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PACE President: ‘We must ensure that election observers are given the status, the protection and the means...

28/04/2026 | President

For more than thirty years, “the Assembly together with the Venice Commission and the Congress has not only monitored elections. We have helped shape electoral legislation, guided democratic reforms, and strengthened public trust in democratic institutions,” said PACE President Petra Bayr today...

Open letter by rapporteurs of European institutions on the situation of local democracy in Türkiye

Open letter by rapporteurs of European institutions on the situation of local democracy in Türkiye

27/04/2026 | Monitoring

The Rapporteurs on Türkiye of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Lord David Blencathra (United Kingdom, ECPA) and Yves Cruchten (Luxembourg, SOC), of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe Bryony Rudkin (United Kingdom, SOC/G/PD), of the...

Hemicycle / Session / Hémicycle

PACE held its spring plenary session in Strasbourg

24/04/2026 | Session

Addresses by the Chairperson of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Denis Bećirović and France’s Europe and Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot were among highlights of the spring plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which took place in...

Free debate on current issues

24/04/2026 | Session

PACE this morning held a “free debate” on current issues not included in the session agenda. On this occasion, members could speak on any issue which falls within the Assembly’s mandate. Seventeen parliamentarians took the floor.

Current affairs debate: call to step up efforts for the establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine

Current affairs debate: call to step up efforts for the establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime...

23/04/2026 | Session

“We are the leading international Organisation to support Ukraine, neither with money, nor with weapons, but with political power,” today said Frank Schwabe (Germany, SOC), opening a current affairs debate on “Accountability and justice: a call to step up efforts for the establishment of the...

PACE co-rapporteurs to make periodic review visit to Greece
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PACE co-rapporteurs to make periodic review visit to Greece

23/04/2026 | Monitoring

Laura Castel (Spain, UEL) and Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (Finland, SOC), co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the periodic review on Greece, will undertake a fact-finding visit to Athens from 27 to 29 April, to assess the honouring of membership obligations...

PACE debates the need for peace and stability in the broader Middle East

Current affairs debate: the need for peace and stability in the broader Middle East

23/04/2026 | Session

“The entire Middle East – from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf – is on fire, with catastrophic consequences. The lesson we have to learn from this is that without a political strategy there is no solution,” said Piero Fassino (Italy, SOC), opening a current affairs debate today on the need...

PACE calls for the implementation of the Court’s judgments

Gaza: committee condemns Israel’s killing of local journalists and Hamas’s violations of press freedom

23/04/2026 | Culture, Science, Education and Media

The Committee on Culture, Science, Education, and Media, meeting today in Strasbourg, strongly condemned “the deliberate targeting and killing of local journalists in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces,” and Israel’s prohibition on international journalists and media outlets accessing the Gaza...

Gustaf GÖTHBERG - Request for opinion on the draft additional protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism

The Assembly gives green light to treaty update enabling easier seizure of criminal assets

23/04/2026 | Session

PACE has recommended the swift adoption of a new protocol which updates an existing Council of Europe treaty on the laundering, seizure and confiscation of criminal or terrorist funds, noting that it “significantly expands” the tools allowing assets to be traced across borders and victims to be...

PACE calls for stronger action against social dumping and labour exploitation

PACE calls for stronger action against social dumping and labour exploitation

23/04/2026 | Session

Social dumping and labour exploitation, which at its worst includes forced labour and trafficking in human beings, “represents a grave violation of human dignity and fundamental rights,” warns a resolution adopted PACE. In the adopted resolution based on a report by Valérie Piller Carrard...

PACE improves the procedure for electing judges to the European Court of Human Rights

23/04/2026 | Session

PACE has introduced a series of improvements to the way it elects judges to the European Court of Human Rights to ensure a fair, transparent and efficient nomination and election process. Adopting a resolution based on a report by Petra Bayr (Austria, SOC), presented by Agnes Prammer (Austria...

The Assembly supports content creators against AI companies

The Assembly supports content creators against AI companies

23/04/2026 | Session

PACE is calling for a balanced regulation of artificial intelligence that empowers the creative sector and protects citizens and democracy at large. Approving a resolution based on a report by Mogens Jensen (Denmark, SOC), PACE said that current copyright laws in Europe are “neither clear-cut nor...