04/10/2005 | President
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President René van der Linden today discussed possible fields of co-operation with UEFA officials, including ethics, good governance, the fights against racism and doping in sport. They also held an exchange of views on difficulties encountered by UEFA in promoting their activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina – the organisation of football structures, security in and around football arenas and visas for incoming football teams. UEFA’s main concern is the lack of co-operation and co-ordination between government authorities and football associations at both Entity and State level. The President will address a letter to the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina urging them to co-operate better, to overcome ethnic divisions in sport and to speed up the adoption of a law on sport at state level.
04/10/2005 | News
The Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, addressing PACE today, called for "structured co-operation" between the Council of Europe and the OIC to promote understanding between cultures and religions, which he described as "the most pressing issue of our time". Extremism went against the spirit of Islamic values, Mr Ihsanoglu stressed, pointing out that Islamic civilisation in the past fourteen centuries had stood for human rights, justice, tolerance and compassion.
04/10/2005 | Session
Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly today, Spanish foreign minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos put forward proposals for an alliance of civilisations, supported by the Spanish government and the United Nations. The aim is to fight terrorism by emphasizing the importance of dialogue and co-operation between different cultures, in the cause of peace and global security, he said. Mr Moratinos invited the Council of Europe to play a major role in promoting intercultural and interfaith dialogue.
04/10/2005 | Session
Moldova has advanced significantly on the path of democratic reform during its ten-year membership of the Council of Europe, but a number of important commitments have not yet been met in a satisfactory manner, according to PACE. In a resolution adopted following a plenary debate in Strasbourg today, the parliamentarians said the pace of reform has been slowed because, in parallel with working on its democratic institutions, Moldova has had to build its national identity and deal with a separatist regime and foreign troops on the Transnistrian part of its territory.
04/10/2005 | Session
The history of the main religions, and the option of having none, should be taught with "complete impartiality" to European schoolchildren, according to PACE. Debating a report on education and religion, the Assembly said pupils should have the opportunity to learn about different religions in school – since a good general knowledge of religions can lead to a sense of tolerance – but should be taught that everyone has the same right to believe their religion is 'the true faith'.
03/10/2005 | President
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President René van der Linden paid tribute to Simon Wiesenthal, who died on 20 September at the age of 96, at the opening of the Assembly's autumn session. "Mr Wiesenthal devoted five decades of his life to hunting war criminals. Today, there are still war criminals at large, and we too must be relentless in our efforts and in our commitment to bringing them to justice. Whatever other issues may complicate our agenda, we must never forget that the principles that inspired Simon Wiesenthal are the principles that underlie our own organisation and that remain as valid and important now as they have ever been," he said.
03/10/2005 | News
"The New Neighbourhood Policy should be a great opportunity for the Council of Europe. By sharing our many years of experience and our unrivalled expertise, we can further enhance our co-operation with the European Union by contributing to the development, implementation and assessment of its external policies," PACE President René van der Linden said today in his opening speech to the PACE autumn session in Strasbourg.
03/10/2005 | Session
PACE will hold an urgent debate on "Europe and bird flu - preventive health measures" on Thursday 6 October. This afternoon the parliamentarians adopted the final order of business for the Autumn session (3 to 7 October 2005), including a day of debates on inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue. "Education and religion" will be the subject of a debate on 4 October attended by the Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. The UN's Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion Asma Jahangir will take part in a debate on "Women and religion in Europe". On the same day, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos is expected to discuss the Alliance of Civilisations project launched by the UN.
03/10/2005 | Session
Maria Postoico (UEL), a member of the Assembly since 2000, has just been elected as new Vice-President with respect to Moldova. The 20 Vice-Presidents chair plenary debates when the Assembly President is not available. They may also be called on to fulfil some of the President's other responsibilities.
03/10/2005 | President
Strasbourg, 03.10.2005 – Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President René van der Linden today welcomed the EU decision to start membership talks with Turkey. Speaking at a press conference earlier today, he had called on the EU to start talks with Turkey immediately: "There was a unanimous decision last December to begin accession talks with Turkey: Europe must now meet its promises and commitments, just as Turkey must fulfil all its obligations and commitments."
03/10/2005 | Session
PACE today called on European governments to co-operate in managing migratory flows between countries of origin and host countries in order to have a positive impact in both directions socially, economically and even politically. The parliamentarians noted that many migrants send money to relatives, while others pick up professional skills or ideas about democracy and human rights, which could help to boost development in their countries of origin. According to PACE, co-development policies would improve migratory flows in the interest of countries of origin, host countries and migrants themselves. Following the recommendations of the rapporteur (Rudy Salles, France, ADLE), PACE listed a series of 17 measures to promote co-development.
03/10/2005 | Bureau
PACE’s Bureau today decided to send a fact-finding mission to the Chechen Republic on the occasion of the elections on 27 November 2005. The delegation – composed of one member from each political group together with Andreas Gross, the Chair of the ad hoc Sub-committee for the organisation of the Round Table on the political situation in the Chechen Republic, will report back to the Bureau with its conclusions.