27/09/2012 | President
What challenges are young people facing in a democracy ? How can they contribute to the development of more democratic and more inclusive societies in Europe? These topics will be debated from 5 to 7 October in Strasbourg by PACE members and around 170 young people, on the occasion of the Youth Assembly 2012, organised by PACE in co-operation with the European Youth Foundation and the Youth sector of the Council of Europe.
27/09/2012 | President
"I was disappointed to learn this morning that Mr Naryshkin, the Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, has cancelled his participation in the October part-session to be held in Strasbourg next week,” PACE President, Jean-Claude Mignon, said today. “During this part-session we will be examining a report on the honouring of obligations and commitments by the Russian Federation, the first such report in seven years. Our exchange of views with Mr Naryshkin would have allowed us make a political assessment of Russia's participation in the work of the Council of Europe, while together identifying tangible means of further reinforcing our co-operation, including on issues that are still causing debate...
27/09/2012 | President
“The recent allegation that a handball match involving Montpellier may have been fixed has highlighted a dramatic and growing problem in Europe,” said PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon. “I urge the authorities to get to the bottom of this affair as swiftly as possible, but – whatever the outcome of the judicial investigation – there is no doubt that wider action is urgently needed to tackle this looming threat...
27/09/2012 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
“The economic crisis reinforces the already significant vulnerability of irregular migrants and increases still further the number of victims for this form of trafficking. Currently, migrants already account for almost half of the total number of the some 20.9 million trapped in forced labour world-wide. Trafficking of human beings affects virtually every country in the world, either as a country of origin, transit or destination,” told Annette Groth (Germany, UEL).
25/09/2012 | Election observation
A 22-member PACE delegation, led by Luca Volontè (Italy, EPP/CD), will travel to Georgia from 29 September to 2 October to observe the conduct of the parliamentary elections alongside observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, European Parliament, NATO Parliamentary Assembly and OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
24/09/2012 | News
“Young people have unprecedented access to information but this information does not necessarily give them any real say and will not always enable them to join existing associations or political bodies. Young people should therefore be encouraged to take part in politics,” said Jean-Claude Mignon, PACE President, speaking today in Saint Petersburg at the opening of the 9th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Youth.
24/09/2012 | Political Affairs and Democracy
"I regret that many OSCE commitments on citizens’ democratic rights to associate, to stand as candidates and to express themselves freely were not respected in yesterday’s parliamentary elections in Belarus and that the elections were not administered in an impartial manner due to the lack of proper counting procedures or ways for observers to verify the results, " said Andres Herkel.
24/09/2012 | Monitoring
Luca Volontè (Italy, EPP/CD), PACE rapporteur on post-monitoring dialogue with Bulgaria, will make a fact-finding visit to Sofia on 26-27 September 2012. During his visit, meetings are scheduled with the Vice-President of the Republic, the President of the National Assembly, the Minister of Justice, the Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Interior as well as with the judicial authorities.
22/09/2012 | Election observation
The forthcoming parliamentary elections in Ukraine will be a litmus test of Ukraine’s commitment to democratic principles as a step towards further European integration, a PACE pre-electoral delegation said at the end of a two-day visit to Kyiv (20 and 21 September). The seven-member delegation, which met representatives of all the main parties running as well as election officials and civil society groups, urged a number of steps aimed at ensuring Ukrainian voters are able to make a free choice among genuine alternatives on 28 October, in line with Ukraine’s commitments to the Council of Europe.
22/09/2012 | News
“Policies for young people and investment in human capital must not be considered as social expenditure but as medium- and long-term investment in the growth of individual countries and the European continent. Europe needs youth to grow and prosper. This might seem obvious, but the short-term policies unfortunately predominate today in a great many of European countries,” Luca Volontè (Italy, EPP/CD) stressed today on the occasion of the Youth Event on Young people’s access to rights: development of innovative youth policies organised in St. Petersburg.
21/09/2012 | President
When the Arab revolutions shook the entire world, at the end of 2010 / beginning of 2011, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly had some concrete tools to offer and at least the prospect of a possible future cooperation with the parliaments of emerging democracies in its immediate neighbourhood...
21/09/2012 | European Conference of Presidents of Parliament