29/01/2004 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
The European Population Committee will today present (2 p.m.) to the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population its Demographic Yearbook 2002-2003 covering all 45 member states and one European non-member country (Belarus). According to the yearbook, in all European countries, except Turkey, the total fertility rate is currently below replacement level. It shows a widespread decline in the number of marriages and the appearance of other forms of union, particularly cohabitation.
29/01/2004 | News
The Assembly holds an urgent debate this morning on "Terrorism: a threat to democracies". On behalf of the Political Affairs Committee, the rapporteur (Murat Mercan, Turkey, EPP/CD) regrets that the legislative framework is fragmented and incomplete. Despite efforts, the United Nations have not been able to conclude a comprehensive convention on the fight against terrorism. The report advocates that the more homogeneous group of states of the Council of Europe should be able to overcome the obstacles, including a definition of terrorism. The Committee of Ministers is invited to start work without delay on elaborating a comprehensive convention.
29/01/2004 | News
While regretting that “loopholes still exist in legislation, cross-border controls, prosecution and extradition arrangements in the international co-operation for fighting terrorism”, the Assembly called on 29 January on the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers to “begin work without delay” on the elaboration of a comprehensive Council of Europe Convention on Terrorism. The parliamentarians said the future convention should include a definition of terrorism and terrorist acts so that terrorist offences cannot be defined as politically motivated acts. The text should also cover important aspects such as information sharing, the introduction of a pan-European “arrest warrant”, prosecution of acts committed in or affecting more than one country, financial resources, extradition and protection of witnesses and informers.
29/01/2004 | News
The Assembly today called on Council of Europe member states to improve effective access to the asylum procedure for those who arrive at European seaports or coastal areas. Following the proposals of the rapporteur (Franco Danieli, Italy, LDR), the parliamentarians said that those who wish to apply for asylum should be granted unimpeded access to the asylum procedure, including through interpretation in their language and the provision of free and independent legal advice. The text calls for improved international co-operation between police, judicial and immigration authorities and for harmonised criminal legislation to punish the smuggling of migrants and the trafficking of human beings.
29/01/2004 | News
The Assembly today warned that many promises of help to developing countries remained unfulfilled, adding that conditions in the poorest regions of the world were getting worse. Adopting a report by Klaus Werner Jonas (Germany, SOC), the parliamentarians proposed promoting good governance, stimulating employment, and reducing excessive urbanisation. They called on the international community to reduce trade barriers, introduce debt relief for the least developed countries and increase development funding.
28/01/2004 | News
"The Greek Cypriot side, and myself, are ready to respond positively to any invitation of the UN Secretary-General to a new round of talks, on the basis of his plan (...) We shall be there, without any conditions," Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos said during his address to the Assembly today.
28/01/2004 | News
The Assembly called on the leaders of the two communities ''to resume negotiations without delay on the basis of the Annan plan, in good faith, with a view to reaching a political settlement of the Cyprus problem by 1 May 2004". The adopted text deplores the failure, in March 2003, of negotiations on the Cyprus settlement on the basis of the plan presented by Kofi Annan when Mr Denktash, the Turkish Cypriot leader, rejected the plan while Mr Papadopoulos, President of the Republic of Cyprus, appeared willing to sign it. "It is for the leaders of the two communities to overcome the pattern of confrontation based on past fears and on efforts to secure unilateral advantages and to turn to the future of their communities, which share the same island and will hopefully have a common future within the European Union", the resolution underlines. The rapporteur, Mátyás Eörsi (Hungary, LDR), hoped that "the political leaders of the two Cypriot communities be fully aware of their responsibilities to their people and act in the interests of their future. They must make new and substantial efforts to reach a compromise acceptable to both sides.''
28/01/2004 | News
The 3rd Summit should provide new impetus to the functional performance of the Council's institutions, according to Bernard Bot, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, who adressed the Assembly.
28/01/2004 | News
"The Rose Revolution served as a message to the world that all Georgians aspire to build and live in a democratic, independent and stable state, where human rights are respected," said Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, addressing the Assembly today. He said there was "a window of opportunity for the region", adding: "I don't want to be pro-American or pro-Russian, I am pro-Georgian - and I am European by being Georgian."
28/01/2004 | News
The Assembly today offered Georgia the Council of Europe’s help in reforming its institutions and laws, but called for an end to excesses of autocratic power, cronyism and corruption, and said the country must speed up its fulfillment of the commitments it made on joining the Council of Europe in 1999. Approving a report by Mátyás Eörsi (Hungary, LDR) and Evgueni Kirilov (Bulgaria, SOC), the parliamentarians singled out the need for a free and fair parliamentary election in March.
27/01/2004 | News
Senior Belarus officials may have been involved in the disappearances of four men, including a former minister, in Belarus during 1999 and 2000, and steps were taken “at the highest level of the State” to cover up the true background of the disappearances, according to a report of the Assembly's Legal Affairs Committee unanimously approved today. The report, by Cypriot parliamentarian Christos Pourgourides, calls for "a maximum of political pressure" on the current leadership of Belarus.
27/01/2004 | News
Public service broadcasting is a vital element of democracy in Europe, the Assembly declared today. Yet across the continent, its future is challenged by political and economic interests, by increasing competition from commercial media, by media concentrations and by financial difficulties, the parliamentarians warned. Adopting a report by Paschal Mooney (Ireland, LDR), they called for a clear political commitment of European governments to maintain strong and vibrant independent public service broadcasting, whilst adapting it to the requirements of the digital age.