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Implementing the institutional improvements the Council of Europe needs

21/05/2010 | Standing Committee

The Assembly elected the Council of Europe’s new Secretary General, Thorbjorn Jagland, by a significant majority, with a clear mandate to pursue reform, and should now aim to assist him in implementing the institutional improvements he envisages, the Assembly said today. Given the current difficulties, 2011 must therefore be regarded as a year of transition, the parliamentarians believe.

Action against sex offenders: sharing information among member states is crucial

21/05/2010 | Standing Committee

In a resolution adopted today in Skopje, the PACE urged member to “increase the quality, quantity and regularity of the information they share with other member states on sex offenders” for effective oversight of their movements from one country to another, and to do so in compliance with the provisions of the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data.

PACE President expresses support for the priorities of the CM Chairmanship

21/05/2010 | Standing Committee

"The priorities of the Macedonian Chairmanship [of the Committee of Ministers] largely coincide with those that I promote as President of the Parliamentary Assembly,” today said Mevlüt Çavusoglu at the opening of the PACE Standing Committee in Skopje.

PACE Standing Committee to meet in Skopje

12/05/2010 | Standing Committee

PACE Standing Committee will be meeting in Skopje on Friday 21 May 2010 to discuss the priorities of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, which, since yesterday, has held the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, the Organisation’s executive body. After the opening of the meeting by Mevlüt Çavusoglu, President of the PACE, and a welcoming address by Trajko Veljanoski, President of the Assembly of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, the Standing Committee will hold an exchange of views with Antonio Miloshoski, Minister for Foreign Affairs of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, who will be chairing the Committee of Ministers for the next six months.

Helping children who witness domestic violence

12/03/2010 | Standing Committee

PACE Standing Committee, meeting in Paris today, called for the appropriate inclusion of the aspect of children who witness domestic violence into a future Council of Europe Convention focussing on violence against women. It invited member states to develop comprehensive social services and educational strategies aimed at preventing the intergenerational transfer of domestic violence. The report, presented by Carina Ohlsson (Sweden, SOC), also proposed to develop the Council of Europe Platform on Childrens’ Rights launched in June 2009.

Minority protection in Europe: deficiencies in the implementation of common standards

12/03/2010 | Standing Committee

"Eleven years after the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities came into force, eight member states have still not ratified it, and restrictive declarations and reservations sometimes hinder its operation", according to Boriss Cilevics (Latvia, SOC), speaking at a meeting of the Standing Committee in Paris today. In a recommendation adopted on the basis of his report, the PACE asked the Committee of Ministers to increase efforts to achieve speedy ratification of the Convention.

Fight against tax evasion: PACE in favour of retroactivity with regard to data exchange

12/03/2010 | Standing Committee

The Assembly today adopted, in its Standing Committee, an opinion on the draft protocol to the Convention on mutual administrative assistance in tax matters. In its opinion, prepared by Pieter Omtzigt (Netherlands, EPP/CD), PACE paid special attention to the need to protect personal data, as well as administrative assistance in criminal tax matters and the compatibility of the text with European Union law.

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.