02/05/2005 | President
The future of Europe and new strategies for addressing the serious problems threatening the continent are the main themes of the political talks that the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Dutchman René van der Linden, is to have during his official visit to Italy's institutions and government on Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 May. Van der Linden, accompanied by Claudio Azzolini, leader of the Italian parliamentary delegation to the Council of Europe, will meet the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Pier Ferdinando Casini, the Foreign Minister, Gianfranco Fini, the Minister for the Cultural Heritage, Rocco Bottiglione, the Deputy Speaker of the Senate, Lamberto Dini, the Chair of the Senate Committee on EU Policy, Mario Greco, the Chair of the Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee, Fiorello Provera, and the Chancellor of the Gregorian University, Father Ghirlanda.
21/04/2005 | President
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU Commissioner responsible for External Relations and the European Neighbourhood Policy, meeting PACE President René van der Linden yesterday in Brussels, stressed that,the EU should make use of the Council of Europe’s experience and mechanisms. With a view to the Council of Europe Summit of Heads of State and Government, she said that this applied in particular to the EU’s neighbourhood policy. Moreover, preparatory work for the EU’s accession to the European Convention on Human Rights could already start. Talks with European Parliament President Josep Borrell focused on closer co-operation between PACE and the EP, as well as their respective committees, on topics of common interest. Particular reference was made to inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue and violence against women, including domestic violence. They agreed that there was no need to re-invent mechanisms which have proven their efficiency, such as the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture.
19/04/2005 | President
“I would like to congratulate Pope Benedict XVI most warmly on his election. I trust he will follow the example of John Paul II in his pilgrimage for peace. I am confident that the new pontiff will be a firm ally of the Council of Europe in promoting the core values of our Organisation: human rights, democracy and the rule of law. I further hope that the new Pontiff will continue to build bridges to other religions,” Parliamentary Asssembly President René van der Linden said today.
15/04/2005 | President
In his statement in St Petersburg today at the Conference dedicated to the 60th Anniversary of the Victory of the anti-Hitler coalition in World War-II, PACE President René van der Linden called on those CIS States outside the Council of Europe to subscribe fully to the ideals and principles the 46-member organisation cherishes. "The right to life is the ultimate human right and people must live in dignity. No human can take another human’s life. The tragedy of St Petersburg, Rotterdam, London, Leipzig, Lidice, Khatyn and of countless other cities and towns, large and small, should never again be relived," he concluded.
06/04/2005 | President
PACE President René van der Linden today expressed profound emotion at the death of Prince Rainier of Monaco, "a long-standing friend of the Council of Europe". René van der Linden recalled that Monaco consolidated its independence and prospered over the centuries largely thanks to the political acumen shown by the Grimaldi family. According to the PACE President, "the political vision and the resolve of Prince Rainier did much to achieve Monaco’s membership of the Council of Europe in October 2004". "I convey by deep sympathies and sincere friendship to the members of the Grimaldi family," he concluded.
06/04/2005 | President
Senior representatives of the 46-nation Council of Europe attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II, in Rome, on Friday 8 April. Chairman-in-Office of the Organisation’s Committee of Ministers and Foreign Minister of Poland Adam Daniel Rotfeld, PACE President René van der Linden, Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis, and President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe Giovanni Di Stasi, were among the mourners in St Peter’s Square.
05/04/2005 | President
“Asia made history today”, announced Philippine Congress Speaker Jose de Venecia following the proposal made by the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace (AAPP) Senior Advisory Council in Manila, to create, within the next five years, an Asian Parliamentary Assembly on the model of the PACE. Addressing the AAPP Senior Advisory Council, PACE President René van der Linden stressed that an Asian Parliamentary Assembly would serve at least two important purposes. “If Asia decides to strengthen its co-operation in the fields of democracy, human rights and rule of law, as essential building blocks for political integration, an Asian Parliamentary Assembly could indeed be an important catalyst. It would provide an additional guarantee that future mechanisms will be open, transparent and close to their citizens", he said.
31/03/2005 | President
PACE President René van der Linden today attended the rally held in Paris (Parvis des Droits de l’Homme) by French parliamentarians in support of journalist Florence Aubenas and her guide Hussein Hanoun al Saadi, held hostage in Iraq since 5 January. René van der Linden expressed his solidarity with the hostages’ families and the French authorities and parliamentarians, and said press freedom and freedom of expression lay at the core of the Council of Europe’s mission. He called for the hostages’ speedy release and voiced his anxiety about the three Romanian journalists missing in Iraq. He was taking part in a meeting with the French Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee and met Christian Poncelet, President of the Senate, Jean-Louis Debré, President of the National Assembly, and Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, Minister for Cultural Affairs, as well as Serge July, editor in chief of the newspaper “Libération”, and Robert Ménard, head of “Reporters Without Borders”.
24/03/2005 | President
Speaking ahead of a possible vote in the United Nations Security Council on the Darfur crisis, PACE President René van der Linden today called on all Security Council members – including the United States, which holds observer status with the Council of Europe – to allow the ICC to help protect the people of Darfur. “The Assembly believes that an immediate and credible threat of accountability is essential to help prevent further violations. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is best placed to provide such deterrence," he said.
11/03/2005 | President
"I am extremely concerned to learn of the serious deterioration in the health of the Belarusian opposition leader and political prisoner Mikhail Marynich," said PACE President René van der Linden in an urgent appeal today. "I call on the authorities to transfer him immediately to a civilian hospital, with facilities for providing all necessary medical care, to allow immediate and unconditional access to him by his family, legal representatives and members of the diplomatic community, and to conduct a full, open and independent enquiry into the circumstances surrounding the sudden deterioration in his health."
10/03/2005 | President
"A clear and unambiguous message: the European Union should make full use of the experience, institutions and instruments of the Council of Europe", PACE President René Van der Linden underlined addressing a dinner-debate organised on 9 March in Strasbourg by the Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to the Council of Europe.
08/03/2005 | President
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President René van der Linden is making a working visit to Moscow from 10 to 11 March. After meeting the authorities of the Council of Europe’s host country, France, this is the President’s first visit to a member state. He is meeting with the Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly Boris Gryzlov, the Chairman of the Federation Council Serguei Mironov, the Special Foreign Affairs Advisor to the Russian President Serguei Prikhodko and Foreign Minister Serguei Lavrov.