH further integration into Europe".
03/07/2006 | President
“It goes without saying that parliamentarians are best placed to take care of the political aspect of the observation, thus complementing ODIHR effort that mostly focuses on more technical areas. It is with this aim in view that we shall organise in Strasbourg, 15-16 February 2007, a major international conference, with a really global outreach, on the Parliamentary Dimension of Election Observation”, René van der Linden said at the July session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
30/06/2006 | President
In a statement on the eve of the departure of the Tour de France from the city of Strasbourg, where the Council of Europe is based, PACE President René van der Linden called for the sport of cycling to scrupulously respect the ethical principles and educational values enshrined in the Organisation's 'Sport for All' Charter. "By bringing sportsmen and women and spectators of different nationalities together, the Tour de France helps create a climate of mutual understanding which reaches far beyond the roads down which the cyclists will travel," the President said.
30/06/2006 | President
“The international community must declare racism offside,” said PACE President René van der Linden during anti-racism events held as part of the football World Cup in Berlin on Friday 30 June. The PACE President welcomed the measures adopted by the German government and FIFA, together with the United Nations, to ensure that the World Cup sent a clear anti-racism message. “I am delighted that the international community has teamed up against all forms of discrimination, by promoting the values of solidarity, respect and integration which lie at the heart of this sport and our democratic societies”, he said.
29/06/2006 | President
PACE President René van der Linden has welcomed today’s decision of the US Supreme Court that the ‘military tribunals’ set up by the Bush Administration to try Guantanamo detainees are illegal. "I am pleased that the Court has come to exactly the same conclusion as our Assembly, which pointed this out nearly three years ago," he said. "Anyone detained in Guantanamo, or anywhere else, who is alleged to have committed a crime should be tried without delay – but it must be a fair trial, with all the rights and safeguards of international law, long enshrined in the US justice system of which Americans are rightly proud. Anything less is unjust and undermines the fight against terrorism."
26/06/2006 | President
PACE President René van der Linden today warmly welcomed President Arroyo’s signing of a law abolishing the death penalty in the Philippines. "The 46 nations of the Council of Europe have been a de facto death-penalty-free zone since 1997, and we are happy that an ever-growing circle of civilised nations feel the same way on this fundamental human rights issue,” he said. PACE is due to debate a report on Council of Europe member and observer states – including the US and Japan – which have not abolished the death penalty at its forthcoming session.
26/06/2006 | President
"We have entered a decisive phase of negotiations with the European Union on our future relations", said the President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, René van der Linden. He stressed the need for agreement on the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency, whose competence should be limited, for examination on the merits, to the application of European Community law and, in geographical terms, to the EU member states, to avoid duplication and wasting European tax-payers' money. He also called for recognition of the Council of Europe's role as the lead organisation for questions of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe, and for strong emphasis on the parliamentary dimension in keeping with the wishes of Europe's citizens, who wished to see European organisations become more democratic.
12/06/2006 | President
"The Guantanamo suicides show once again the terrible damage that is done by unlawful detention in this centre, which exists to side-step normal American justice," PACE President René van der Linden said today. "The circumstances surrounding these sad deaths must be fully investigated, but no investigation can put right the most serious injustice these men have suffered: if they had committed a crime, they should have been charged and tried. Otherwise, as the Assembly urgently demanded more than a year ago, they should have been released." The centre should now be closed for good, he said.
02/06/2006 | President
"I welcome the intention of the forthcoming Finnish Presidency of the European Union to make improving EU-Russia relations a priority," said PACE President René van der Linden following meetings with Finnish President Tarja Halonen and Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja in Helsinki. "The European Union has missed opportunities in its relations with Russia in recent years, but the coincidence of Finland’s Presidency of the EU with Russia’s Chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers is an excellent opportunity to begin putting this right," said Mr van der Linden, who also met President Putin in Moscow on Monday.