30/09/2025 | Session
Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe today, the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stressed the preparedness of the people of Armenia to safeguard democracy, fight human rights violations and nurture the “newborn peace” with the help of the Council of Europe and...
30/09/2025 | Session
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) today re-elected Despina Chatzivassiliou to the post of Secretary General of the Assembly. She will serve a second five-year term starting on 1 March 2026. Addressing the Assembly members upon her election, she said: “Your cross-party...
30/09/2025 | Session
Joint statement by the Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Maulen Ashimbayev, and the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Theodoros Rousopoulos, on 30 September 2025, on the occasion of the Assembly’s debate on democratic reforms...
30/09/2025 | Session
"Kazakhstan has decisively and irreversibly embarked on the path of democratic transformation," today said Maulen Ashimbayev, Chairman of the Senate of Kazakhstan, adressing the Assembly in the framework of a debate on its support for democratic reforms in the country. "Democratic reform is a...
30/09/2025 | Session
“The situation in Türkiye is extremely worrying,” said Stefan Schennach (Austria, SOC), opening a current affairs debate today on Democracy, the rule of law and inclusive dialogue in Türkiye during the Assembly’s autumn plenary session in Strasbourg. “Türkiye is increasingly reaching the lower...
30/09/2025 | Session
PACE today stressed the importance of supporting Kazakhstan in its path of democratic transformation. “Kazakhstan has shown commitment to reform, and it is crucial that this momentum be sustained and strengthened,” said the Assembly. Adopting the resolution, based on the report by Zsolt Németh...
30/09/2025 | Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs
At its meeting on Tuesday 30 September in Strasbourg, the Committee on Rules, Ethics, and Immunities emphasised the importance of the Assembly’s members' active commitment at a time when multilateralism and democracy are under strain. Participation lends legitimacy to the Assembly's decisions; it...
29/09/2025 | Session
Standing before the original text of the European Convention on Human Rights, displayed in the Hemicycle to mark its 75th anniversary, the PACE President opened the 2025 autumn session stating that this text “is not simply a document on display. It is the very compass that has guided Europe for...
29/09/2025 | Prizes
The thirteenth Václav Havel Human Rights Prize – which honours outstanding civil society action in defence of human rights – has been awarded to Ukrainian journalist and human rights defender Maksym Butkevych. The prize was presented at a special ceremony on the opening day of the autumn plenary...
29/09/2025 | Monitoring
PACE’s co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Türkiye, Lord David Blencathra (United Kingdom, ECPA) and Stefan Schennach (Austria, SOC), have made the following statement: “We are deeply concerned about the recent events and ongoing backsliding of democracy in Türkiye. In particular, we are alarmed...
29/09/2025 | Election observation
Moldova’s parliamentary elections were competitive and offered voters a clear choice between political alternatives, but the process was marred by serious cases of foreign interference, illegal funding, cyberattacks and widespread disinformation, notwithstanding the authorities’ efforts to...
29/09/2025 | Session
According to the report presented today by Iulian Bulai (Romania, ALDE) in plenary session, the 2025 presidential election in Poland was “competitive, well managed, and gave voters a genuine choice”. The report emphasises that election day was calm and professional, and that the very high turnout...