22/04/2026 | Session
Presenting his 2025 Annual Activity Report to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe today, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, warned that Europe, and the rest of the world, is no longer merely in an "era of change" but is experiencing a profound...
22/04/2026 | Prizes
The 2026 Europe Prize has been awarded by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to the city of Reggio Emilia in Italy. The Prize is awarded each year to the city that has been most active in promoting the European ideal. Reggio Emilia is a city of 171,000 inhabitants located...
22/04/2026 | Session
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has condemned the adoption by the Israeli Knesset of a law extending the death penalty in Israel in a way that “has clear discriminatory effects against Palestinians” and urged Israel to repeal or invalidate it, and refrain from...
22/04/2026 | Session
All those responsible for the death of Sergei Magnitsky, as well as the beneficiaries of the fraud he uncovered should be held accountable, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) said today. Mr Magnitsky, a Russian tax adviser and auditor, uncovered a US$230 million fraud...
21/04/2026 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
The President of the Council of Europe’s parliamentary body hails ‘a historic milestone’ partly driven by rule-changes The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which brings together parliamentarians from the Council’s 46 member states, contains an equal number of women and men...
21/04/2026 | Session
“Violence has no place in democracy,” the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) said today, as parliamentarians warned that rising violence and hate speech against politicians pose a direct threat to democratic life and pluralism. Debating the issue in plenary, the Assembly...
21/04/2026 | European Convention on Human Rights
The Assembly is creating a new network of its members to encourage states to implement judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. The network will bring together parliamentarians from all the member states to encourage governments to execute judgments and to drive forward the legislative...
21/04/2026 | Session
Expressing concern at the growing manifestations of exclusion and intolerance on grounds of religion across Europe, PACE emphasised that freedom of religion or belief – which includes the right not to hold a religious belief or affiliation – “was not only a fundamental right, but also a vital...
21/04/2026 | Session
Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset has reiterated that “democracy is still alive”, as shown by the recent elections in Bulgaria and Hungary, and called on parliamentarians to “build on this positive momentum at this challenging time” in a Q&A with the Assembly. The Secretary General...
21/04/2026 | Session
During its Presidency, the Republic of Moldova has sought to strengthen the Council of Europe’s capacity to adapt to new realities in an increasingly uncertain world: “It must not only react to crises, but act ahead of them,” Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Mihai Popșoi told...
20/04/2026 | President
PACE President Petra Bayr, opening the spring plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg, has called on Europe and its parliamentarians to show determined and principled leadership in the face of the pattern of crises on the international scene...
20/04/2026 | Session
The early elections to the Assembly of Kosovo* on 28 December 2025, prompted by a prolonged political stalemate, were conducted smoothly following a subdued campaign, according to the PACE delegation – the only international organisation to observe these elections, alongside an EU mission of...