23/07/2005 | News
The PACE President today expressed his consternation following the bomb attacks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh. René van der Linden expressed, on behalf of all the members of the Parliamentary Assembly, his condoleances and solidarity with the families of the victims and injured. "This new criminal act, a week after the attacks in London, reminds us once again that terrorism has no boundaries and that it is therefore necessary to increase international co-operation to combat terrorism. The Parliamentary Assembly will continue to help combating terrorism and promoting intercultural dialogue, including with countries situated beyond European borders", he said.
21/07/2005 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
A PACE rapporteur is to visit Ukraine to investigate claims that newborn babies are disappearing in mysterious circumstances. German media reported that two babies born in a clinic in Kharkov at the end of 2002 were taken away from their mothers a few hours after being born. Medical staff later declared that they had died of complications, but their parents were never given access to their bodies despite repeated requests. Several foetuses and bodies of newborn babies whose organs had been removed were subsequently discovered at the clinic's biological waste site, according to the reports. One Ukrainian NGO believes up to 300 similar disappearances may have occurred between 2001 and 2003. Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold (Switzerland, SOC), who is in Ukraine from 31 August to 1 September, will visit the clinic and speak with staff as well as the NGO concerned and Ukraine's health minister and ombudsman.
11/07/2005 | News
"The year 2005 has seen the 60th anniversary of the end of the war which brought into being the shared commitment of all civilised peoples that 'never again' should we see such inhumanity towards our fellow human beings", said Council of Europe leaders in a joint statement. "Today sees the 10th anniversary of the massacre in Srebrenica – a stark reminder that our commitment to eradicate such inhumanity has not yet been fulfilled. We ask – how, in only one generation, can we have forgotten that when humanity is sacrificed for power or greed, all is lost, we are all lost? What happened in the region of Srebrenica in 1995 was a crime against our common humanity."
08/07/2005 | President
At a press conference organised in Kiev on 8 July, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President René van der Linden, who chairs a high-level PACE delegation currently visiting Ukraine, expressed concern that “Ukraine belongs to those few countries that have signed or ratified the least number of Council of Europe conventions.” In a speech before the Verkhovna Rada the day before, he had called upon parliamentarians to put pressure on the authorities to speed up the ratification process. With regard to next year’s parliamentary elections he stressed that their preparation and conduct are of a paramount significance and a major test of Ukraine’s democratic credentials and announced that as in the past, PACE will be observing these elections.
08/07/2005 | Prizes
The Chair of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) Sub-committee on the Europe Prize Guy Lengagne (France, SOC) and the Mayor of last year’s winner, Oudenaarde, will jointly present the prize to the Mayor of Kaliningrad, on 9 July. There will be a special session of the City Council, attended by the Governor of the Kaliningrad Region, to mark the event, which forms part of the town’s Europe Day celebrations. The event is open to the press. A press conference will be held at 2.30 p.m.
07/07/2005 | President
In reaction to the series of bomb attacks in London, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, René van der Linden, made the following statement: “I am deeply shocked by these acts of cruelty and express my profound compassion for the victims and their families. I condemn in the strongest terms these attacks. The fight against terror must have the highest priority for our governments. More than ever, we need a far-reaching common approach to bring an end to these heinous crimes.”
05/07/2005 | Elections
The parliamentary elections in Albania on 3 July complied only partially with international commitments and standards for democratic elections. The elections were competitive and voters were provided with a diversity of information. While the Central Election Commission has so far administered the elections professionally, state and local authorities and major political parties have yet to demonstrate political will that corresponds with their responsibilities for the electoral process. These are the preliminary conclusions of the International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) for the parliamentary elections in Albania on 3 July. Senator Jerzy Smoravinski, Head of Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, added: “The delay in launching the electoral reforms to address the shortcomings from previous elections affected negatively the preparation and conduct of these elections. The authorites and political parties should continue the reforms without delay, in order to redress the remaining shortcomings noted by the IEOM.”
04/07/2005 | President
A high-level PACE delegation – made up of the Assembly’s President René van der Linden and the leaders of its five political groups – is to make a visit to Ukraine from 5 to 8 July 2005. Explaining the purpose of the visit, Mr van der Linden said: "The Orange Revolution inspired many, but now comes the hard work of making Ukraine a truly democratic country, where European standards fully apply. A day after his inauguration, President Yushchenko came to Strasbourg and asked for the Council of Europe’s help. We have already responded, but the purpose of this visit is to find out what more we can do together. The success of democratic reforms in Ukraine is important for the whole region."
30/06/2005 | News
A seminar for senior advisers from the parliaments of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia – the third in a series – ended in Strasbourg yesterday. The seminar, organised by PACE’s Directorate of Interparliamentary Relations at the initiative of its Secretary General Bruno Haller, was devoted to “exchanging experience of co-operation in education and culture”. Topics covered included higher education policies and research, language policy, history teaching and cultural and natural heritage and youth and sport.
30/06/2005 | Elections
A 15-member PACE delegation, headed by Jerzy Smorawinski (Poland/EPP), will observe the parliamentary elections to be held in Albania on 3 July 2005. The parliamentarians will arrive in Tirana on 30 June to meet with party leaders, the Chair of the Central Electoral Commission, journalists and NGOs. On election day, they will be deployed in the capital and in towns around the country. A pre-election delegation from PACE which visited the country from 30 May to 1 June 2005 said in a statement that the main conditions are in place for democratic elections in Albania. However the truly democratic conduct of elections – in line with commitments Albania subscribed to when it joined the Council of Europe – depends now on the political will of the authorities and parties participating in these elections.
30/06/2005 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
The Sub-Committee on Refugees of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) held a seminar on population displacement in the southern Caucasus in Baku on 4 July. The event was attended by political representatives, specialists and representatives of international organisations. The seminar discussed aid to refugees and their legal protection, hostage-taking and disappearances, and trafficking in human beings. From 1 to 3 July, Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold ( Switzerland , SOC), Chair of the PACE Sub-Committee on Refugees, and Boriss Cilevics (Latvia , SOC), rapporteur on the refugee situation in the region, visited refugee camps at Fizuli, Bilasuvar, Saatly and Sabirabad (Azerbaijan ). The rapporteur has already visited Armenia and Georgia , in March of this year.
29/06/2005 | Prizes
The mayors of around 30 European towns gathered in Santiago de Compostela (Spain) from 1 to 3 July to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Europe Prize and the 20th anniversary of the award of the Prize to Santiago de Compostela. The prize, which is awarded each year by PACE, rewards local and regional authorities for their active promotion of the European ideal (twinnings, European events, exchange visits, etc.). Since its creation in 1955, it has been awarded to 61 European municipalities.