23/05/2012 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
In a draft resolution adopted yesterday on “The young generation sacrificed: social, economic and political consequences of the financial crisis”, PACE Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development notes that the young generation is disproportionally hit by the unemployment/underemployment-poverty-exclusion trap, a situation that could have tragic consequences. Young people should be viewed not as a problem to be addressed but as an asset,” said the rapporteur, Luca Volontè (Italy, EPP/CD).
23/05/2012 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
In view of the growing inequalities and current challenges, the Assembly should demand equal access to health-care and treatment for everyone living in Europe, without discrimination on the basis of financial means, residence status or place of residence,” said Jean-Louis Lorrain (France, EPP/CD) in his draft report on equal access to healthcare.
22/05/2012 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Adopting a report on “Austerity measures – a danger for democracy and social rights”, prepared by Andrej Hunko (Germany, UEL), the PACE Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development said it was concerned that the restrictive approaches currently pursued may not reach their objective of consolidating budgets, but risk further deepening the crisis and undermining the social rights as they mainly affect lower income classes and the most vulnerable categories of the population.
21/05/2012 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
“Today the situation of human rights defenders in Europe is far from satisfactory. In some Council of Europe member states they risk their own personal security, especially when they champion sensitive issues such as fighting the impunity of state officials for serious crimes including murder, torture and corruption, or promoting the rights of oppressed minority groups,” said Mailis Reps (Estonia, ALDE) in her report on the situation of human rights defenders in Council of Europe member states.
21/05/2012 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
What are the limits for decisions made by politicians involving risks that are not the normal risks of normal citizens? In a hearing on this issue, organised by PACE’s Legal Affairs Committee in Paris today, the rapporteur Pieter Omtzigt (Netherlands, EPP/CD) stressed that political and criminal responsibility had to be kept separate...
19/05/2012 | Monitoring
The PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Ukraine, Mailis Reps (Estonia, ALDE) and Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin (Sweden, EPP/CD), have welcomed the recent access given by the authorities to imprisoned opposition leaders. After meeting with former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in the Kharkiv hospital where she is being treated, the rapporteurs said they were glad that she is now receiving proper medical treatment under the supervision of doctors she trusts.
16/05/2012 | Standing Committee
The priorities of Albania during its forthcoming Chairmanship of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers will be discussed at a meeting of PACE's Standing Committee in Tirana on Friday 25 May 2012. Albanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Edmond Haxhinasto will hold an exchange of views with the committee, which brings together around 60 parliamentarians from the Council of Europe’s 47 member states.
16/05/2012 | Monitoring
On the eve of the International Day against Homophobia, Lise Christoffersen (Norway, SOC) and Piotr Wach (Poland, EPP/CD), PACE co-rapporteurs on the honouring of obligations and commitments by the Republic of Moldova, have expressed their concern relating to the preparation of an Anti-Discrimination Law...
16/05/2012 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
“In recent years, remarkable progress has been made in Europe in the fight against discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. But while progress is being made in some countries, in others the foundations for a setback are being laid down," said PACE General Rapporteur on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBTs), Håkon Haugli (Norway, SOC), on the occasion of the International Day against Homophobia.
15/05/2012 | President
“European Museums Night is a unique opportunity for encouraging new groups, especially young people, to visit museums and discover our great common heritage,” said PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon today. “This mass event involving European museums and citizens is bound to help build a Europe of culture,” he added.
11/05/2012 | Monitoring
Mailis Reps (Estonia, ALDE) and Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin (Sweden, EPP/CD), PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Ukraine, will visit former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in Kharkiv on 16 May, as well as meeting her lawyers. They will also talk to the lawyers of the imprisoned former government ministers, Yuriy Lutsenko and Valeriy Ivashchenko. These meetings will be held during a monitoring visit by the co-rapporteurs (15-17 May), the purpose of which is to assess the implementation of PACE Resolution 1862 (2012) on the functioning of democratic institutions in Ukraine.
09/05/2012 | Political Affairs and Democracy
“The so-called ‘elections’ in Syria, organised by the Assad regime against the backdrop of continuing violence and numerous violations of Kofi Annan’s peace plan, merely add yet another obstacle to the search for a peaceful political outcome to a conflict that has already led to more than 11,000 deaths, hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and tens of thousands of refugees,” said today Pietro Marcenaro (Italy, SOC), PACE Rapporteur on the situation in Syria.