17/11/2009 | Political Affairs and Democracy
“Over the past few years we have been witnessing a strong resurgence of piracy at sea, and European states are comparatively powerless to cope with the scale of this phenomenon,” Birgen Keles (Turkey, SOC) emphasised at a hearing held today in Brussels by the PACE Political Affairs Committee. “Military deterrence has had a definite impact in curbing attacks, but cannot be the sole solution to the problem of piracy,” she added.
17/11/2009 | Political Affairs and Democracy
“Over the last two months, the process of negotiation in the Middle East has weakened despite the Obama administration’s recent efforts to draw the Israeli and Palestinian sides together,” Piero Fassino (Italy, SOC), PACE rapporteur on the situation in the Middle East, stressed today in Brussels at a meeting of the Sub-Committee on the Middle East.
17/11/2009 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
Plans for migration and asylum in the European Union’s draft five-year plan for cross-border co-operation are too focused on the processes of migration and not enough on the people, the head of a delegation from PACE told a gathering of parliamentarians in Brussels today.
16/11/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
While recalling that the eradication of homophobia and transphobia requires the member states political resolve, the PACE Legal Affairs Committee meeting this morning in Paris adopted a draft resolution urging European governments to guarantee “legal recognition of same-sex partnerships” and the possibility of joint parental responsibility for each partner’s children, or even “the right of each partner to adopt the other partner’s children”.
16/11/2009 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
The head of PACE’s Environment Committee, speaking on behalf of PACE President Lluis Maria de Puig, today encouraged Council of Europe governments to sign the new additional protocol to the European Charter of Local Self-Government, giving citizens the right to participate in the affairs of a local authority.
13/11/2009 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
Migration could well present a solution for Europe’s recovery from the economic crisis, according to Mevlüt Çavusoglu (Turkey EDG), Chair of PACE’s Sub-Committee on Migration, speaking at the end of a two-day forum, “Remain, migrate or return: what to do in a global recession?” held on 12-13 November in Antalya, Turkey. "Migrants often adapt more easily to changes than mainstream populations," Mr Cavusoglu pointed out. "Their contribution can help countries to recover and adapt to new circumstances."
12/11/2009 | President
At the end of a five-day official visit to Japan, PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig today said that co-operation between Japan and the Council of Europe should be strengthened, at both parliamentary and intergovernmental level, as well as in the field of legal co-operation.
12/11/2009 | Monitoring
Andres Herkel (Estonia, EPP/CD), co-rapporteur for the monitoring of Azerbaijan, and Christoph Strässer (Germany, SOC), rapporteur on the follow-up to the issue of political prisoners in Azerbaijan by PACE, today expressed their dismay at the conviction of two satirical bloggers, Adnan Hadjizadeh, 26, and Emin Milli, 30, accused of hooliganism. “This case is yet another blow to freedom of expression in Azerbaijan and a serious setback on the country’s path to democratisation,” the two rapporteurs said.
10/11/2009 | Standing Committee
Switzerland’s priorities for its Chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers will feature at a meeting of PACE Standing Committee in Bern, Switzerland, on Friday 20 November 2009. A series of reports on migration are also due to be debated. The President of the Swiss National Council Chiara Simoneschi-Cortesi will give a welcome address, followed by an exchange of views with Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey. The President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly João Soares will also address the committee.
10/11/2009 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
The members of PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population will be taking part on 12 November in a forum on “Remain, migrate or return: what to do in a global recession?”, organised by the Sub-Committee on Migration and the Turkish parliament. The parliamentarians will be looking at the effects of the economic crisis on migration flows, the burdens and benefits for receiving countries, the development challenges faced by countries of origin and the repercussions of the crisis on migrants and their families.
05/11/2009 | President
PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig will be conducting an official visit to Japan from 9 to 12 November. Meetings are scheduled with the Speaker of the House of Councillors (the upper house of the Japanese Parliament), the Vice-Speaker of the House of Representatives (the lower house), the Minister of Justice, the Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Director General of the European Affairs Bureau, and the Minister of State for Financial Services and for Postal Reform, who is also Chairman of the Parliamentary Members’ League for the Abolition of the Death Penalty.
05/11/2009 | President
PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig today welcomed the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on 1 December 2009 and expressed the hope that accession by the European Union (EU) to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), made possible by the Treaty, would be a priority for the EU. "As from next month, the 27-member EU will be in a position to become more democratic, more transparent and more effective.