22/05/2008 | President
Co-operation with civil society has become a “keystone” of European politics, something considered a utopia sixty years ago, according to the Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly Dr Katalin Szili, giving one of the keynote speeches at the opening of the European Conference of Presidents of Parliaments in Strasbourg. Drawing on a 32-country survey, Dr Szili said dialogue with NGOs was becoming more formalised, but often involved better-resourced national umbrella organisations rather than grass-roots associations.
22/05/2008 | Election observation
Political stakeholders in Georgia made efforts to conduct yesterday’s parliamentary elections in line with international standards, but a number of problems were identified which made their implementation uneven and incomplete, international observers said today. "The Georgian people expressed their political will in yesterday’s elections," said Mátyás Eörsi (Hungary, ALDE), head of the PACE delegation. "But despite improvements to the election environment these elections did not make full use of the democratic potential of Georgia."
22/05/2008 | President
At the opening of the 19th European Conference of Presidents of Parliament, the host, PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig warmly welcomed the extremely successful co-operation which has developed in recent years between PACE and national parliaments as regards national-level investigation of suspected violations of human rights in member states' territories. He also recalled the key role of parliaments to ensure ratification and implementation of Council of Europe conventions and in giving full effect to European Court of Human Rights judgments in member countries' legal systems. On 22 and 23 May, the parliamentary summit will bring together some 250 participants, including 40 Speakers and 21 Deputy Speakers.
22/05/2008 | Culture, Science, Education and Media
The Committee on Culture, Science and Education of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has declared its opposition to a boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games and said it is worried at “the continuing over-politicisation” of the Games.
20/05/2008 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population today called on European governments to put forward minimum standards of reception to be guaranteed by all countries of destination of “boat people” and to share the responsibility of receiving them. In a report prepared by Morten Østergaard (Denmark, ALDE) published today, the committee recalls that in 2007 alone, over 51 000 persons arrived on the coasts of Italy, Spain, Greece and Malta. The parliamentarians express concern that “search and rescue obligations are not always being complied with, leading to increased risk to life and loss of life”.
20/05/2008 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
At the opening today in Paris of a hearing on the problem of environmental refugees, PACE Committee on Migration expressed compassion and solidarity with the families of the tens of thousands victims of the natural disasters that have recently devastated regions of Myanmar and China and called on the authorities of the two countries to allow a massive aid effort to the areas affected. “The restrictions on foreign aid workers and equipment are increasing the risk of starvation and disease of thousands of people,” said the Chair of the Committee, Corien Jonker (Netherlands, EPP/CD), on behalf of the committee.
19/05/2008 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
The PACE's Committee on Migration today asked European governments to give migrants an equal role in the democratic process and help them to play a more active part in society. Levels of democratic participation are low in Europe, said the author of the report, John Greenway (United Kingdom, EDG), and are even lower among migrants.
16/05/2008 | Election observation
A 20-member delegation from the PACE, headed by Mátyás Eörsi (Hungary, ALDE), will observe the parliamentary elections in Georgia on 21 May, alongside observers from the OSCE/ODIHR, the European Parliament and the OSCE and NATO Parliamentary Assemblies. The delegation, which arrives in the country from 18 May, will meet the Chair of the Central Electoral Commission, representatives of political parties, civil society and the media, as well as domestic observers, before observing the polling and the counting of votes in a representative sample of polling stations around the country.
16/05/2008 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population will be holding two hearings in Paris next week, one dealing with asylum policies in Europe, the other with the situation of environmental refugees. “Improving the quality and consistency of asylum decisions in the Council of Europe member states” is the theme of the first hearing, which will take place on Monday 19 May from 10 am to 12.30 pm.The second hearing, to be held on Tuesday 20 May from 9 to 11.30 am, will address “The problem of environmental refugees”.
15/05/2008 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
At a colloquy held today by the Parliamentary Assemby of the Council of Europe (PACE) in the French National Assembly, Rama Yade, State Secretary responsible for Foreign Affairs and Human Rights, said that the level of progress made by any society could be gauged by the status of women in that society, and that combating domestic violence against women was not only a matter affecting the status of women but also a challenge for the whole process of social development.
15/05/2008 | Monitoring
Andres Herkel (Estonia, EPP/CD) and Evguenia Jivkova (Bulgaria, SOC), PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of the honouring of obligations and commitments by Azerbaijan, will be undertaking a fact-finding visit to Baku from 18 to 20 May to assist the authorities in preparing the Presidential election of 15 October 2008 in line with the Council of Europe’s standards.
14/05/2008 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
This parliamentary colloquy is to be held on Thursday 15 May from 9 am to 1 pm at the French National Assembly (33, rue Saint Dominique, Paris 7, 3rd floor). It is organised by PACE and will be opened by Jean-Claude Mignon (France, EPP/CD) and José Mendes Bota (Portugal, EPP/CD.