16/10/2007 | President
A stable and strong partnership with Russia is essential to peace, prosperity and stability in Europe, which should invest in relations with Russia “on every possible level”, PACE President René van der Linden has reiterated. Speaking at a conference in the Hague entitled “Security of relations: the Netherlands and Russia", the President spelled out a three-point strategy for achieving such a partnership.
15/10/2007 | Political Affairs and Democracy
Andrea Rigoni (Italy, ALDE), PACE Rapporteur of the Political Affairs Committee, will carry out a fact-finding visit to Belarus from 16 to 19 October as part of the preparation of his report on the situation in that country. He will meet a number of official representatives, including the speaker of the parliament and the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Justice, as well as representatives of the opposition parties, civil society and NGOs.
12/10/2007 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
The Committee on Economic Affairs will meet representatives of the European Patent Office to take stock of the new outlook, following France’s ratification of the London Agreement to introduce greater flexibility into the translation requirements for European patents. At its plenary meeting the Committee on Economic Affairs will discuss the mobilisation of parliaments in the "New Partnership for Africa's Development" (NEPAD). The Committee will also visit the headquarters of Siemens and EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space) Germany.
12/10/2007 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
On 18 October the members of the Committee on the Environment will take part in the seminar on “Environmental and Scientific Issues of the North Atlantic: A European Perspective”, whose main themes will be fishing and climate change, marine pollution and marine governance. The day after the seminar there will be a plenary meeting of the Committee on the Environment, whose agenda will include: the state of the environment in the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea Basin, transfrontier co-operation, regional self-government in the Azores and the use of geothermal power.
12/10/2007 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
At the halfway stage of the Council of Europe Campaign to Combat Violence against Women, including Domestic Violence, PACE is to hold several seminars for members of the parliaments of outlying countries so as to encourage national parliaments to step up their activities. Following the seminar held in Helsinki on 10 October 2007, the PACE is to hold another, this time in Vienna on 16 October, under the aegis of the Austrian Parliament (Dr. Karl-Renner-Ring 3), to be attended by members of parliament from Austria, Germany, the Slovak Republic, the Russian Federation and Hungary.
09/10/2007 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
At the halfway stage of the Council of Europe Campaign to Combat Violence against Women, including Domestic Violence, PACE is to hold several seminars for members of the parliaments of outlying countries so as to encourage national parliaments to step up their activities. One regional group, comprising members of the Finnish, Swedish and Lithuanian parliaments, as well as some representatives of NGOs, is to meet in the parliament building in Helsinki (Arkadiankatu 3) on 10 October.
09/10/2007 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
The Vice-Chair of PACE's Legal Affairs Committee Erik Jurgens today called on the French authorities to give Abdelhamid Hakkar, an Algerian who still claims his innocence after 23 years in jail for the murder of a policeman and armed robbery, a firm date when he can apply for parole. Speaking outside Ensisheim Prison following a visit to Mr Hakkar, Mr Jurgens said there had been "a degree of vindictiveness" in the way he had been treated. "There are other prisoners in the same position who are now free."
08/10/2007 | President
In response to allegations from Marko Mihkelson, chairman of the Estonian parliament’s EU affairs committee, concerning personal financial interests in Russia, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), René van der Linden, today stressed that he has not, and never has had, any financial involvement in any company in Russia; he is not, and never has been, a member of any supervisory or other board of any company having economic interests in Russia, and that he has never received any financial advantage, compensation or payment of any sort in relation to activities involving Russia.
05/10/2007 | President
“Senator Hoeffel is a major champion of the European project, and also of local democracy, which means so much to the Council of Europe”, declared Assembly President René van der Linden, when he presented Daniel Hoeffel with the Pro Europa Prize today. “It is in recognition of his work for both that he is deservedly receiving this award today, with our warmest congratulations”, he went on. “Daniel Hoeffel is one of the best-known politicians in Alsace – and a great friend and supporter of the Council of Europe.”
05/10/2007 | President
One year after the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, René van der Linden, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), made the following statement: “A year ago, on 7 October 2006, Anna Politkovskaya was shot in Moscow. A year later, light has still to be shed on this murder.
05/10/2007 | Monitoring
The departure of Silvio Berlusconi from office has temporarily remedied the conflict of interest created by his position as both Prime Minister and owner of Mediaset, one half of the “duopoly” which dominates Italian television, but new laws are still needed to prevent such potential abuses of power in the future, according to PACE's Monitoring Committee.
05/10/2007 | Session
Since its establishment, the Commissioner for Human Rights has made brisk and steadfast progress and the hopes placed in the Commissioner are now considerable. The Assembly stressed the need to endow the Commissioner with the human and financial resources needed to enable him to live up to these expectations.