26/06/2025 | Session
In a wide-ranging address to the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), Croatia’s Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman called on all Council of Europe member states to face the many challenges facing Europe today, while praising the organisation’s role upholding...
26/06/2025 | Session
While noting progress in gender equality, with “growing female participation in economic, public, cultural and political life” and legal standards that have changed to reflect this progress, PACE expressed concern in an urgent debate that women's rights were increasingly being challenged and...
26/06/2025 | Session
The Assembly held a current affairs debate on “A call for the immediate release of persons facing politically motivated persecution in Georgia” during its summer plenary session in Strasbourg. “We have a responsibility to our friends in Georgia and all those who aspire to the rights that we...
26/06/2025 | Session
Parliaments across Europe and beyond should declare the goal of achieving “gender parity” in their representation, backed by strategic plans, as one of a series of measures to ensure the balanced participation of women and men in all areas of parliamentary life, according to PACE. Approving a...
25/06/2025 | Session
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) this evening, Wednesday 25 June 2025, at around 20h40 CEST (to be confirmed), as the highlight of its summer plenary session in Strasbourg. He will also take questions from members...
25/06/2025 | Session
The dignity, rights and well-being of athletes must be placed “at the core” of global sports governance, PACE said, calling for a “paradigm shift” that aligns sport with democratic values, transparency and the public interest. “Only a co-ordinated, inclusive and multistakeholder approach can...
25/06/2025 | Session
Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly, the Prime Minister of Malta Robert Abela marked Malta’s 60th anniversary as a member state, describing the Council of Europe as a “guiding compass” in navigating today’s global challenges. The Prime Minister reflected on Malta’s long-standing relationship...
25/06/2025 | Session
Welcoming the draft protocol amending the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism, the Assembly said it introduces “a welcome and desirable step” by defining “terrorist offence” in legally binding terms, while stressing the need for safeguards to prevent misuse. “The legal...
25/06/2025 | Session
Against a backdrop of increased social mobilisation and social unrest in a number of member states, PACE today recommended “placing dialogue and mediation at the heart of crowd control and developing strategies that do not pit law enforcement authorities against demonstrators” in order to prevent...
24/06/2025 | Session
During a lively Q & A session with parliamentarians, Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset underlined the organisation’s unique role in holding Russia to account, through the Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. The Secretary General said that once the...
24/06/2025 | Session
“If state parties consider that the European Convention on Human Rights and its protocols no longer reflect their requirements for the proper protection of human rights, then the mechanisms for changing it are available – and they don’t include an attack on the Court,” said Lord Keen (United...
24/06/2025 | Session
Addressing the PACE session today, Maltese Deputy Prime Minister Ian Borg recalled the recent achievements of the Committee of Ministers, as well as the priorities of the Maltese Presidency – with Ukraine at the forefront. In his address he referred to the decision to establish a Special Tribunal...