01/10/2008 | Session
The current situation offers the best opportunity in many years to reach a settlement that would restore peace and unity to Cyprus, says PACE. Following a debate on the situation on the island, parliamentarians called on “all the internal and external actors involved” to do their utmost to maximise the chances of the process succeeding. “President Christofias and Mr Talat,” said PACE, “are conscious that they cannot afford to fail.” The Assembly urged Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom, as the three guarantor states of the 1960 Constitution of Cyprus, to “fully and actively” use their influence to support the political process under way.
30/09/2008 | Session
PACE meeting this week in plenary session in Strasbourg, today re-elected Dean Spielmann as judge to the European Court of Human Rights with respect to Luxembourg.
30/09/2008 | Session
When electing judges to the European Court of Human Rights, the Assembly will in future be able to consider single-sex lists (where the candidates belong to the over-represented sex) in exceptional cases, where "all the necessary and appropriate steps" have been taken to include the under-represented sex. PACE elects judges on the basis of lists of three candidates submitted by each of the States that have ratified the European Convention on Human Rights. Since 2004, in order to encourage a gender balance in the Court, PACE has refused to consider single-sex lists of candidates "if that sex is over-represented in the Court".
30/09/2008 | Session
In his address to the Parliamentary Assembly on 30 September, Haris Silajdzic, Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said: “ Without a comprehensive reform of the Dayton Constitution, little progress will be made, threatening peace and stability in my country and the entire region.” Expressing hope for the continued help of the Venice Commission and other Council of Europe institutions, he emphasised that “helping to build a modern constitutional state that is true to its multiethnic character will make both Bosnia and Europe a better place.”
30/09/2008 | Session
In a resolution adopted today, PACE called upon the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to step up their efforts with regard to constitutional reforms, which should be implemented on the basis of a shared vision of the development of the country’s institutions, while respecting the autonomy of the two Entities and the Brcko district. “Without proper reforms, and in the absence of co-operation between the various structures and institutions at the level of the state and the Entities, Bosnia and Herzegovina will not be able to make full use of the benefits of European integration,” said the co-rapporteurs from the Monitoring Committee, Mevlüt Çavusoglu (Turkey, EDG) and Kimmo Sasi (Finland, EPP/CD).
30/09/2008 | Session
“We envisioned a Cyprus where any conflict between the communities will, in the context of a united economy, be replaced by healthy competitiveness and an alignment of interests between the various classes of the population, irrespective of which community they come from,” the President declared on 30 September in his speech to the Parliamentary Assembly. President Christofias stressed the “common vision” he shares with Mehmet Ali Talat – the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community who will also address the Assembly on 1 October ahead of a debate on the situation in Cyprus. He added: “I believe that we can and must succeed.”
29/09/2008 | Session
Speaking at the Assembly session, Jorge Pizarro, President of the Latin American Parliament, pointed out on 29 September, that inequity, exclusion and poverty in the world cannot be justified by the scarceness of resources or population growth. He expressed his concern that poverty is growing, and said Latin American countries, in addition to developed countries, have an important role to combat it.
29/09/2008 | Session
"We strongly believe that alternatives of peaceful settlement were not exhausted in the case of South Ossetia and Abkhazia," said Yavuz Mildon, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, in his address to the Assembly on 29 September. He stated that the flexible models of regional autonomy constituted a sound alternative to conflict and specifically referred to the new European Charter of Regional Democracy which could be used in settling territorial disputes.
29/09/2008 | Session
In his address to the Assembly on 29 September, Jorge Sampaio, UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations stressed that fostering dialogue is the only sure way to counter extremism and build cross-cultural and inter-religious understanding. Conceding that there was no quick fix to eliminate the world’s imbalances, tensions and sources of conflict, he called for greater unity to make "the world a better place to live in."
29/09/2008 | Session
Adopting the final agenda of its Autumn session this morning, PACE decided to hold an urgent debate on the consequences of the war between Georgia and Russia. The debate will be in two parts: it will start on the morning of Tuesday 30 September and resume on Thursday 2 October. The vote will take place late in the afternoon. The parliamentarians also decided to debate the reconsideration of the previously ratified credentials of the Russian delegation on substantial grounds on the afternoon of Wednesday 1 October.
29/09/2008 | News
A memorandum by Luc Van den Brande (Belgium, EPP/CD), the head of a PACE delegation which visited Russia and Georgia last week, was made public this morning by the Assembly’s Bureau. The nine-member, cross-party delegation visited both countries to gather information ahead of a plenary urgent debate on “the consequences of the war between Georgia and Russia”, due to take place on Tuesday and Thursday.
29/09/2008 | Session
Referring to the crisis between Georgia and Russia at the opening of the PACE Autumn Session, its President, Lluis Maria de Puig, said today that "the Council of Europe must spare no criticism and must condemn all that it considers to be a violation of its principles and values with the utmost firmness". However, he went on to say, "We must, in particular, look to the future and show prudence and political vision, for we are all aware that the conflict between Georgia and Russia is fraught with consequences, not only for both countries but for the entire region".