12/05/2011 | President
Following the earthquake that yesterday hit the region of Murcia, PACE President Mevlüt Cavusoglu today addressed a message of solidarity to the Presidents of the Spanish Senate and Congress of Deputies: "On behalf of the Parliamentary Assembly, I would like to express my profound sympathy to the people of Spain following the earthquake which hit your country yesterday in the region of Murcia. At this difficult moment, I would like to ask you to convey to the families of the dead and on those who have been injured our expression of great solidarity and sympathy, and to offer our encouragement to the assistance teams which are providing relief to those affected."
11/05/2011 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
“Today the Council of Europe has established a crucial landmark on the way to ensuring the equal enjoyment of human rights by women and men,” said José Mendes Bota (Portugal, EPP/CD), Chairperson of PACE’s Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, speaking in Istanbul, where he is taking part in the ceremony for the opening for signature of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.
11/05/2011 | President
Speaking on the occasion of the 121st session of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers meeting in Istanbul today, PACE President Mevlüt Cavusoglu stressed that he personally considered that a Council of Europe Summit was needed to get the necessary level of political commitment to implement the measures proposed by the Group of Eminent Persons of the Council of Europe in a report on “Living together – combining diversity and freedom in 21st century Europe”.
11/05/2011 | Election observation
A five-member PACE delegation, led by Kerstin Lundgren (Sweden, ALDE), will carry out a pre-electoral mission to Turkey on 17-18 May, ahead of the parliamentary elections on 12 June 2011, to assess the electoral framework and campaign.
09/05/2011 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu today expressed his distress and deep concern following reports that 61 boat people have died after their appeals for rescue were ignored. Reportedly, their boat was left to drift in the Mediterranean for 16 days. “If this grave accusation is true – that, despite the alarm being raised, and despite the fact that this boat, fleeing Libya, had been located by armed forces operating in the Mediterranean, no attempt was made to rescue the 72 passengers aboard, then it is a dark day for Europe as a whole,” he declared.
06/05/2011 | Prizes
“In establishing the Europe Prize in 1955, the aim of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe was to demonstrate, through a political decision, the importance it attaches to the European action of local authorities,” said PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, speaking today in Ankara, on the occasion of the General Assembly of the Association of Towns awarded the Europe Prize.
04/05/2011 | Political Affairs and Democracy
"I very much welcome the unity deal of the various Palestinian groups, signed today in Cairo," said Tiny Kox (Netherlands, UEL), the PACE rapporteur on a request by the Palestinian National Council for "Partner for democracy" status with the Assembly. "Palestinian unity is of utmost importance with regard to the Palestinian request for closer co-operation with the Assembly," said Mr Kox, who made a fact-finding visit to Ramallah and Jerusalem in March to assess the request.
04/05/2011 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Christos Pourgourides (Cyprus, EPP/CD), Chairperson of the PACE Legal Affairs Committee and the Assembly’s former rapporteur on “Fair trial issues in criminal cases concerning espionage or divulging state secrets”, has welcomed the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg finding a violation by the Russian Federation of scientist Igor Sutyagin’s right to a fair trial.
29/04/2011 | Culture, Science, Education and Media
“World Press Freedom Day is a moment to celebrate the right to freedom of expression and information through the media as one of the most fundamental political rights for every individual and for the functioning of democratic societies,” said Mats Johansson (Sweden, EPP/CD), the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) standing rapporteur on media freedom.
29/04/2011 | President
Following the terrorist attack in Marrakech on 28 April, the PACE President extended his sincere condolences to the Speakers of the Assembly of Representatives and the Assembly of Councillors of Morocco: "May I extend to you my sincere condolences on my own account and on behalf of all members of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly on the occasion of the terrorist attack which rocked your country yesterday..."
28/04/2011 | President
Croatia is “on the right track” in its European integration and could become a model for other Western Balkan countries in their drive for EU membership, PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said, speaking mid-way through a two-day official visit to the country (28-29 April). The country has made “remarkable progress in establishing democratic norms and practices, in the protection of human rights and in building a state based on the rule of law”, the President said, demonstrating its potential to play the same positive role when it becomes an EU member.
26/04/2011 | President
National parliaments must play a key role in stemming the flood of applications submerging the European Court of Human Rights, PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said, speaking today at the opening of the High-Level Conference on the future of the Court in Izmir, Turkey. Parliaments should "rigorously and systematically verify the compatibility of draft and existing laws with the Convention’s standards", the President pointed out, which would prevent some cases reaching Strasbourg in the first place. Secondly, they should apply pressure on governments to rapidly implement the Court’s judgments when violations were found.