30/10/2012 | President
At the close of their official visit to Tunisia, Edmond Panariti, Chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Albania, and Jean-Claude Mignon, President of the Council’s Parliamentary Assembly – accompanied by Venice Commission President Gianni Buquicchio – called on Tunisian authorities to push ahead with the on-going constitutional reform “so as firmly to establish the foundations of a democratic and pluralistic society in which the rights and freedoms of all individuals are respected...”
26/10/2012 | President
Edmond Panariti, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Albania, and PACE President, Jean-Claude Mignon, will make an official visit to Tunisia on 29 and 30 October 2012. Meetings are to be held with the President of the Republic, the President of the National Constituent Assembly (NCA), the head of the government, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the leaders of the political parties represented in the NCA and representatives of the country’s civil society.
22/10/2012 | President
PACE President, Jean-Claude Mignon, today issued a call for calm and restraint after the outbreak of violence in Beirut following the funeral of General Wissam al Hassan: “I have sent a letter to the Lebanese Ambassador expressing the Assembly’s wholehearted sympathy and unfailing support following last Friday’s cowardly bomb attack in Beirut.
12/10/2012 | President
PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon this morning welcomed the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union (EU). “I welcome the Nobel Committee’s decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the EU for its contribution to the promotion of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe..."
10/10/2012 | President
“Our institutional interaction is, in fact, our forte,” said Jean-Claude Mignon, the PACE President, during an exchange of views with the Ministers’ Deputies today in Strasbourg. He advocated increasing the synergy between the Organisation’s two statutory organs in the monitoring field.
09/10/2012 | President
Following his interview with Bernard Cazeneuve, French Minister responsible for European Affairs, which was held during the World Forum for Democracy, the PACE President welcomed the fact that the Minister had voiced a wish to consolidate dialogue between the French delegation to the PACE and the Government within a context devoid of any partisan spirit.
05/10/2012 | President
“As a parliamentarian I set great store by youth participation in politics. It is very important that the younger generation has access to political mandates at the national and European levels in order to tackle the problem of young people’s lack of trust in political leaders. But that it not enough: we must also develop formal and informal participatory democracy mechanisms so that all interested youngsters can participate in the decision-making process”, said Jean-Claude Mignon, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), at the opening of the PACE Youth Assembly in Strasbourg.
27/09/2012 | President
What challenges are young people facing in a democracy ? How can they contribute to the development of more democratic and more inclusive societies in Europe? These topics will be debated from 5 to 7 October in Strasbourg by PACE members and around 170 young people, on the occasion of the Youth Assembly 2012, organised by PACE in co-operation with the European Youth Foundation and the Youth sector of the Council of Europe.
27/09/2012 | President
"I was disappointed to learn this morning that Mr Naryshkin, the Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, has cancelled his participation in the October part-session to be held in Strasbourg next week,” PACE President, Jean-Claude Mignon, said today. “During this part-session we will be examining a report on the honouring of obligations and commitments by the Russian Federation, the first such report in seven years. Our exchange of views with Mr Naryshkin would have allowed us make a political assessment of Russia's participation in the work of the Council of Europe, while together identifying tangible means of further reinforcing our co-operation, including on issues that are still causing debate...
27/09/2012 | President
“The recent allegation that a handball match involving Montpellier may have been fixed has highlighted a dramatic and growing problem in Europe,” said PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon. “I urge the authorities to get to the bottom of this affair as swiftly as possible, but – whatever the outcome of the judicial investigation – there is no doubt that wider action is urgently needed to tackle this looming threat...
21/09/2012 | President
When the Arab revolutions shook the entire world, at the end of 2010 / beginning of 2011, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly had some concrete tools to offer and at least the prospect of a possible future cooperation with the parliaments of emerging democracies in its immediate neighbourhood...
20/09/2012 | President
“I was shocked and horrified to see media images of prison guards violently assaulting inmates in a prison in Georgia. These intolerable atrocities took place in a Council of Europe member state. President Saakashvili has announced his intention to punish the culprits. I hope that all those at all levels who bear any responsibility in this appalling affair will be identified and punished according to the law,” declared this morning PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon.