12/06/2012 | Session
Addresses by Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha and Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanović, as well as a joint debate on “Democracy at risk: the role of citizens and of the State today” will be among highlights of the summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg from 25 to 29 June 2012.
12/06/2012 | Session
When adopting its final agenda at the opening of the Summer Session 2012, PACE decided to hold an urgent debate on the crisis of democracy in Egypt and a current affairs debate on European institutions and human rights in Europe.
08/06/2012 | Monitoring
Pedro Agramunt (Spain, EPP/CD) and Joseph Debono Grech (Malta, SOC), PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Azerbaijan, will visit the country from 12 to 14 June 2012, to further assess the honouring of its obligations and commitments to the Council of Europe, in particular as regards the administration of justice, religious tolerance and local and regional democracy.
06/06/2012 | Monitoring
The co-rapporteurs for Russia of the PACE Monitoring Committee, Andi Gross (Switzerland, SOC) and György Frunda (Romania, EPP/CD) today expressed their serious concern at the adoption by the lower chamber of the Russian Parliament of a controversial bill designed to increase fines for orchestrating unauthorised demonstrations...
05/06/2012 | Monitoring
While the political climate in Albania is still tense and antagonistic, there is clearly “a more constructive attitude” among all political forces, according to PACE’s monitoring co-rapporteurs for the country Tomáš Jirsa (Czech Republic, EDG) and Grigore Petrenco (Moldova, UEL).
04/06/2012 | Political Affairs and Democracy
“By denying the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica, the newly elected President of Serbia, Tomislav Nikolić, has cast a shadow on the presidency,” said Pietro Marcenaro (Italy, SOC), Chair of PACE Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy and former Rapporteur on reconciliation and political dialogue between the countries of the former Yugoslavia...
04/06/2012 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
At its meeting in Paris on 4 June, the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination expressed great appreciation for the commitment made by the French authorities to make the introduction of a new law on sexual harassment a priority and to ensure that a bill is placed on the agenda of parliament at the earliest opportunity following the June parliamentary election.
04/06/2012 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
At its meeting in Paris on 4 June 2012, the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination expressed deep concern at the announcement made by the Turkish Health Minister Recep Akdağ that legislation outlawing abortion in all circumstances would be presented by the end of June. Such an announcement has been accompanied by statements from high government officials, including the Turkish Prime Minister, equating abortion with murder and identifying abortion and “elective caesareans” as the causes for the slow population growth in the country.
01/06/2012 | Monitoring
Karin Woldseth (Norway, EDG) and Egidijus Vareikis (Lithuania, EPP/CD), PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Bosnia and Herzegovina will make a fact-finding visit to the country from 3 to 7 June 2012 to assess the implementation of its commitments and obligations as a Council of Europe member state.
01/06/2012 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
Roma face “double stigmatisation” when they are on the move, firstly as a persecuted and victimised minority and secondly as migrants, according to PACE’s Migration Committee. In a draft recommendation approved today in Paris, based on a report by Annette Groth (Germany, UEL), the committee points out this stigma is “based on three deep-rooted prejudices, namely that all Roma are nomads, they all come from abroad, and their migration is illegal”.
31/05/2012 | Session
Addresses by the Albanian and Croatian Prime Ministers, as well as a joint debate on the state of democracy in Europe, will be among highlights of PACE’s forthcoming summer session (25-29 June). The Italian Foreign Affairs Minister will also address the Assembly. The President of Tunisia’s Constituent Assembly will take part in a debate on political transition in the country.
31/05/2012 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
PACE rapporteur Tineke Strik (Netherlands, SOC) has called on members of the European Parliament to help uncover further details related to the deaths of 63 refugees who died in the Mediterranean last spring after their distress calls went unanswered. She was briefing the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee today in Brussels on her continuing investigation into the tragedy.