19/05/2011 | Election observation
PACE pre-electoral delegation visited Skopje on 17-18 May to assess the state of preparations and the political climate prior to the early parliamentary elections in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” on 5 June 2011. The pre-electoral delegation notes that the amended Electoral Code, if properly implemented, could ensure a sound legal framework for the holding of democratic elections.
19/05/2011 | Standing Committee
The potential dangers of electromagnetic fields and their effect on the environment will be a central focus of the meeting of PACE Standing Committee to be held in Kyiv on Friday 27 May 2011 following the transfer of the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers to Ukraine. Assembly members will hold a debate on the basis of the report by Jean Huss (Luxembourg, SOC) and will adopt a resolution on this issue. The draft text calls for a series of measures to reduce exposure – especially of children and young people – to electromagnetic fields, and in particular radio frequencies emitted by mobile phones.
19/05/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
PACE Vice-President Ivan Popescu (Ukraine, SOC) will give a speech on 24 May in Kyiv at the opening of the Conference on combating violence against children to be held in the context of the Ukrainian Chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers. The aim of the conference is to gather information on good practices in implementing integrated national strategies to safeguard children’s rights.
18/05/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
PACE Committee on Economic Affairs and Development will hold a hearing on 20 May in Lamezia Terme (Italy) on “Input for local development: an innovative approach for crisis-stricken regions” in connection with the preparation of a report on the subject by Giuseppe Galati (Italy, EPP/CD).
18/05/2011 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
A five-member delegation of parliamentarians from PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population is to visit the Italian island of Lampedusa on 23-24 May as part of its assessment of the large-scale arrival of irregular migrants, asylum seekers and refugees on Europe’s southern shores.
18/05/2011 | Election observation
A four-member, cross-party delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) making a pre-electoral visit to Turkey ahead of the 12 June parliamentary elections has welcomed the sound economic progress achieved in Turkey since the 2007 parliamentary elections.
17/05/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Governments must create incentives for “greener” industry, help companies to meet environmental standards and give them scientific and technological support to become more ecologically-friendly, has said Alan Meale (United Kingdom, SOC), Chair of PACE’s Sub-committee on Local and Regional Democracy, hosting a panel on “the role of government in strengthening green industry” at the Nevsky International Ecological Congress in Saint Petersburg today.
17/05/2011 | Culture, Science, Education and Media
PACE's Committee on Culture, Science and Education unanimously adopted during its meeting in Ljubljana the report by Andreja Rihter (Slovenia, SOC) on 'Protection of privacy and personal data on the Internet and online media'. According to the rapporteur, "the digitalisation of information has caused unprecedented possibilities for the identification of individuals through their data.
16/05/2011 | President
Following the recent sentencing of former presidential candidate Andrey Sannikau to five years of imprisonment, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, today strongly condemned the ongoing politically motivated trials by the Belarusian courts of the former presidential candidate as well as several other representatives of opposition parties, independent journalists and human rights defenders.
16/05/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Do we have the right to decide whether to start, continue or end medical treatment, and what might be the uses, benefits and limitations of living wills, with a view to better protection of health and human rights at all stages of life? These questions will be the central themes of a hearing in Paris on 19 May organised by the Social Affairs Committee of PACE, at which parliamentarians and experts from France, Switzerland, Spain and Ukraine will review the situation in Council of Europe member states.
13/05/2011 | President
“The action of the Congress and of the Assembly is very much complementary,” said PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu, addressing the Bureau of the Congress today in Antalya. “The challenges our societies have to face today are complex in their nature and require a comprehensive and joint response at national, regional and local level”, he added.
12/05/2011 | Election observation
A five-member PACE delegation led by Jean Charles Gardetto (Monaco, EPP/CD) will carry out a pre-electoral mission to Skopje on 17 and 18 May 2011, ahead of the early parliamentary elections on 5 June in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, to assess the electoral framework and campaign. The delegation will meet the President of the Republic, the Speaker of Parliament, the Ministers of Justice and the Interior, and the representatives of the political parties and coalitions standing for election.