17/05/2010 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu has today begun a three-day official visit to Montenegro. During his visit, he will meet the President of the Republic Filip Vujanovic, the Prime Minister Milo Ðukanovic, the President of the Parliament Ranko Krivokapic and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Milan Rocen.
15/05/2010 | President
During his working visit to Crimea (Ukraine) on 14-15 May 2010, PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu welcomed the signing on 13 May 2010 by the President of Ukraine of the Decree concerning additional measures to integrate the Tatars of Crimea. "I very much hope that this decree, aiming at improving the socio-economic situation of the Crimean Tatars and enhancing their participation in social, cultural and political life, will mark the beginning of a new and positive chapter in the situation of the Crimean Tatars in Ukraine," declared the PACE President.
14/05/2010 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu has called on the authorities of Armenia to draw on the recommendations of its ad hoc parliamentary committee and of PACE in relation to the events of 1-2 March 2008 and to adopt and implement in due time a roadmap of reforms. Such clear determination is needed in order to restore public confidence, move towards reconciliation and consolidate the democratic process in the country, he said.
12/05/2010 | Standing Committee
PACE Standing Committee will be meeting in Skopje on Friday 21 May 2010 to discuss the priorities of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, which, since yesterday, has held the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, the Organisation’s executive body. After the opening of the meeting by Mevlüt Çavusoglu, President of the PACE, and a welcoming address by Trajko Veljanoski, President of the Assembly of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, the Standing Committee will hold an exchange of views with Antonio Miloshoski, Minister for Foreign Affairs of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, who will be chairing the Committee of Ministers for the next six months.
11/05/2010 | President
In his speech before today’s session of the Committee of Ministers, the PACE President congratulated the Swiss Chairmanship for its efforts to improve the effectiveness of the European Court of Human Rights. He thanked the Swiss Foreign Minister, Mrs. Calmy-Rey, for having strengthened dialogue with PACE and said he was convinced that this kind of relations will be continued during the Chairmanship of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” and its Foreign Minister, Mr. Miloshoski.
11/05/2010 | Culture, Science, Education and Media
The veiling of women is often perceived as “a symbol of the subjugation of women to men” and could be a threat to womens’ dignity and freedom, but there should be no general prohibition on wearing the burqa and the niquab, a PACE committee has declared. In a draft resolution adopted yesterday at a meeting in Istanbul, PACE’s Committee on Culture, Science and Education said legal restrictions may be justified “for security purposes, or where the public or professional functions of individuals require their religious neutrality, or that their face can be seen”.
10/05/2010 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu will make a visit to Armenia on 12-13 May, during which he will meet the President of the Republic Serzh Sargsyan, the President of the National Assembly Hovik Abrahamyan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandyan, members of different political factions represented in the National Assembly, and the extra-parliamentary opposition.
10/05/2010 | President
“Culture is not a luxury, it is a compelling need,” said PACE President, Mevlüt Çavusoglu, opening a hearing in Istanbul into “the right of everyone to take part in cultural life” organised by PACE’s Committee on Culture, Science and Education. It was important to find practical ways to make culture accessible to the widest possible number of citizens, the President said, speaking in the city which currently holds the title of European Capital of Culture. “These are the issues which are crucial for the future of European societies,” he said.
07/05/2010 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu has expressed his appreciation for the achievements of Switzerland’s six-month Presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, which is due to end on 11 May. Meeting Erika Forster-Vannini, the Speaker of Switzerland's Council of States – the upper house of the Swiss Parliament – and an accompanying delegation yesterday, the President praised in particular the Presidency’s work on the Interlaken Process, which aims to streamline the work of the European Court of Human Rights. Maximilian Reimann (Switzerland, ALDE) and Liliane Maury Pasquier (Switzerland, SOC) from the Swiss delegation to the Assembly were also present.
07/05/2010 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Strasbourg, 07.05.2010 - Christos Pourgourides (Cyprus, EPP/CD), rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, has ended a two-day visit to Bucharest (5-6 May 2010) with a call to the Romanian...
05/05/2010 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Christos Pourgourides (Cyprus, EPP/CD), PACE rapporteur on the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, has ended a two-day visit to Chisinau (3-4 May 2010) with a call to the Moldovan authorities to increase their efforts to solve several structural problems revealed in these judgments. “Good intentions to rectify the various deficiencies pointed to by the Court are just not enough,” said Mr Pourgourides, who chairs the Assembly’s Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights.
30/04/2010 | Session
On the basis of a report by Denis Badré (France, ALDE), which takes stock of existing Euro-Mediterranean relations at both European Union and Council of Europe level, the Assembly takes the view that the Council should strengthen its contribution to the Euro-Mediterranean partnership process. It is not for the Organisation to compete with the actions of the Union for the Mediterranean by setting up parallel structures, but to complement it by adding the dimension relating to democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and the transversal issue of gender equality.