28/03/2006 | President
Speaking at the end of a two-day visit to Moscow, held to discuss the priorities of the forthcoming Russian chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, PACE President René van der Linden stressed the necessity of establishing a strategic partnership between the Council of Europe and Russia based on mutual trust and close permanent contacts. "The forthcoming Russian chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers offers a great opportunity to open a new era in our relationship with Russia, ensuring that old rivalries will not be revived and that there will be no more dividing lines in Europe", he said.
27/03/2006 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
Following the decision taken by the Heads of State and Government at their Third Summit last year, the Council of Europe will launch by the end of 2006 a pan-European campaign to combat violence against women, including domestic violence. The PACE will organise the parliamentary dimension of this campaign under the title “Parliaments united combating domestic violence against women”.
27/03/2006 | Election observation
The 26 March parliamentary elections in Ukraine further consolidated the breakthrough in the conduct of a democratic election process that began less than a year and a half ago. Overall, fundamental civil and political rights were respected.
27/03/2006 | News
A two-year programme of parliamentary assistance for the three Assemblies of the State Union and the two republics of Serbia and Montenegro begins today with a seminar in Strasbourg for civil servants from all three bodies. The 1.58 million euro programme, carried out jointly by PACE and the European Agency for Reconstruction, will involve help for harmonising these bodies’ rules with European norms and improving their administration, as well as providing expertise on the EU acquis. The overall aim is to promote “European-minded leadership and a constructive political dialogue” as part of helping Serbia and Montenegro to meet its Council of Europe obligations and commitments and achieve the aims of the EU’s Stabilisation and Association Process.
23/03/2006 | President
PACE President René van der Linden is to visit Moscow on 27 and 28 March 2006 for discussions with the authorities on the priorities of the next chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which the Russian Federation will hold from May to November 2006. According to the PACE President, “Russia is important to the Council of Europe and the Council of Europe is important to Russia. The country is set to chair a democratic European organisation for the first time. I am sure that Russia will seek to strengthen our organisation’s unique role in Europe.”
22/03/2006 | Session
A call to stop trafficking in women before the World Cup as well as debates on the human rights of members of the armed forces, on combating the resurrection of nazi ideology and on the situation in the Middle East are among the highlights of PACE's Spring Session (Strasbourg, 10-13 April 2006). Also on the draft order of business – adopted by the Assembly's Bureau this week – is a debate on relations between the Council of Europe and the European Union, and addresses by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker. The Assembly will decide its final agenda only at the opening of the session.
22/03/2006 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Meeting in Paris on 13 March 2006, the Assembly's Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights held an exchange of views on the proposed EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, with the participation the European Parliament's rapporteurs, Mrs Kinga Gal and Mr Cem Ozdemir. During this meeting, members of the Committee expressed a number of serious reservations and objections to the proposals made by the European Commission and the amendments being considered by the European Parliament. In the interests of stimulating the wider debate, the Minutes of this exchange of views have been declassified by the Committee and are now publicly available.
22/03/2006 | President
PACE President René van der Linden today expressed his deep satisfaction following the announcement of a permanent ceasefire by the terrorist organisation ETA. "This is very good news, although it must be treated with caution. I am extremely hopeful that the ceasefire announcement will be confirmed in practice and that peace will prevail once and for all. A horizon of hope is opening up today for all Basque, Spanish and European citizens. It is now time to honour the memory of the hundreds of victims of ETA by joining forces to ensure that peace is victorious over violence".
21/03/2006 | Election observation
A thirty-seven-member, cross-party delegation from the PACE, headed by Renate Wohlwend (Liechtenstein, EPP/CD), will observe the 26 March parliamentary elections in Ukraine. The delegation, which will work alongside observers from the OSCE and NATO Parliamentary Assemblies and the European Parliament, will arrive in Kyiv on 23 March. They are due to meet party representatives, election officials and representatives of civil society and the media as well as observing polling on the day of the vote.
21/03/2006 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
PACE's Migration Committee has called for "a constant vigil against discrimination, hate speech and stereotyping in the media". In a statement adopted on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the committee said it was particularly worried by the "stereotyping" of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in the media. "The portrayal of ‘bogus’ or ‘scrounging’ applicants reinforces prejudices that these are dishonest people out to defraud the system," the parliamentarians said.
21/03/2006 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
"The Venice Commission has issued an excellent legal opinion that provides an important input for my inquiry on alleged secret detentions in Council of Europe member states," said Dick Marty, Rapporteur and Chair of the Assembly's Legal Affairs Committee, which requested the opinion in December 2005. Mr Marty said the 38-page text was "a thorough analysis of member states' international law and human rights obligations, highlighting standards developed by the European Human Rights and Anti-Torture Conventions. Secret detentions, abductions and irregular transport of detainees from or through Europe to countries where persons are at risk of torture are flagrant violations of these human rights standards". Mr Marty also indicated that he intends to present his report in June 2006.
21/03/2006 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
"400 000 legal migrant workers have arrived in the United Kingdom within the last 18 months. An estimated 15 million regular and irregular migrants, mainly from former Soviet Republics, are said to currently reside in Russia. Whatever their exact number or status, migrant workers are a reality our governments will have to cope with increasingly in the forthcoming years," PACE rapporteur Doug Henderson (United Kingdom, SOC) said today at a hearing in Brussels on the situation of migrant workers in temporary employment agencies. "Increased mobility, 'open door policies' towards new EU member states as applied in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Ireland, together with the new CIS visa-free regime will create new employment partners in Europe. Therefore it becomes crucial to regulate temporary work as well as service provision," he added.