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PACE calls for measures to bridge the wage gap between women and men

12/03/2010 | Standing Committee

Following its debate on a report presented by Paul Wille (Belgium, ALDE), PACE today invited Council of Europe member states to ensure that the right to equal pay for work of equal value is enshrined in their domestic legislation, and that employees have recourse to the judicial process to pursue their claims with regard to this right, without incurring risks to their employment.

Copyright in the digital environment

12/03/2010 | Standing Committee

PACE Standing Committee, meeting in Paris today, recommends that the Committee of Ministers initiate a future-oriented study on copyright in the digital environment and give thought to the changes required to guarantee a flexible legal apparatus, enabling copyright law to adapt more easily to technical, economic and social changes.

PACE welcomes the first legal instrument for combating the counterfeiting of medicines

12/03/2010 | Standing Committee

"The Parliamentary Assembly is increasingly concerned about the serious threat posed by counterfeit medicines to the life and health of vulnerable people and patients in Europe and elsewhere. The recent development of cross-border care and the introduction of on-line pharmaceutical sales and direct e-mail ordering have amplified the problem", concluded Bernard Marquet (Monaco, ALDE) today at the PACE Standing Committee meeting in Paris.

PACE Standing Committee to meet in Paris

09/03/2010 | Standing Committee

Debates on the protection of minorities in Europe, children who witness domestic violence, rethinking creative rights for the Internet age and the wage gap between women and men will feature on the agenda of PACE Standing Committee at its meeting in Paris on Friday 12 March 2010. The meeting will be opened by Mevlüt Çavusoglu, recently elected President of the PACE. The committee will also examine reports on rules and procedures for the future elections of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the term of office of co-rapporteurs of the PACE's Monitoring Committee.

Effectiveness of the Court raised during discussions in Bern

20/11/2009 | Standing Committee

In their addresses at the opening of PACE Standing Committee today in Bern, Chiara Simoneschi-Cortesi, President of the National Council of the Swiss Confederation and Micheline Calmy-Rey, Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Foreign Affairs Department, recalled the major contribution of the Council of Europe and its Assembly to peace and progress in Europe. Further efforts must be made to guarantee the long-term effectiveness of the European Court of Human Rights and specifically of individual petitions, they stressed.

PACE Standing Committee to meet in Bern

10/11/2009 | Standing Committee

Switzerland’s priorities for its Chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers will feature at a meeting of PACE Standing Committee in Bern, Switzerland, on Friday 20 November 2009. A series of reports on migration are also due to be debated. The President of the Swiss National Council Chiara Simoneschi-Cortesi will give a welcome address, followed by an exchange of views with Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey. The President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly João Soares will also address the committee.

Election process for the Secretary General of the Council of Europe: statement by PACE Standing Committee

29/05/2009 | Standing Committee

PACE Standing Committee, meeting in Ljubljana today, held a current affairs debate on the election process for the Secretary General of the Council of Europe - attended by Slovenian Foreign Minister Samuel Žbogar, who currently chairs the Committee of Ministers - and adopted a statement on this topic. Earlier, it held an exchange of views on the priorities of the Slovenian Chairmanship with Mr Žbogar and Slovenia's Justice Minister Aleš Zalar.

PACE seeks to curb 'unethical speculation' by vulture funds

29/05/2009 | Standing Committee

In a recommendation adopted today by the Standing Committee of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) in Ljubljana, the Assembly seeks to draw governments’ attention to the risks posed to the poorest countries by certain finance companies engaged in debt restructuring transactions, which are regarded as “vulture funds”.

Slovenia ‘a symbol of Europe’s transformation’

29/05/2009 | Standing Committee

“Slovenia symbolises to perfection Europe's transformation, its turbulent history and its future as we would like to imagine it,” PACE President Lluis Maria de Puig told parliamentarians and Slovenian leaders today, opening a meeting of PACE’s Standing Committee in Ljubljana. “Slovenia is also proof that a country's contribution to European integration can be gauged not just by its size and GDP, but also by the political will of its leader, the scale of the ambitions of its people, and their determination.” Mr de Puig later met Slovenian President Danilo Türk.

PACE Standing Committee meets in Ljubljana

25/05/2009 | Standing Committee

The Standing Committee of PACE will meet in Ljubljana on Friday 29 May 2009 at the invitation of the Slovenian National Assembly. PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig will also hold separate meetings on the same day with Slovenian President Danilo Türk and the President of the National Assembly Pavel Gantar.

PACE warns of chronic diseases linked to the environment

13/03/2009 | Standing Committee

“An increasing number of scientific studies are showing the links that exist between certain pollutants and given types of illnesses, such as allergies, respiratory disorders, reproductive problems or diseases of the central nervous system,” today said Jean Huss (Luxembourg, SOC), rapporteur of PACE Environment Committee. “Pollution inside homes and buildings is just as harmful to health as outdoor pollution. Environmental diseases should not be marginalised within health care systems and environmental medicine should be recognised as a full-blown medical discipline”, Mr Huss added.

PACE calls for the creation of a European Resource Centre for Urban Security

11/03/2009 | Standing Committee

In a report on riots in European cities, adopted today in Paris, by the Standing Committee, PACE recommends co-ordination of actions, to prevent riots, through the creation of a European Resource Centre for Urban Security. PACE insists on the three factors which are at the origin of urban riots: poverty, ethnic and social segregation, and mutual resentment between minorities and the police.