02/06/2006 | Monitoring
Hanne Severinsen (Denmark, ALDE), who is visiting Bulgaria in the framework of post-monitoring dialogue with the country, today told a press conference: "Bulgaria needs to keep in mind long-term goals and perspectives, not the date of EU accession, in pursuing reforms". She also said the Venice Commission should be asked for its opinion on planned constitutional changes in Bulgaria, especially as regards the independence of the judiciary.
01/06/2006 | News
Following its decision last April to close its dialogue with the Parliament of Liechtenstein on the country's constitutional and political practices, following the entry into force in 2003 of the new Constitution, the Bureau of PACE has just published the report of its Ad Hoc Committee.
31/05/2006 | President
The European Conference of Presidents of Parliament has concluded in Tallinn with a call for follow-up action to further explore the possibilities of parliamentary diplomacy. In concluding remarks, PACE President Rene van der Linden proposed that the Assembly draw up a report on this subject, based on information drawn from all the parliaments, which would form the basis for a future meeting, and could also be debated in national parliaments.
31/05/2006 | Political Affairs and Democracy
PACE Political Affairs Committee is organising in Paris on Friday 2 June a Parliamentary hearing on European Muslim communities confronted with extremism, in the framework of the preparation of a report on the subject by Daniel Goulet (France, ALDE). The hearing will look at case studies from France, the Netherlands, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
31/05/2006 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
The PACE Rapporteur on the Implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Erik Jurgens (Netherlands, SOC), qualified discussions he had during his high-level two-day-visit in Moscow as most constructive. After the United Kingdom and Turkey, this visit was the third in a series of five – with the next visits scheduled for June and July to Ukraine and Italy respectively. Mr Jürgen’s report will focus on 13 member states in which important delays or difficulties have arisen.
30/05/2006 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Erik Jurgens (Netherlands, SOC), who is preparing a report on the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights for the Legal Affairs Committee of the PACE, is due to visit Moscow from 30 to 31 May 2006. He will meet members of parliament, the Presidents of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts, the General Prosecutor and Chief Military Prosecutor as well as members of the presidential administration. A press conference will be held at the headquarters of Interfax (2 Pervaya Tverskaya-Yamskaya Ul.), at 4.30 pm on 31 May.
30/05/2006 | Political Affairs and Democracy
The ad hoc sub-committee set up by PACE to organise a Round Table on the political situation in the Chechen Republic holds an exchange of views on Thursday 1st June in Paris with Chechen President Alu Alkhanov, the Chairman of the Council of the Chechen Republic Akhmarkhadzhi Gazikhanov and the Chair of the Chechen People’s Assembly Dukuvakha Abdurakhmanov. The sub-committee will decide at the opening of the hearing if it is open the press. Date: Thursday 1st June 2006 from 3 pm. to 6 pm. Place: Council of Europe Office, 55 avenue Kléber, Paris 16ème (Metro: Boissière)
29/05/2006 | President
PACE President Rene van der Linden seized the opportunity when meeting the Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow today to invite him to address the Assembly at one of its next plenary meetings in Strasbourg. He stressed his firm intention to make the current chairmanship of Russia in the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers a success and qualified its beginning as promising. "This meeting was a milestone in further fostering ties between the CoE and Russia", said President Putin.
24/05/2006 | European Conference of Presidents of Parliament
The next European Conference of Presidents of Parliaments, organised by the Estonian Parliament in cooperation with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, will be held in Tallinn, Estonia, on 30 and 31 May 2006. Themes proposed: - "Bridge-building through Parliamentary Diplomacy...
24/05/2006 | Standing Committee
On the occasion of Russia’s chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, PACE President René van der Linden is due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their talks are expected to focus on the objectives of Russia’s chairmanship, a European partnership, and on Russia’s contribution to building a democratic Europe, including the search for peaceful solutions to existing conflicts on the continent. Russia’s role in negotiating a meaningful agreement between the Council of Europe and the EU, with a stronger parliamentary dimension, is also due to be discussed.
22/05/2006 | Election observation
The referendum on the future state-status of the Republic of Montenegro (Serbia and Montenegro) on 21 May was conducted overall in line with OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and other international standards for democratic electoral processes, according to international observers. Jean-Charles Gardetto, head of the PACE delegation, said: “The high turnout showed the importance given by the people of Montenegro in deciding their future by democratic and peaceful means. They expressed their free will in a fully democratic and civil manner, something they can be proud of and that sets an example for the region. The Assembly stands ready to accompany Montenegro on the path its people have chosen.”
19/05/2006 | President
PACE President René van der Linden today called for the “modernisation” of relations between the Council of Europe’s two statutory bodies, in order to exploit the organisation's potential more effectively. In a speech to the Committee of Ministers, the organisation’s executive body, the President said: “According to its Statute, the Council of Europe is not just the Committee of Ministers; it is also the Parliamentary Assembly. We cannot continue with the same institutional arrangements that were considered adequate almost sixty years ago, for a ten-member organisation.”