27/04/2010 | Session
The financial crisis which triggered the economic crisis was literally “man-made”, the Assembly said today at the end of a debate on women and the crisis. And this crisis, it added, could have been avoided if there had been “more women in decision-making positions”. To avoid the risk of history repeating itself, and following the proposals by the rapporteur Nursuna Memecan (Turkey, ALDE) the parliamentarians called for measures for gender-balancing in the boardrooms and top leadership and decision-making positions.
27/04/2010 | Session
Reforming the Council of Europe would make it "more politically relevant and influential," Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland has declared. The organisation would focus "on what we can do best, in areas where we can make a real impact" he told the Parliamentary Assembly on 27 April. The Secretary General urged greater coordination and cooperation on all parts of the Organisation as vital to ensuring that new dividing lines in Europe did not emerge.
27/04/2010 | Session
Ukraine will fully comply with its Council of Europe commitments before it begins its Chairmanship of the organisation in May 2011, President Viktor Yanukovych pledged today, speaking before PACE in his first address to an international body since being elected. Developing Ukraine’s democracy was an “undisputed priority”, said Mr Yanukovich, who also promised to guarantee a free media, work to eradicate corruption and carry out judicial reform. His aim was to restore Ukraine as a reliable and predictable partner, committed to European values: "I have been elected President to act, and not to dream – and I will act," he said.
27/04/2010 | Session
In a resolution adopted today, the Assembly invites Council of Europe member states to "acknowledge that women must be fully involved in the conflict prevention and resolution and crisis management process". Members take the view that, in areas of Europe where there are unresolved conflicts, as in other conflict and post-conflict zones in the world, women are too often ignored in the peace negotiation process.
26/04/2010 | Session
The Committee of Ministers’ Chairperson welcomed, on 26 April, the Council of Europe reform started by its Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland. She raised problems encountered in Belarus and Bosnia and Herzegovina. She considers it vital that the Committee of Ministers sends a clear and unanimous message to Bosnia and Herzegovina to align its Constitution and legislation with requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights without further delay.
26/04/2010 | Session
Looking ahead to this week's visit by President Yanukovich, the PACE President, in his opening speech at the spring session, said that the Assembly should give its assistance and support to the Ukrainian authorities right now, as the new government faced urgent and important issues which were crucial for the future of the country.
26/04/2010 | Session
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) today elected Ivan Popescu (Ukraine, SOC) Vice-President of the Assembly with respect to Ukraine.
26/04/2010 | Session
Adopting the final agenda of its Spring 2010 plenary session (26-30 avril), the Assembly decided to hold urgent debates on the urgent need for a constitutional reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina and on the situation in Belarus, both on Thursday morning. The parliamentarians decided to discuss the consequences of the war between Georgia and Russia during a current affairs debate, on Wednesday morning, with an intervention from the former head of the international fact-finding mission on the conflict Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini. The debate on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity will take place on Thursday afternoon, and the one on the consequences of the economic crisis on Tuesday afternoon. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich will address the Assembly on Tuesday and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday.
14/04/2010 | Session
Addresses by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, as well as a series of debates on the consequences of the economic crisis, are among highlights of PACE forthcoming session. Two proposals to hold urgent debates have been tabled, on the urgent need for a constitutional reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina [...] and on the situation in Belarus. The parliamentarians will debate a report on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, which calls for the legal recognition of same-sex partnerships across Europe. There will also be a debate on the consequences of the war between Georgia and Russia, with an intervention from the former head of the international fact-finding mission on the conflict Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini.
29/01/2010 | Session
At the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, 179 countries adopted a Twenty-year Programme of Action, which focused on individuals’ needs and rights rather than on achieving demographic targets. Sixteen years later, the Assembly today noted that “while some progress has been made, achievements on education enrolment, gender equity and equality, infant child and maternal mortality and morbidity and the provision of universal access to sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning and safe abortion services, remain mixed”.
29/01/2010 | Session
At the close of its debate on the functioning of democratic institutions in Albania, PACE yesterday asked its Presidential Committee, accompanied by the Monitoring Committee's co-rapporteurs for Albania, Jaakko Laakso (Finland, UEL) and David Wilshire (United Kingdom, EDG), to visit Albania as soon as possible, “in order to support the process of resolving the current political situation and assist President Topi in his role of mediator and his efforts to restore political dialogue”.
28/01/2010 | Session
"Council of Europe member states should work together to create an organisational chain ready to intervene immediately in any major natural catastrophe,” said Luigi Vitali (Italy, EPP/CD), opening this morning’s current affairs debate on “What can Europe do for Haiti?” following the tragic earthquake there. States should co-ordinate the fair distribution of aid so that “it reaches those who most need it”, he said, avoiding a situation recently witnessed in Haiti where earthquake survivors were fighting each other over the aid available.