15/02/2012 | President
Increased co-operation between the Parliamentary Assembly and the European Parliament was the main focus of meetings held yesterday and today in Strasbourg by the PACE President, Jean-Claude Mignon. During these meetings Jean-Claude Mignon advocated increased reciprocal participation in activities of common interest organised by the two institutions, including joint field visits.
14/02/2012 | President
Media professionals have a genuine power to "convey a positive message of intercultural dialogue and promote ideological, cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity" PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon declared today in Strasbourg at the opening of a colloquy on the theme "Media which express cultural diversity: situation and prospects", organised by the University of Strasbourg's UNESCO Chair.
14/02/2012 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
Fatiha Saïdi (Belgium, SOC), a member of the PACE Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination, will make a fact-finding visit to Casablanca and Rabat (15-18 February), followed by Tunis (19-21 February), in connection with the preparation of her report on "Gender equality and the status of women in the Council of Europe southern neighbourhood".
13/02/2012 | Elections
Russia on the eve of its Presidential election remains a nation poised between hope and fear, where much is possible but nothing is yet sure, according to a PACE pre-electoral delegation, concluding a four-day visit to Moscow. The five-member delegation, in Moscow from 8 to 11 February 2012, met four of the five candidates: Sergey Mironov, Mikhail Prokhorov, Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Guennady Zyuganov.
13/02/2012 | President
During an exchange of views yesterday with the European Affairs Committee of the French Senate, PACE President, Jean-Claude Mignon, recalled the main activities carried out by the Council of Europe, which focuses on the protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. On this occasion, Mr Mignon presented the priorities of his Presidency.
13/02/2012 | Monitoring
Kerstin Lundgren (Sweden, ALDE) and Jana Fischerová (Czech Republic, EDG), PACE co-rapporteurs who have been appointed to assess the request for the opening of a monitoring procedure in respect of Hungary – following a motion signed by 24 members of the Assembly in January 2011 – will make a fact-finding visit to Budapest on 16-17 February 2012.
13/02/2012 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
“Family reunification is an important element of the right to family life and an essential part of the integration process for migrants,” said Giacomo Santini (Italy, EPP/CD), Chair of the PACE Migration Committee, following the approval by the committee of a position paper on reform of the EU Family Reunification Directive.
09/02/2012 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
The President of the PACE Migration Committee, Giacomo Santini, has stated that "the erection of a barbed wire fence between Greece and Turkey will not solve anything at all. It will simply give rise to greater distress and more loss of human lives. People attempting to reach Europe will look for alternative routes," he went on.
06/02/2012 | President
"While the whole of Europe is in the grip of a dreadful cold spell, which is reported to have killed over 300 people, we all have a moral duty to show solidarity to the most vulnerable of our fellow citizens", said PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon, speaking today. "Reporting the presence of any homeless persons who are outdoors exposed to the bad weather, taking an interest in the health of elderly neighbours who live alone, giving a helping hand to the charities working in the streets, these are ways of not just providing comfort, but also saving lives, in the present situation."
02/02/2012 | President
PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon yesterday unreservedly condemned the repression and massacres perpetrated by the Syrian regime, and sent out a fervent appeal to the UN Security Council to take the requisite steps to put an end to the repression. "The situation in Syria has become intolerable, and urgent action is needed..."
02/02/2012 | Elections
A five-member PACE delegation led by Tiny Kox (Netherlands, UEL) will carry out a pre-electoral mission to Moscow on 8-11 February 2012, to assess the electoral framework and campaign ahead of the Russian presidential election on 4 March 2012. The delegation is due to meet the Speaker of the State Duma Sergey Naryshkin, candidates in the presidential election, candidates disqualified from running, and the Russian delegation to PACE.
02/02/2012 | Monitoring
PACE rapporteurs on Azerbaijan, Pedro Agramunt (Spain, EPP/CD) and Joseph Debono Grech (Malta, SOC) visited Baku from 31 January to 2 February 2012 in the framework of the monitoring procedure. They held meetings with the Chairman Of Milli Mejlis and the leadership of political parties represented in the Parliament, with the Minister of Justice, Prosecutor General and the Head of the Presidential Administration as well as with the Deputy Chair of the Supreme Court and the Ombudsperson. They also met representatives of some opposition parties which have no seats in the Parliament, journalists and representatives of civil society.