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George Papandreou (Greece, SOC)
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PACE calls for new impetus in the EU enlargement process for the Western Balkans

11/10/2022 | Session

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has called on the European Union to give new impetus to the enlargement process for the Western Balkans, “rewarding progress in compliance with criteria” and fostering a climate of trust. “It is imperative not to lose the focus on the...

Momodou Malcolm Jallow (Sweden, UEL)

PACE calls for action to combat Islamophobia

11/10/2022 | Session

The Assembly today expressed its deep concern at the constant increase in signs of Islamophobia in Europe, which has reached a dramatic spike in recent years. According to the adopted resolution, based on the report by Momodou Malcolm Jallow (Sweden, UEL), anti-Muslim racism is manifested through...

Ziya Altunyaldiz (Türkiye, NR)

PACE urges states not to abuse the Schengen Information System, resulting in unjustified entry refusals

11/10/2022 | Session

States should not “misuse” the EU’s Schengen Information System (SIS) by making unjustified alerts, including on politically motivated grounds, PACE has said. Approving a resolution based on a report by Ziya Altunyaldiz (Türkiye, NR), the Assembly said that – while states had a sovereign right...

Frank / Schwabe / Germany

PACE reviews the work of its subsidiary bodies since the last session

10/10/2022 | Session

The PACE contribution to a fourth Council of Europe Summit; the participation of the delegation of the Assembly of Kosovo* in Assembly debates; the 2022 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize; as well as the observation of the early parliamentary elections in Bulgaria and the general elections in Bosnia...

Plenary Session Hemicycle
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Current affairs debate: "Military hostilities between Azerbaijan and Armenia, including strikes against...

10/10/2022 | Session

"The pressing need now is for both sides to reengage in peace talks without further delay. We need to see much greater effort from the international community to ensure that this happens. Above all, we cannot have this issue being subject to global political gains between superpowers vying for...

Mr Ignazio CASSIS, President of Swiss Confederation

President of Swiss Confederation calls for new political momentum for the Council of Europe

10/10/2022 | Session

“The crises we are going through today – foremost among them Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine - force us to question what we used to take for granted. They remind us of our duty to stand up for the values we hold dear, and that have been cherished by the Council of Europe since its...

Plenary Session Hemicycle
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PACE elects a new Vice-President in respect of France

10/10/2022 | Session

PACE today elected, at the opening of its Autumn 2022 Session, Bertrand Bouyx as a new Vice-President of the Assembly in respect of France. Nineteen Vice-Presidents are elected annually at the beginning of an ordinary session and remain in office until the opening of the next session (but a Vice...

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Parliament building
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Partnership with the Kyrgyz Parliament has produced ‘mixed results’, says PACE

24/06/2022 | Session

The Assembly’s partnership for democracy with the Parliament of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan has produced “mixed results” in the eight years since it was granted, PACE has said. The Assembly resolved to continue the partnership, in order to support the country’s path to democracy, but warned that...

Carmen Leyte

Promoting quality vaccination services accessible to all people and tackling anti-vaccination attitudes

24/06/2022 | Session

Concerned about the increase in outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in Europe and across the world, PACE today called on member States to give high priority to the prevention of the resurgence of contagious diseases and “to develop comprehensive, forward-looking, pro-active and human rights...

Titus Corlatean (Romania, SOC)
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Flight MH17 shot down by a Russian-supplied Buk missile ‘most convincing scenario by far’, says PACE

23/06/2022 | Session

PACE has said that, based on the evidence made available to its rapporteur by Ukrainian and Dutch authorities, it considers “as the most convincing scenario by far” that flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine in 2014 by a Buk missile made available to military units controlled by the Russian...

Monitoring rapporteurs on Malta - Bertrand Fournier (France, EPP/CD) and George Loucaides (Cyprus, UEL)

Malta’s democratic consolidation requires well-functioning institutions

23/06/2022 | Session

In the framework of its regular periodic reviews of the honouring of membership obligations by Council of Europe member States, the Assembly today debated a report on Malta. The unanimously adopted resolution, based on the report prepared by the Assembly’s co-rapporteurs Bertrand Fournier (France...

His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
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King of The Netherlands: 'Brute force and misuse of power can never be allowed to have the last word'

23/06/2022 | Session

“Brute force and misuse of power can never be allowed to have the last word. That conviction is what inspired the Kingdom of the Netherlands to join with nine other countries in 1949 to establish the Council of Europe,” said His Majesty King Willem-Alexander in an address to PACE. The King quoted...