24/04/2013 | President
“In the run-up to my forthcoming official visit to Turkey, scheduled for 13-15 May 2013, I welcome the adoption by the Assembly of Resolution 1925 (2013) on Post-Monitoring Dialogue with Turkey, which acknowledges the major progress made by the authorities in honouring their undertakings and obligations to the Council of Europe, while drawing up a list of specific recommendations geared to speeding up this process,”...
24/04/2013 | Session
Concerned about increasing physical and psychological violence against religious communities throughout the world, the Assembly today called on member States to take account of the situation of these communities in their bilateral political dialogue and to promote in their foreign relations “a policy which takes into consideration the question of the full respect for the fundamental rights of religious minorities”.
24/04/2013 | Session
PACE called on national parliaments to deliver policies for culture “which effectively uphold our common core values” – human rights, democracy and the rule of law. These policies should also ensure adequate access to education and support participation in cultural life, creativity and innovation.
24/04/2013 | Session
Speaking to the Parliamentary Assembly today, Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta highlighted the climate of cooperation that currently exists between the government and the president of Romania, after the political crisis in 2012.
24/04/2013 | Session
PACE has called for a specific legal instrument encompassing the social, economic and political rights of young people to ensure their full protection. Approving a report by Michael Connarty (United Kingdom, SOC), the Assembly said a framework convention at European level was needed to improve young people’s access to fundamental rights.
24/04/2013 | Session
The Assembly called on member states to adopt a more holistic approach to education and to secure the provision of adequate resources for this sector, at least 6 per cent of Gross Domestic Product.
23/04/2013 | Session
Strasbourg, 23.04.2013 - I welcome the reaching of a draft agreement on the accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights and I applaud the spirit of compromise which enabled it to be concluded, PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon said today, on the occasion of the PACE...
23/04/2013 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
The majority of Council of Europe conventions are open to non-member States, but few of them have availed themselves of this opportunity. According to PACE’s Legal Affairs Committee, the Council of Europe should promote accession of relevant conventions by non-member States...
23/04/2013 | Session
The process of legislative and institutional change in Turkey is “ongoing but incomplete”, PACE has concluded in its first assessment of the country in five years. In a resolution adopted today on the basis of a report by Josette Durrieu (France, SOC), PACE recognised there had been many reforms in Turkey since 2004 – when the full “monitoring” procedure was closed – but said these only partially responded to the remaining problem areas set out by the Assembly.
23/04/2013 | Political Affairs and Democracy
According to the PACE Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, meeting in Strasbourg today during the plenary session, the need for European countries to mobilise efforts to curb the production of opium and heroin in Afghanistan, and dismantle networks of drug trafficking from this country is becoming urgent.
23/04/2013 | Session
Addressing PACE on Tuesday, Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili appealed for European support to help his country build a better relationship with Russia. “The recently-begun dialogue between Tbilisi and Moscow should not create an impression that Georgia is dealing with this problem on its own and no longer needs the support of European partners,” said the Prime Minister.
23/04/2013 | Session
“Politics means building a country, a Europe, a better world for future generations,” said Didier Burkhalter, Vice-President of the Swiss Federal Council and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in his address to the Parliamentary Assembly.