08/04/2025 | Session
Seven former Presidents of the Parliamentary Assembly gathered in the Assembly’s debating chamber today, on the first day of its 2025 spring session, at the invitation of current President Theodoros Rousopoulos – and took time out to talk about the biggest challenge they faced during their time...
08/04/2025 | Session
“Over the past thirty years, the Council of Europe has become an essential ally in the modernisation of our institutions and legislation, and the guarantor of the balance between the rights and duties of citizens in building an advanced, responsible and sustainable democracy,” he said. In his...
08/04/2025 | Election of Judges
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) today elected Sébastien Biancheri as judge to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Monaco. Mr Biancheri, having obtained a majority of votes cast, is elected judge of the European Court of Human Rights for a term of office of...
08/04/2025 | Prizes
The 2025 Europe Prize has been awarded by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to the city of Gaziantep in Türkiye. The Prize is awarded each year to the city that has been most active in promoting the European ideal. Gaziantep is a city of 1,200,000 inhabitants located in...
08/04/2025 | Session
The Parliamentary Assembly, during its spring plenary session, held a current affairs debate on the “Protests and rallies in the Western Balkans and Central Europe”. George Papandreou (Greece, SOC) opened the debate.28 speakers took the floor during the debate. No report is prepared for a current...
08/04/2025 | Session
Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset took questions from members of the Parliamentary Assembly in his traditional question-and-answer session during the PACE spring plenary session. Members put some 28 questions in total.
08/04/2025 | Session
Adopting a resolution today, based on a report by Yevheniia Kravchuk (Ukraine, ALDE), PACE has decided to amend its Rules of Procedure, in particular to strengthen the youth perspective in the Assembly's work and enable the establishment of youth rapporteurs; and to improve transparency and...
08/04/2025 | Session
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has urged European countries to build resilience against “foreign interference” which aims to undermine democracy in Europe – calling for transparency in government and politics, stronger democratic institutions and an informed and...
07/04/2025 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
On the eve of International Roma Day (8 April), Francesco Verducci (Italy, SOC), PACE General Rapporteur on combating racism and intolerance, made the following statement: “On International Roma Day, we honour the culture, language and history of Roma people, and their contribution to European...
07/04/2025 | Prizes
During a special ceremony held on 7 April 2025 in the chamber of the Palais de l’Europe in Strasbourg, the 2025 Council of Europe Museum Prize was awarded to Euskararen Etxea, the House of Basque Language, in Bilbao, Spain. The award was announced last December by PACE’s Culture Committee...
07/04/2025 | Session
Presenting his first annual report today, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, warns that we stand at an inflection point for human rights and urges member states to renew their commitment to human rights. Addressing members of national parliaments from the 46...
07/04/2025 | Session
The lists of candidates for the posts of judges at the European Court of Human Rights submitted by Monaco and the Slovak Republic; the observation of the recent elections to the Assembly of Kosovo*, and of the upcoming elections in Albania and Poland; the role of parliamentarians in drawing up a...