19/05/2004 | President
"One of the key opportunities for reinforcing parliamentary democracy at the national level lies in national parliaments’ closer and more intensive co-operation with international and in particular European assemblies. Together we know more than each of us individually," Assembly President Peter Schieder said today, speaking on the last day of a parliamentary summit in Strasbourg. "The Council of Europe, because of its large membership, but even more because of its unique arsenal of legally binding conventions, monitoring mechanisms and its unparalleled legal and political expertise, represents Europe as a whole. When it comes to democracy and human rights, there can be no multi-speed Europe, no à la carte Europe, no inner core and outside tier Europe. When it comes to the fundamentals of democratic stability on our continent, there can be only one Europe, in which all European countries committed to our common standards and principles have a chance to take part and be equal to others. The Council of Europe represents that Europe," he said.
18/05/2004 | News
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament, Assembly President Peter Schieder stressed that "what gives the Parliamentary Assembly its strength is that it brings together parliamentarians from 45 member States, representing 800 million Europeans. They represent not only the parties in power, but also those in opposition. They represent not only their parliaments in the Council of Europe, but also the Council of Europe, and its values, in the national parliaments. Try to find a body which would be able to interact with Europe’s citizens with more authority and legitimacy," he said.
18/05/2004 | News
More than 50 Speakers and presidents of parliament from across Europe, as well as the heads of some ten European parliamentary assemblies, gather in Strasbourg from 17 to 19 May 2004 for a parliamentary summit on the theme “Europe of citizens: parliaments and participation of citizens”.
18/05/2004 | News
"The democratic deficit is a topical issue in both the Western and Eastern parts of united Europe," said Borut Pahor, President of the Slovene Drzavni Zbor, introducing the conference sub-theme 'How democratic is our democracy?' today. "Thanks to a longer tradition, Western Europe has been facing this challenge more smoothly, yet our common European success will depend on people’s confidence in democratic institutions all over Europe. The new democracies, including those still outside the enlarged Union, all have the same task, namely to convince the people – on the basis of work and results – that they may decide their own fate through their will, expressed in democratic institutions," he said.
18/05/2004 | News
"The need for democracy is now accepted Europe-wide, but it must evolve to match far-reaching and rapid change," said Professor Philippe Schmitter, presenting a paper today on 'how democratic is our democracy?' He outlined four of some 30 ideas developed by a Council of Europe working group on the future of democracy: 'pairs' of candidates for each seat, guardians to watch guardians, a 'yellow card' for legislatures, and lottery prizes for voters.
18/05/2004 | News
Rapid development of information technology has created new opportunities for almost all areas of human activity. Modern technologies have also found their place in parliaments. Discussing the topic of 'Modern technology and democratic procedure', Ene Ergma, President of the Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu) distinguished three different stages: the computerization of parliamentary work, the use of modern technology in bringing the parliament closer to the citizens and the interaction between the citizens and the parliament.
18/05/2004 | News
Europe, in the year 2020. Europeans’ daily lives are closely tied up with the Internet and governments have set up a virtual electoral platform on the web. When citizens come to decide how to vote, they use a system called SmartVote. Through online questionnaires, SmartVote calculates how well the candidates’ proposals for action match voters’ own ideas. SmartVote is coupled with MP-Monitor, which profiles candidates on the basis of how they have voted in Parliament, Discussion Forum, which voters can use to exchange views with fellow citizens or candidates, and E voting, which facilitates online voting. Alexander Trechsel from the University of Geneva (Switzerland) notes that all the elements and features of this futuristic platform already exist, although not yet in an integrated system.
18/05/2004 | Monitoring
A new constitutional framework governing relations between the centre and the regions in Georgia could serve as the basis for a peaceful negotiated solution to the conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, according to the country's monitoring co-rapporteur Evgeni Kirilov (Bulgaria, SOC). Mr Kirilov, speaking today at a conference in Tbilisi on "The constitutional organisation of the state", said Georgia could count on the Council of Europe's help in this regard.
17/05/2004 | News
"Further European integration is a stimulating factor for the South Caucasus," the Speakers of the Parliaments of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia said at the end of a meeting organised by Assembly President Peter Schieder on the margins of a Parliamentary Summit bringing together more than 60 Speakers of Parliament from 17 to 19 May in Strasbourg. They stressed that “parliamentarians have an important role to play in developing regional co-operation and creating an atmosphere of confidence in the South Caucasus”.
15/05/2004 | President
Parliamentary Assembly President Peter Schieder today condemned torture against the background of reports of abuse of prisoners by American and British troops in Iraq. “The governments of the United States and the United Kingdom are responsible under international law for the well-being of prisoners in their custody. Cases tantamount to torture as reported by the International Committee of the Red Cross and others constitute a flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention,” he said.
14/05/2004 | Monitoring
Evgeni Kirilov (Bulgaria, SOC), one of the two rapporteurs on Georgia of the Assembly’s Monitoring Committee, will take part in a conference on "The constitutional organisation of the state", organised in Tbilisi from 18 to 19 May by the Council of Europe's Venice Commission and the Georgian Constitutional Court.
14/05/2004 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Daniel Goulet (France, LDR), who is preparing a report for the Assembly’s Committee on the Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs on “the potential adverse consequences of the Oil Pool D-6 operation”, visits Kaliningrad,Vilnius and Nida from 19 to 20 May to meet Russian and Lithuanian authorities as well as local environmental organisations. The D-6 operation is a planned oil extraction platform in the Baltic close to the Curonian Spit, a Unesco World Heritage listed site which straddles both Lithuanian and Russian territory.