09/05/2006 | President
René van der Linden marked Europe day with a call to consolidate European ideals and values, vital to guaranteeing a stable, safe and prosperous Europe. "The Council of Europe has unique, tried and tested human rights protection machinery and instruments. The European Court of Human Rights, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and the European Cultural Convention are good examples. But while the machinery is there, it is for us, parliamentarians and decision-makers, to promote it by being closer in touch with public opinion, hopes, ideas and criticism. We have to restore the bond between Europe and its people," he said.
28/04/2006 | News
At the opening of the ''International Conference on European Parliamentarianism: Past and Present'', jointly organised by PACE, the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly and the Russian State Duma in St Petersburg, PACE President Rene van der Linden today called on members of Parliament to make more and better use of the instrument of parliamentary diplomacy. "As members of parliaments we play a key role. We can bring our national matters to the international level, we can bring international matters to the national level and more important, we are in the position to involve our citizens in national and international matters. We need to step up the efforts to practices our pivotal role", he said.
28/04/2006 | Election observation
A five-member PACE delegation today expressed concern at the lack of signs of democratic progress in the run-up to the partial re-run of the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan scheduled for 13 May 2006. In a statement issued at the end of a two-day ‘pre-electoral’ visit, the delegation regretted the low visibility of the campaign, and called on the authorities to reform the electoral code and the law on freedom of assembly, as well as to continue its investigations into electoral fraud in the November elections.
27/04/2006 | President
René van der Linden today welcomed the draft interim report issued by the European Parliament's temporary committee on alleged secret detentions. "I am very pleased with the close and fruitful cooperation that has developed between the Assembly's enquiry and the EP temporary committee," said Mr van der Linden. "This has clearly worked to the benefit of both institutions as we seek to discover the truth of this affair." "In particular, it is remarkable how closely the temporary committee's findings reiterate the interim conclusions drawn in January by the Assembly's rapporteur Mr Marty. All parliamentarians, whether national or European, should now use this material to increase the political pressure on Council of Europe member States. This will in turn facilitate Mr Marty's work as he prepares to present his final report to the Assembly in June."
27/04/2006 | News
Addressing in St Petersburg a special session of the State Duma of the Russian Federation on the occasion of its centenary, René van der Linden today called on Russia to strengthen its role on the European scene using the next Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Chairmanship.
27/04/2006 | News
René van der Linden has condemned the arrest in Belarus of opposition politicians at a peaceful rally and called for their immediate release - including Alexander Milinkevic, a candidate in the recent presidential elections.
26/04/2006 | News
On 28 April, the PACE President will be co-chairing an “International Conference on European Parliamentarianism: Past and Present" in St Petersburg.
25/04/2006 | Election observation
A five-member Assembly delegation, headed by Leo Platvoet (Netherlands, UEL), will make a pre-electoral visit to Azerbaijan from 27 to 28 April to assess preparations for the 13 May partial re-run of the parliamentary elections. In January the Assembly set out a list of urgent measures needed “to restore confidence in the electoral, and more generally the democratic process” in Azerbaijan – including ensuring that the election rerun in 10 constituencies fully abides by democratic principles. It said it would decide in June, in the light of progress made, whether to reconsider its decision to ratify the credentials of Azerbaijan's parliamentary delegation.
25/04/2006 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
On 28 April the Assembly’s Sub-committee on Crime Problems and the Fight against Terrorism holds a hearing in the Hague (in camera) on the work of the International Criminal Court, with the participation of the Court's President Philippe Kirsch and Prosecutor General Luis Moreno-Ocampo. A day earlier, on 27 April, the parliamentarians make a study visit to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, also based in the Hague, attending a hearing of the Tribunal and meeting its President Judge Fausto Pocar and Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte.
18/04/2006 | News
PACE President René van der Linden has resolutely and unconditionally condemned the suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, calling on all sides to do the same. In a statement he said: "The slaughter of innocent people can never be justified by any cause. It can never be ‘self-defence’. Only last week the Assembly called on Hamas to renounce violence and condemn terrorist actions. It must now do so, clearly and unambiguously. Killing innocents will never bring peace."
13/04/2006 | Session
Any agreement with the EU should acknowledge the Council of Europe as "the benchmark for human rights in Europe", PACE said today. Proposing ideas for inclusion in the coming memorandum of understanding between the two organisations, the parliamentarians said the EU should accede to the European Convention on Human Rights, avoid duplication by taking account of Council of Europe work – notably in its Neighbourhood Policy – and consider drafting standards together. It should also “take full account” of the personal report presented by Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker on Tuesday.
13/04/2006 | News
At the end of a debate on the future Fundamental Rights Agency of the EU, PACE today warned that the duplication of activities already undertaken by the Council of Europe could have “disadvantageous consequences” for European integration. “The fact of having two parallel institutions engaged in similar activities within the same geographical region would create new dividing lines in Europe (…) The apparent incoherency of creating a new EU body to duplicate work already satisfactorily undertaken elsewhere would cause confusion amongst a European public already uncertain about the process of European integration,” the adopted recommendation underlines. PACE called on all EU parliaments to give “serious consideration” to the creation of such an Agency.