23/01/2008 | Session
“The existence of an effective political opposition is crucial if parliamentary democracy is to be viable,” Karim Van Overmeire (Belgium, NR), rapporteur for the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities, said today. As he further emphasised, the status of the parliamentary opposition varies from one country to another according to the constitutional framework or the electoral system. It is therefore important that these parliaments update their rules on the rights of the opposition, by drawing up a charter of those rights or defining a proper status for the opposition in parliament.
23/01/2008 | Session
Progress in the Central Asian states is barely perceptible where respect for human rights and rule of law are concerned. To guard against the genuine risk of social explosion and political collapse in these states, far-reaching reforms are necessary according to Murat Mercan (Turkey, EPP/CD), rapporteur for the PACE Political Affairs Committee.
23/01/2008 | Session
In adopting the report by Josette Durrieu (France, SOC) today, the Assembly reaffirmed its determination to strengthen co-operation with the Maghreb countries, particularly Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, all three of whom are in favour of developing relations with Europe and its institutions. The Assembly regards this co-operation as a decisive factor of stability in the Euro-Mediterranean region and a source of mutual enrichment.
23/01/2008 | Session
Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly on 23 January, Abdelaziz Ziari, President of the National People’s Assembly of Algeria, paid tribute to his country’s co-operation with the Council of Europe, which reflected its determination to "pursue the process of deepening pluralist democracy and consolidating progress on human rights".
23/01/2008 | News
Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC) was today elected Chairman of the Socialist Group in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). A member of the Assembly since 1995, he is one of its Vice-Presidents and serves on three committtees: Culture, Science and Education, Political Affairs, and Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States (Monitoring Committee). In his new post, he succeeds Lluis Maria de Puig (Spain), who was elected President of the Assembly on 21 January.
23/01/2008 | Session
PACE considers that the procedures used by the UN Security Council and the EU to blacklist individuals and groups suspected of having connections with terrorism violate basic rights and are "completely arbitrary". Its members accordingly insist that they must be reviewed "to preserve the credibility of the international fight against terrorism".
23/01/2008 | Session
Addressing the Assembly on 22 January on the state of the Council of Europe, Secretary General Terry Davis declared: "The Council of Europe is a place of work, where governments accept legally binding obligations and voluntarily submit themselves to rigorous monitoring of their compliance with those obligations."
23/01/2008 | Session
Albanian President Bamir Topi addressing the Assembly today, said “only a united Europe is capable of eliminating war as a political instrument for solving conflicts and leading the countries of the region towards a more prosperous future”. He said that Kosovo’s independence was dictated by the interest of long-term stability and security and described the Ahtisaari plan as the only possible compromise solution for the unique case of Kosovo.
22/01/2008 | Session
Today, the Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution urging the member states to act together to protect the arctic region. Vladimir Grachev (Russia, EDG), the rapporteur, insisted on the need for a strategy and special programmes to ward off the effects of intensive economic exploitation of the arctic territories and preserve their environment.
22/01/2008 | Session
PACE today called on Council of Europe member states to co-ordinate their efforts to combat global warming at european and world level, and cover this issue in their sectoral policies, with a view to averting risks of flooding and drought.
22/01/2008 | Session
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), meeting this week in plenary session in Strasbourg, today elected five judges to the European Court of Human Rights. They are the following Zdravka Vladimirova Kalaydjieva, in respect of Bulgaria; Ann Power, in respect of Ireland; Ineta Ziemele, in respect of Latvia; Mihail Poalelungi, in respect of Moldova; Ayse Isil Karakas, in respect of Turkey.
22/01/2008 | Session
"It is essential for the Council of Europe to start thinking seriously about what it can do to promote democratic values in Belarus. I am against severing all contact with the Belarus authorities – as we have seen, that has no effect on the situation in the country, and simply makes it harder to get through to the people", declared Andrea Rigoni (Italy, ALDE) today, as he called for the start of step-by-step dialogue, based on a policy of good neighbourly relations.