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.
25/02/2005 | President
The next Council of Europe Summit of Heads of State and Government (Warsaw, 16-17 May) was top of the agenda when PACE President René van der Linden visited Paris on 23 and 24 February. Mr van der Linden argued for a clarification of the roles of the Council of Europe and the EU and warned against the danger of duplicating – at a higher cost and over a smaller geographic area – tasks already being efficiently carried out by the Council of Europe, particularly in the field of human rights, the prevention of torture and combating racism, intolerance and xenophobia.
23/02/2005 | President
"The result of Sunday’s election in the northern part of Cyprus shows the European orientation of Turkish Cypriots, and clearly signals their wish to end the division of the island," said PACE President René van der Linden in a statement today. "I hope these results will contribute to developing the confidence and trust of the Greek Cypriot population in the positive attitude of Turkish Cypriots," he added. Since January of this year, the Assembly has enabled elected representatives of the Turkish Cypriot community to take part in its work.
22/02/2005 | President
René van der Linden today ended a visit to Paris, his first as PACE President, during which he discussed - among other issues - ways of ensuring the success of the forthcoming Third Summit of the Council of Europe (Warsaw, 16-17 May 2005). Accompanied by PACE Secretary General Bruno Haller, he met Senate President Christian Poncelet, National Assembly President Jean-Louis Debré, European Affairs Minister-Delegate Claudie Haigneré, the Chair of the Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee Edouard Balladur and the founding President of “Our Europe” Jacques Delors, among others.
15/02/2005 | President
On the eve of the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol, PACE President René van der Linden hailed this event as a crucial first step towards combating climate change. "PACE has made an important contribution towards its entry into force. 45 out of 46 Council of Europe member states are Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and 38 among them, including the Russian Federation, have already ratified the Protocol. Carbon dioxide from Council of Europe members that are also Parties to the Kyoto Protocol amounts to around half of global emissions. This figure illustrates the enormous responsibility that Council of Europe countries have to curb greenhouse gases which cause changes in the climate that are already being felt all over the world," he said.
03/02/2005 | President
Following the announcement of the death of the Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania, PACE President René van der Linden made the following statement: “I wish to express my deepest condolences to the family of Zurab Zhvania and to the people of Georgia, who have so suddenly and tragically lost one of the key architects of their country’s transition to democratic stability. Georgia has lost its Prime Minister at a time when his energy, political skill and commitment to European values would have been of crucial importance. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has lost a former member, and a very close friend.”