05/10/2004 | News
European governments should set themselves the objective of increasing women’s representation in parliament to 40 per cent by the year 2020, the Assembly said today. Among the Council of Europe’s member states, only Sweden has already achieved this threshold, the parliamentarians pointed out. They also called for a series of measures to outlaw and eliminate “family voting”.
04/10/2004 | News
"Democracy needs transparency. Transparency means informing you. This is why PACE Secretariat is delighted to be able to present you the first-ever issue of pace news, its new bi-monthly electronic newsletter. Speaking in the name of 800 million Europeans, PACE represents the 'democratic conscience' of Greater Europe. Here, in succinct form – with selected news – is the essence of its work. We hope you enjoy pace news, and we look forward to hearing what you think of it." - Bruno Haller, Secretary General of PACE
04/10/2004 | President
On 4 October, PACE President Peter Schieder made the following statement: “We express our deep concern at recent news from Belarus about arbitrary arrests of opposition politicians, blatant violations of freedom of expression and the repression of independent media in the run up to the legislative elections to be held on 17 October. We urge the Belarusian authorities to do their utmost to guarantee free and fair elections. It must be ensured that all candidates have the same chances. According to my information, one party was already dissolved; others have received warnings and might be de-registered."
04/10/2004 | News
The Assembly today decided to hold a current affairs debate on “Georgian-Russian relations” at 5.30 p.m. on Thursday 7 October in which the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Nino Burdjanadze has been invited to take part. Adopting its order of business, the Assembly also invited Chechen President Alu Alkhanov to take part in Thursday’s joint debate on the situation in the Chechen Republic. Other members of a high-level delegation from Chechnya and Ingushetia will hold exchanges of view with relevant committees of the Assembly.
04/10/2004 | News
"Terrorism does not come out of the blue. It has its prerequisites, breeding-grounds and causal factors. However, there is no – absolutely no – justification for taking innocent children hostage and killing them", PACE President Peter Schieder said today in his opening speech of the Assembly's October session. "There is an ongoing debate in many countries on taking a tough, united line in the fight against terror. Many people wonder what exactly that means. Here in the Council of Europe we know what it should not mean: restricting fundamental rights; abolishing democratic institutions; stifling opposition; reintroducing the death penalty; censoring newspapers, radio and television. I have told you before but I will say it again: if terrorism succeeds in luring us into measures like these then it will have won", he said.
04/10/2004 | News
"Today Africa is not only recognising the challenges it is confronted with, but it is also ready to take action; and this is new. The African Union, the Pan-African parliament (PAP) etc. were established to give a common vision of a united and strong Africa", Gertrude Mongella, President of the Pan-African parliament said in her statement before the Assembly. PACE President Peter Schieder welcomed her as the first representative of an African Parliament to address the Assembly. "I am sure that the PAP will become a driving force for the promotion and the protection of human rights, a promoter of peace and security and a guarantor of transparency and democratic accountability in the important work of the – also newly structured - African Union as a whole", he said.
04/10/2004 | Political Affairs and Democracy
PACE Political Affairs Committee today adopted a preliminary draft resolution on the situation in Western Sahara. The text urges the authorities of Morocco “to show a compromising attitude towards acceptance of the United Nations Peace Plan for Self-Determination of the People of Western Sahara”, a plan already officially accepted by the Frente Polisario. According to the preliminary draft resolution, prepared by Gabino Puche (Spain, EPP/CD), the acceptance of the Peace Plan would allow “to put an end to the dispute over Western Sahara”.
04/10/2004 | News
PACE today decided to associate “elected representatives of the Turkish Cypriot community” more closely in its work by inviting them to sit in the Chamber. This decision follows on Resolution 1376 adopted by the PACE in April, expressing the opinion that the international isolation of the Turkish Cypriots must cease, after their overwhelming support for the Annan Plan. Henceforth two “representatives of the Turkish Cypriot community” will be able to speak in the Chamber. At each sitting, only one can be given the floor. If authorised by the President, the person will appear on the list of speakers with the indication: Cyprus.
04/10/2004 | News
Council of Europe Secretary General, Terry Davis, today called on next year’s Summit of Heads of State and Government, which will take place in Warsaw on 16 and 17 May, to clearly define the organisation’s future role. "To succeed, we must first have a mission statement, a clear mandate defining the role and responsibilities of the Council of Europe, agreed by our member states. The Summit will be the occasion to reaffirm the responsibilities of our organisation in its special areas of activity and our specific role in relation to other institutions," he said.
04/10/2004 | News
Lluis Maria de Puig (Spain, SOC) was today elected President of the PACE Socialist Group. A member of the Assembly since 1979, he has been a Vice-president since June 2004, and is Chairperson of the Committee on Culture, Science and Education. Lluis Maria de Puig, who was also President of the WEU Assembly from 1997 to 2000, has presented over 40 reports and resolutions to the Assembly. He is the author of fifteen books on modern history and politics, including a “History of European Unity”, “The Rape of Europe” and “Europe against War”.
04/10/2004 | News
World trade is increasing, up by an expected 8 per cent in 2004. Yet if globalisation is to benefit all the world’s population, according to the Assembly final agreement within the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on the so-called “Doha development agenda” is urgently needed. Adopting a resolution on “The Doha Development Agenda: world trade at a crossroads” (Kimmo Sasi, Finland, EPP/CD), the Assembly welcomed the promise by richer countries to phase out all export subsidies in agriculture, but it said there needs to be parallel progress in the liberalisation of services and lower industrial tariffs. It also called on “national parliaments to pursue and strengthen parliamentary oversight of WTO activities in shaping the multilateral trading system”.
02/10/2004 | News
The President of the Assembly today signed a co-operation agreement with the Vice-President of the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe's body of independent experts on constitutional law, in which the two bodies agreed to collaborate more closely on standard-setting and electoral laws, take part in each others’ activities and share information. They also agreed to draw up a report setting out the “core values and standards of the Council of Europe” and to give more prominence to defining democratic standards to match the comprehensive human rights standards already developed by the organisation.