15/05/2023 | Election observation
Characterised by a high turnout, Türkiye’s general elections were well-managed and offered voters a choice between genuine political alternatives, but the current president and the ruling parties enjoyed an unjustified advantage. Continued restrictions on fundamental freedoms of assembly...
15/05/2023 | Standing Committee
“If we want our democracies to thrive as the only lasting political system, we have to urgently address the challenges facing them,” PACE President Tiny Kox said today, addressing a round table in Reykjavik on the theme ‘A Democracy Fit for the Future’. “Amongst these challenges we see the...
15/05/2023 | Prizes
On 15 May 2023, in Reykjavík, Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir and Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President Tiny Kox today launched, in Reykjavik, the ‘Vigdís Prize for Women’s Empowerment’, in the presence of former Icelandic President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, the...
15/05/2023 | Standing Committee
The Parliamentary Assembly has put all its political weight in support of the Summit, pushing for it to be held and providing a substantive input to it though a host of texts, including its Recommendation 2245 (2023) on ‘The Reykjavík Summit of the Council of Europe - United around values in the...
12/05/2023 | Election observation
A 33-member delegation of members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), led by Frank Schwabe (Germany, SOC), will be in Türkiye from 12 to 15 May 2023 to observe the presidential and parliamentary elections on 14 May, alongside other international observers from the OSCE...
12/05/2023 | Standing Committee
The Parliamentary Assembly has put all its political weight in support of the Summit, pushing for it to be held and providing a substantive input to it though a host of texts, including its Recommendation 2245 (2023) on ‘The Reykjavík Summit of the Council of Europe - United around values in the...
12/05/2023 | Political Affairs and Democracy
PACE’s Political Affairs Committee emphasised the importance of preventing conflicts and promoting democratic security in light of the rising number of armed conflicts globally and in Europe, particularly the Russian aggression against Ukraine. The committee underlined the Council's role as “a...
12/05/2023 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
PACE’s Migration Committee has hailed the “resilience, courage and determination” of Belarusians who have been forced into exile by the repression of the Lukashenka regime – and urged states hosting them to take legal and practical steps to welcome them. In a unanimously-approved draft resolution...
11/05/2023 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
PACE Migration Committee has proposed that migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons should be granted free access to sports centres, clubs and activities, and provided with free team strips if they need them, as a way of promoting their social inclusion. In a draft resolution adopted...
11/05/2023 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
The Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), meeting in Paris, has adopted the following declaration, proposed at the initiative of Emmanuel Fernandes (France, UEL): “France is conducting a large-scale police operation...
10/05/2023 | Election observation
Keynote speakers, in a series of addresses to the parliamentary conference on “elections in times of crisis” in Bern, have highlighted the fragility of democratic institutions, and the central importance of maintaining core democratic standards even in unprecedented crisis situations. Introducing...
10/05/2023 | Election observation
In a final declaration approved at the end of the two-day “Elections in times of crisis” conference in Berne, Switzerland, participants have set out a range of ideas and proposals for governments, election organisers and observers on how to make elections more resilient in the face of health...