24/06/2004 | News
The Joint Committee (representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly and the Committee of Ministers), meeting yesterday evening in Strasbourg, took note that the requirements contained in Opinion n°250 are fulfilled and that it is now for the Committee of Ministers to take the official decision to invite Monaco to join the Council of Europe. "The way for Monaco to the Council of Europe is open," said Assembly President Peter Schieder.
23/06/2004 | News
"To fight terrorism more efficiently we need to know about its root causes," said Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, addressing the Assembly today. "Hate is often the result of fear, which comes from ignorance, frustration and an insecure identity. Extremists are trying to spread the message of hate in the name of God. Yet nothing is further from true faith than hatred. On the contrary, those who have a strong faith are often better able understand and respect the beliefs of others," he said. "This is tolerance."
23/06/2004 | News
Armenia sees its future in full scale integration into the European family, said Armenian President Robert Kocharian, addressing the Assembly today. "A few days ago the European Union decided to include Armenia in its 'new neighborhood' initiative. This will further advance our resolve to satisfy European criteria, to contribute and fully benefit from the co-operation between our states and nations. We walk on this road with deep belief and confidence and we appreciate your efforts to help us in that uneasy but crucial effort", he said.
23/06/2004 | News
The Assembly today called on governments to ensure that women are involved in preventive diplomacy, conflict-resolution, peace-making and post-conflict reconstruction at all levels. Adopting the rapporteur's (Minodora Cliveti, Romania, SOC) proposals, the Assembly said women and men have different access to resources, power and decision-making before, during and after conflict. "Women are therefore caught in a vicious paradox: on the one hand, they are the main civilian victims of conflicts, yet on the other hand they are powerless to prevent them, since they are often excluded from the negotiating tables and marginalised in post-conflict reconstruction," the parliamentarians said.
22/06/2004 | News
In his address to the Parliamentary Assembly, Jean Lemierre, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, said that the bank's situation was sound and that it could grant more loans to countries further east. Although the rule of law and the market economy were still important criteria, the education and health fields were also essential for the future of the entire region.
21/06/2004 | News
A victim of domestic slavery, Mary Parmar from the United Kingdom, today testified before the Assembly's Equality Committee at its meeting. In its report on the subject, due for discussion by the plenary Assembly later in the afternoon, the committee calls for "zero tolerance" towards domestic slavery, whether it involves migrant domestic workers, au pairs, women who have been trafficked or so-called "mail-order brides".
21/06/2004 | News
When adopting the order of business of its Summer Session (21-25 June), the Assembly decided to hold an urgent debate on the Council of Europe's contribution to the settlement of the situation in Iraq on Thursday at 10 a.m. Lluis Maria de Puig (Spain, SOC) was declared elected an Assembly Vice-President.
21/06/2004 | News
'The entry of the ten new states is extremely positive for Europe as a whole. They have tremendous growth potential which will benefit all Europeans,' declared Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), in today’s Assembly debate on The Euro and the Greater Europe. 'Our economic analysis is that, all in all, too much emphasis has been placed on the negative aspects of enlargement, whilst forgetting that these are far outweighed by the benefits on the economic front, and this is something of a pity,' he said.
11/06/2004 | News
A recommendation to end the monitoring of Turkey, measures to combat the “domestic slavery” of au pairs and mail-order brides and a call for an end to political interference in the media in Italy are among issues to be debated during the Parliamentary Assembly’s summer session (Strasbourg, 21-25 June 2004). Other subjects due for discussion include a Europe-wide ban on corporal punishment of children, the role of women in conflict prevention and resolution, the Italian law on legitimate suspicion and the honouring of obligations and commitments by Bosnia and Herzegovina – the first assessment since the country joined the Council of Europe in 2002.
19/05/2004 | News
"Closer and more regular interaction between the PACE and national parliaments are necessary in order to reflect the interests and concerns of national parliaments more faithfully in the PACE’s work," Parliamentary Assembly Secretary General Bruno Haller said this morning at a meeting of the Secretaries General of parliament. Concrete proposals for strengthening co-operation at secretariat level include training courses and seminars, an electronic newsletter on PACE activities and programmes of parliamentary assistance to new member states.
18/05/2004 | News
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament, Assembly President Peter Schieder stressed that "what gives the Parliamentary Assembly its strength is that it brings together parliamentarians from 45 member States, representing 800 million Europeans. They represent not only the parties in power, but also those in opposition. They represent not only their parliaments in the Council of Europe, but also the Council of Europe, and its values, in the national parliaments. Try to find a body which would be able to interact with Europe’s citizens with more authority and legitimacy," he said.
18/05/2004 | News
More than 50 Speakers and presidents of parliament from across Europe, as well as the heads of some ten European parliamentary assemblies, gather in Strasbourg from 17 to 19 May 2004 for a parliamentary summit on the theme “Europe of citizens: parliaments and participation of citizens”.