20/02/2009 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
"The fast deterioration of the situation of ‘boat people’ in Lampedusa must be halted immediately", said Mrs Corien Jonker, Chair of PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population."We are deeply concerned by the overcrowding and worsening conditions in the identification and expulsion centre dealing with irregular migrants and asylum seekers in Lampedusa".
19/02/2009 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
“It is of great importance that discussions concerning the highly sensitive issue of forced returns continue at national and international levels, between the political and humanitarian actors,” Corien Jonker(Netherlands, EPP/CD), Chair of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population, said today at the opening of a two-day seminar on migration in Strasbourg organised by the French Red Cross and the Council of Europe. “The clash between reception and return is deepening in our member states, especially in the context of the current economic crisis. We need to work towards a sound and realistic return policy overall in Europe,” she continued.
18/02/2009 | Political Affairs and Democracy
PACE rapporteur on Belarus, Andrea Rigoni (Italy, ALDE), has said he will propose restoring Special Guest status to a delegation from the country’s parliament – provided a mechanism can also be found to associate representatives of the extra-parliamentary opposition. Göran Lindblad (Sweden, EPP/CD), the head of a PACE delegation which has just ended a four-day visit to the country, said: “The Assembly wants to bring Belarus closer to Council of Europe standards. Isolation has been tried and it has not worked. Mr Rigoni’s proposal would allow the beginning of a structured dialogue, partly as a response to some positive developments in the country.”
18/02/2009 | President
PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig will make an official visit to Andorra on 20 February with a view to stepping up cooperation with the country and broaching topics of common interest. Morning meetings are scheduled with the Speaker of Parliament (Sindic General), Joan Gabriel, the Chairs of the parliamentary groups and the representatives of the Andorran parliamentary delegation to the PACE.
17/02/2009 | Monitoring
“The decision of Albania’s Constitutional Court to suspend the implementation of the controversial Lustration Law is a welcome development,” said PACE Monitoring Committee co-rapporteurs for Albania, Jaakko Laakso (Finland, UEL) and David Wilshire (United Kingdom, EDG). “The Court has used its power to suspend implementation until it has taken a final decision on the complaints lodged by the Socialist Party, the Association of Judges and the Albanian Helsinki Committee,” they added.
17/02/2009 | Monitoring
John Prescott and Georges Colombier , co-rapporteurs on Armenia 's monitoring for PACE, expressed their concern about the refusal of the authorities to allow the Armenian National Congress (HAK) to organise a peaceful rally in Central Yerevan on 1 March 2009. They stressed that the Assembly has on several occasions called upon the authorities to fully respect the principle of freedom of assembly in Armenia and not to place undue restrictions, especially with regard to the requested venues, upon peaceful rallies organised by the opposition.
13/02/2009 | Political Affairs and Democracy
“I am extremely disappointed that for the fourth time the Kosovo Assembly has failed to elect an Ombudsperson,” said Björn von Sydow (Sweden, SOC), PACE Rapporteur on the situation in Kosovo. “The Ombudsperson is the main human rights mechanism available to the people in Kosovo. It is an effective institution which, moreover, enjoys the trust of all communities. The fact that this position has been held ad interim since January 2006 risks undermining the credibility of the Institution.”
12/02/2009 | Political Affairs and Democracy
A three-member PACE delegation will visit Minsk from 16 to 19 February 2009 to sound out the Belarusian authorities on the prospects for developing a constructive dialogue with the Council of Europe and its Assembly in the fields of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The delegation is made up of Göran Lindblad (Sweden, EPP/CD), Chair of PACE’s Political Affairs Committee, Sinikka Hurskainen (Finland, SOC), Chair of the Sub-Committee on Belarus, and Andrea Rigoni (Italy, ALDE), the Assembly’s Rapporteur on the situation in Belarus.
12/02/2009 | Monitoring
PACE Monitoring Committee co-rapporteurs for Albania have made it clear that there is scope for a major party-political confrontation ahead of June’s election over Albania’s new Lustration Law and urged all concerned to do all they can to avoid this. Jaako Laakso (Finland, UEL) and David Wilshire (United Kingdom, EDG) spent two days in Tirana discussing the new law and the way in which decisions on Albania’s delegation to PACE were taken.
11/02/2009 | Monitoring
“Transparent and efficient functioning of democratic institutions, which citizens can trust, is an essential pre-condition for closing the monitoring with respect to Serbia,” yesterday said PACE co-rapporteur on Serbia Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC) at the end of a two-day visit to the country. “Since the last parliamentary elections of May 2008, Serbia has made noticeable progress in a number of reform areas -he continued- commending the current political stability as well as the adoption of a number of key laws relating to European integration, reform of the judiciary and fight against corruption.
10/02/2009 | Political Affairs and Democracy
“A normal, dignified life – this is what the ordinary people of Kosovo have told me they would like most,” said Björn von Sydow (Sweden, SOC), PACE rapporteur on the situation in Kosovo, at the end of a four-day visit there, his first since the unilateral declaration of independence by the Kosovo Assembly. “Everybody can surely agree at least on this lowest common denominator – that people in Kosovo should enjoy the same legal standards as other Europeans, irrespective of the ethnic community to which they belong, or whether they live north or south of the Ibar River,” he said.
04/02/2009 | President
PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig has noted the hard work being done by Bosnia and Herzegovina to overcome inter-ethnic division, despite the complexity of the situation, but said it is still “struggling” to preserve stability and build a functional democratic state. Addressing a session of the “Parliament for Europe” in Sarajevo yesterday, he urged greater efforts to bring domestic laws into line with the European legal order, strengthen state institutions and urgently carry out constitutional reform using the expertise of the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission.