18/03/2011 | Monitoring
Lise Christoffersen (Norway, SOC) and Piotr Wach (Poland, EPP/CD), PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Moldova will make a fact-finding visit to the country from 21-24 March 2011. Among other things, they will focus on the current political situation, including the state of play as regards the election of the President of the Republic, the latest developments in the field of justice and the media, and preparations for local elections.
18/03/2011 | Culture, Science, Education and Media
There are many dark sides to the fate of personal data on the Internet, with questions arising about the right to respect for privacy and the right to data protection. This was the conclusion of participants in a hearing, held in Paris today by PACE's Culture Committee, on the subject of privacy and the management of private information on the Internet and other on-line media.
18/03/2011 | Culture, Science, Education and Media
"We are today confronted with manifestations of intolerance, rejection and violence which are a threat to social cohesion. There is an urgent need for a new ‘living together’ paradigm. Each of us must not just accept the existence of differing sensitivities, religious or other, but must also respect them. Pretending not to care is inappropriate; feeling threatened is a mistake", according to Anne Brasseur (Luxembourg, ALDE), presenting her report on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue to the Culture Committee in Paris.
18/03/2011 | President
Monaco has been a “good partner” of the Council of Europe and has demonstrated its commitment to the Organisation’s standards as well as the political will to carry out further reforms, PACE President Mevlüt Cavuşoğlu has said towards the end of a three-day official visit to the Principality (17-19 March).
17/03/2011 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
EU member states have so far "failed the test of solidarity" when it comes to helping fellow member states facing huge numbers of irregular migrants and asylum seekers, a hearing of PACE’s Migration Committee in Brussels was told yesterday. "If we are serious about building a common EU asylum system by the end of 2012, there needs to be solidarity to help member states who are under pressure – to live up to standards consistently and properly implement regulations," said Cecilia Wikström.
16/03/2011 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
There are proportionately fewer Europeans in the world, and the trend is set to continue, members of PACE’s Migration Committee were told yesterday at a hearing in Brussels on demographic trends in Europe. UNECE expert Vitalija Gaucaite Wittich explained that Europeans made up 22 per cent of the world’s population in 1950. By 2010, that had dropped to 11 per cent, and will drop to 8 per cent by 2050 if the trend continues.
16/03/2011 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
“Migrant children are children first and their migrant status is secondary,” declared rapporteur Pedro Agramunt, speaking at the opening of a Brussels hearing on undocumented migrant children. “The best interests of the child should remain primordial.”
16/03/2011 | Political Affairs and Democracy
In a report on the expansion of democracy by lowering the voting age to 16, member States are invited to create the necessary preconditions for the participation of young people in civic life through education as well as the promotion of community involvement and to investigate the possibility of lowering the voting age to 16 years in all countries and for all kinds of elections. They should also examine the possibility of lowering the minimum ages to stand for different kinds of elections (parliament, senate, presidency, local and regional bodies) whenever advisable.
16/03/2011 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Jean-Charles Gardetto (Monaco, EPP/CD), PACE Rapporteur on the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), has urged the Greek authorities to comply with minimal European requirements concerning the holding of illegal migrants and persons held in prisons. “The CPT so rarely makes a public statement that it is a sign that there is a serious problem,” he said.
15/03/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
What parliamentarians can do to update Europe’s laws and agreements relating to water, waterways and water management will be the focus of a major conference bringing together European parliamentarians and water experts in Monaco on 22 March 2011. The conference is organised by the PACE Sub-Committee on Sustainable Development to mark the UN’s “World Water Day”.
15/03/2011 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu is to make an official visit to the Principality of Monaco on 18 and 19 March 2011 where he is due to meet the President of Monaco’s National Council Jean-Francois Robillon and representatives of political groups in the Council, followed by an audience with His Serene Highness Prince Albert II. He will also meet the Principality’s Minister of State Michel Roger.
15/03/2011 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Nuclear energy – considered relatively clean from the emissions viewpoint but more problematic as regards the management of waste, operational safety and protection against terrorist attacks – has polarised opinions across Europe, PACE stressed in numerous texts adopted since 2005. Stricter operational standards, reinforced safety, new technologies and better communication with the public may well render nuclear energy more acceptable, it said.