28/06/2010 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu will make an official visit to Moscow on 1-2 July. During his visit, he will meet the Speaker of the State Duma Boris Gryzlov, the Chairman of the Federation Council Sergey Mironov and the Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov. Talks are also scheduled with the leaders of factions in the State Duma, young politicians, and with representatives of NGOs.
22/06/2010 | President
“We strongly condemn today’s terrorist attack on a bus in Istanbul, in which three people have been killed, including a child,” the Chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe Antonio Milošoski and the President of its Parliamentary Assembly Mevlüt Çavusoglu said in a joint statement. “Bloodshed like this will never bring victory, only sadness and anger. We stand together with the families of those killed this morning, and share in their distress, they added.
17/06/2010 | President
Speaking on 11 June at the ‘European Forum Cyprus’, a Council of Europe initiative, which is co-financed by the European Union and brings together young Cypriot leaders from all walks of life in the two communities on the island, PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu told participants that this initiative was essential to foster dialogue, mutual respect, confidence and co-operation between future generations of leaders of the island – a necessary condition for a peaceful and prosperous Cyprus.
16/06/2010 | President
During a press conference organised at the end of his official visit to Georgia from 13 to 15 June, PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu stressed that by coming to Georgia early in his Presidency he wanted to show the importance he attached to the country, its ongoing democratic reforms as well as its plight after the August 2008 war. He said his talks had focused on the consequences of the war between Georgia and Russia and the role that the Council of Europe, and especially PACE, could and should play in this respect as well as the ongoing democratic reforms and outstanding commitments of Georgia to the Council of Europe.
12/06/2010 | President
At a moment when European democracies are faced with a multitude of challenges, not least the impact of the economic crisis, globalisation and the need to react with swift decisions, the sense of responsibility by all political forces and the courage to support unpopular choices is extremely important, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Mevlüt Cavusoglu and the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Cyprus, Marios Garoyian, said at the end of the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament in Limassol today.
11/06/2010 | President
In his opening speech at the European Conference of Speakers of Parliament, organised in Limassol from 10 to 11 June, PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu told the some 300 participants that increasing intolerance and discrimination were one of the biggest challenges of the era of globalization. “With the consequences of the economic crises, these problems have become even more acute,” he said underlining that the foundation of the common European home had to be built on an open society based on respect for diversity, not on exclusion, not on discrimination, not on fear and certainly not on hatred.
10/06/2010 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu will make an official visit to Georgia from 13 to 15 June 2010. During his visit, he is due to meet the President of the Republic Mikhail Saakashvili, the Chairman of the Parliament David Bakradze, the Vice-Prime Minister and State Minister for Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili, the Foreign Minister Gregory Vashadze and the State Minister of Refugees and Accommodation Koba Subeliani.
08/06/2010 | President
Addressing participants at the Third Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Istanbul today, PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu made a plea for soft security as a means of strengthening security and stability in a globalised world. “Peaceful co-existence of different cultures and religions, based on mutual respect, is for me one of the most important elements of this soft security and the strengthening of inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue is one of the priorities of my presidency,” he stressed.
07/06/2010 | President
“Freedom of movement of people in Europe is the absolute pre-condition for any further integration,” PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu said in his speech today at the 8th Conference of Speakers of Parliament from the countries of the South-East European Co-operation Process (SEECP) held in Antalya. He was satisfied, he said, that a visa-free regime had been introduced by several countries of the Western Balkans and that the EU Commission had recommended the abolition of visas for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania.
05/06/2010 | President
On the occasion of the ceremony to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the European Commission for Democracy through Law in Venice, PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu underlined “the importance of the co-operation between the Commission and the Assembly”. The different nature of the respective bodies – PACE being strictly political, and the Venice Commission on the other hand being eminently legal – does not prevent them from “working together and reinforcing the impact of their respective actions”, he said, as “the mission of the two bodies often coincides”. In this respect, the President mentioned “the most visible and recurrent instance of co-operation”, that of electoral observation missions.
31/05/2010 | President
Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Chair Antonio Miloshoski and Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President Mevlüt Çavusoglu have condemned the terrorist attack on the Iskenderun Naval Base in Turkey, and expressed their deep sadness at the loss of life it caused. "The Council of Europe condemns terrorism in any form, which is an affront to the values we defend. Terrorism targets the right to live in dignity and security, and thus goes against all Council of Europe values," they said in a joint statement.
31/05/2010 | President
“I am deeply shocked to learn that civilians who were attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza have lost their lives or been severely injured,” the PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu said in a statement, reacting to last night’s interception by Israel of an aid convoy to Gaza. “This should never happen, whatever the reason. I condemn this action by Israeli forces and deplore the disproportionate use of force employed."