09/03/2012 | Standing Committee
While noting that the inhabitants of Rhodes and Kos with a Turkish cultural background are generally well integrated into the multicultural societies of the two islands, PACE today noted that supporting the Turkish language, heritage and culture and promoting their better knowledge would benefit not only the inhabitants with a Turkish cultural background, but also their neighbours with Greek or other cultural backgrounds. In that sense, PACE made proposals intended to assist the Greek authorities in resolving this and other issues in a constructive manner.
08/03/2012 | Bureau
PACE Bureau meeting in Paris on 8 March 2012, International Women’s Day, recalls that every year for over a century, this day has drawn our attention to the fact that women and men do not have the same opportunities in life. This year it should also remind us that equality and democracy are inextricably linked and that one cannot exist without the other.
07/03/2012 | Culture, Science, Education and Media
Football’s governing body FIFA should open an internal investigation into whether the candidates in its recent election for President – and particularly the successful candidate – exploited their institutional positions to obtain “unfair advantages for themselves or for potential voters”, according to a PACE committee.
07/03/2012 | Culture, Science, Education and Media
Harmonised laws to combat ‘match-fixing’ came a step closer yesterday when PACE’s Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media unanimously called on the Council of Europe’s 47 member states to draw up a convention – or binding international treaty – against match-fixing and illegal betting. Meeting in Paris, the committee said the need for such a legal instrument was now “urgent”.
07/03/2012 | President
In a statement to mark International Women’s Day on 8 March, PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon has said there can be no democracy without respect for women’s rights. He launched a message of support and encouragement to all women living in the new democracies emerging from the Arab Spring. “Women, who were on the front line of the uprisings against authoritarian regimes, must also be on the front line when it comes to the running of public institutions, political decision-making, being able to vote and stand for elections,” said Jean-Claude Mignon.
07/03/2012 | President
In a statement to mark International Women’s Day on 8 March, PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon has said there can be no democracy without respect for women’s rights. He launched a message of support and encouragement to all women living in the new democracies emerging from the Arab Spring.
07/03/2012 | President
“The activities of the Council of Europe and the European Union are complementary: they pursue the common goal of creating a space for human rights protection throughout Europe, in the interests of all European citizens,” said PACE President, Jean-Claude Mignon, at the end of a two-day visit to Brussels, which included a series of high-level talks with various representatives of the European institutions.“We must avoid duplication of the Council’s and EU activities, while attempting to set up new synergies,” he added.
06/03/2012 | President
PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon will be holding high-level talks in Brussels on 6 and 7 March with Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, Michel Barnier, European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Štefan Füle, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, and Pierre Vimont, Executive Secretary General of the European External Action Service.
05/03/2012 | Elections
Although candidates in yesterday’s presidential election in the Russian Federation were able to campaign unhindered, conditions were clearly skewed in favour of one of the contestants, current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the international observers concluded in a statement issued today. "This election showed a clear winner with an absolute majority, avoiding a second round," said the head of the PACE delegation Tiny Kox (Netherlands, UEL).
05/03/2012 | Standing Committee
A parliamentary debate on the need for independent and credible expert assessments will be among the highlights of the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to be held in Paris on Friday 9 March 2012.
02/03/2012 | Monitoring
PACE co-rapporteurs Davit Harutyunyan (Armenia, EGD) and Indrek Saar (Estonia, SOC)has welcomed the decision of the European Council to grant Serbia the status of candidate country. "This decision acknowledges the significant progress made by Serbia in adopting European legal standards, co-operating with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and pursuing the dialogue with Pristina by diplomatic and peaceful means,” they said.
02/03/2012 | Monitoring
The independence of the judiciary, the situation of the media and the fight against corruption in Montenegro are among issues to be raised by Jean-Charles Gardetto (Monaco, EPP/CD), PACE monitoring co-rapporteur during a fact-finding visit to the country from 5 to 8 March 2012.