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.
14/03/2011 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has hailed the Council of Europe as a masterpiece of international leadership – but called for current leaders to be as “strong, virtuous and far-sighted” as their forefathers during a challenging and uncertain period for Europe and the world.
11/03/2011 | Standing Committee
Council of Europe member states and Mediterranean countries must do more to improve, apply and enforce national and international laws on the environment, and apply an integrated ecosystem-based approach in their policies, according to PACE’s Standing Committee.
11/03/2011 | Standing Committee
There are “numerous and serious” risks linked to the use of genetically modified organisms in agriculture, including many uncertainties about the transfer of genetic material, but they could also, to a certain extent, provide a means of combating famine and the food crisis, PACE’s Standing Committee has said.
11/03/2011 | Standing Committee
Retribution and punishment should take second place to social measures for the education and rehabilitation of young offenders, PACE Standing Committee said today. In a resolution based on a report by Marietta Karamanli (France, SOC), PACE said depriving children and young people of liberty should be a last resort.
11/03/2011 | Standing Committee
European states should enhance and modernise the legal framework surrounding biometric data used to identify individuals – such as DNA samples, fingerprinting, retina images or voice recordings – so that their use does not infringe human rights, according to PACE’s Standing Committee.
11/03/2011 | Standing Committee
"For the Council of Europe the current events in the Arab world are of major importance - not only because they affect peace and security in the region and beyond; but also because of our deep historic and cultural links and our close inter-dependence," PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said during a current affairs debate of the Standing Committee in Paris.
11/03/2011 | Monitoring
John Prescott (United Kingdom, SOC) and Axel Fischer (Germany, EPP/CD), PACE co-rapporteurs on the honouring of obligations and commitments by Armenia, will make a fact-finding visit to the country on 16 and 17 March 2011. They will be focusing in particular on outstanding issues concerning the events of March 2008, the main elements of the reform package announced by the authorities, and the media environment.
11/03/2011 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has written to the Speakers of both houses of the Japanese Parliament to express his “profound sympathy with the people of Japan” following the earthquake there today, and to convey his solidarity with the victims.