19/04/2013 | Session
For the first time, the live webstream of the Assembly's spring plenary session will be available in the Assembly's working languages of German, Italian and Russian, in addition to the official languages of English and French.
19/04/2013 | President
Jean-Claude Mignon, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), and Björn von Sydow (Sweden, SOC), Rapporteur on the situation in Kosovo*, have welcomed the final agreement to normalise relations between Belgrade and Priština, reached today in Brussels following more than six months and ten rounds of intense negotiations between Prime Ministers Dacic and Thaci.
18/04/2013 | President
“On the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, I would like to pay tribute to the courageous men and women who took part in this historic act of resistance and remember the sacrifice of the victims,” PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon said today.
17/04/2013 | President
The Speaker of the Russian State Duma Sergey Naryshkin has accepted an invitation to address the Parliamentary Assembly during its October session. PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon made the announcement following meetings yesterday in Moscow with Mr Naryshkin and Russia’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Alexey Meshkov.
17/04/2013 | Monitoring
Mailis Reps (Estonia, ALDE) and Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin (Sweden, EPP/CD), PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Ukraine), have welcomed the continuing efforts displayed by the Ukrainian authorities to reform the judiciary ...
16/04/2013 | President
PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon has strongly condemned the act of violence which caused three deaths and up to 100 casualties in the city of Boston: “I would like first of all to express the sympathy of the Parliamentary Assembly to the families and loved ones of the victims,..."
16/04/2013 | Monitoring
The co-rapporteurs for PACE's monitoring of Georgia, Michael Aastrup Jensen (Denmark, ALDE) and Boriss Cilevics (Latvia, SOC), have welcomed the recently-adopted reforms of the justice system. Speaking following a four-day visit to the country (8-11 April 2013), they said: “These reforms will greatly improve the independence of the judiciary, which is something we have repeatedly called for..."
15/04/2013 | News
Culture is a “priceless treasure” which could be the key to unlocking a revival of the economy and even help to give a fresh start to Europe, Jean-Claude Mignon today told a gathering of European Culture Ministers in Moscow. Chairing the first working hearing of the conference this morning, the PACE President said he was an optimist, noting that the right of access to culture, and the right of each person to take part in cultural activities, were core human rights...
15/04/2013 | Monitoring
Jonathan Evans (United Kingdom, EDG) and Grigore Petrenco (Moldova, UEL), Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) co-rapporteurs on the honouring of obligations and commitments by Albania, are to make a fact-finding visit to Tirana from 17 to 19 April 2013.
12/04/2013 | News
The heads of the parliamentary arms of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Council of Europe have hailed the dynamic co-operation which exists between the two bodies, describing it as “an excellent example of parliamentary diplomacy”.
11/04/2013 | President
Jean-Claude Mignon, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), is to make a working visit to Moscow from 14 to 17 April during which he will attend the 10th Council of Europe Conference of Culture Ministers at the Bolshoi Theatre and will hold high-level bilateral meetings with members of the Russian Government.
11/04/2013 | Monitoring
Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin (Sweden, EPP/CD) and Mailis Reps (Estonia, ALDE), PACE co-rapporteurs on the honouring of obligations and commitments by Ukraine, will visit the country from 14 to 16 April 2013, to assess the constitutional reform and the reform of the Criminal Code and the Prosecutor’s Office. They will also examine the situation of imprisoned former government members.