Logo Assembly Logo Hemicycle

News

The right to a clean, safe, healthy and sustainable environment: a common cause of the Council of Europe...

27/10/2021 | President

“The Council of Europe stands with the United Nations to ensure that a clean, safe, healthy and sustainable environment is recognised as a human right,” said PACE President Rik Daems today, calling for enhanced cooperation between both organisations to make progress on this issue. Speaking at a...

Ending a working visit to Poland, PACE President calls for a co-ordinated, rights-based response to the...

08/10/2021 | President

PACE President Rik Daems has ended a three-day working visit to Poland, during which he met the Speakers of both Chambers of the Polish Parliament (Sejm and Senate), held talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau and other senior officials from the government, and held exchanges...

PACE President expresses concerns regarding the recent detentions of the Crimean Tatars in Crimea

04/10/2021 | President

PACE President Rik Dames today made the following statement: ‘The recent arrests and detentions in Crimea with regard to Crimean Tatars, including the Deputy Head of Mejlis Nariman Dzhelyal, raise serious concerns. This is all the more worrying as some of them, reportedly, were subjected to...

Anchoring the right to a healthy environment: #EnvironmentRightNow

30/09/2021 | President

Welcoming the adoption by the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) of some seven resolutions and five recommendations on the environment and climate change, its President Rik Daems announced the launch of the #EnvironmentRightNow hashtag initiative. “We need this initiative to go viral...

PACE President to make working visit to Poland

30/09/2021 | President

Rik Daems, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), will make a working visit to Poland from 5 to 7 October 2021, during which he will hold a series of high-level meetings, in particular with the Speaker of the Sejm (lower house of the Polish Parliament), the...

President concludes working visit to Finland, receives strong support for paradigm shift from policy to...

17/09/2021 | President

PACE President Rik Daems has ended a two-day working visit to Finland, during which he received strong support for his proposal of a “paradigm shift” on the environment and human rights, moving from policy to principle. In addition to this priority issue, discussions also focused on relations...

PACE President to make visit to Finland

16/09/2021 | President

Rik Daems, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), will make a visit to Finland on 16-17 September, during which he will hold a series of high-level meetings, in particular with the Speaker of Parliament, the Foreign Minister, parliamentarians, the Chairperson and...

Belarus: PACE President reacts to prison terms for opposition leaders

06/09/2021 | President

“I am shocked to learn that Belarusian opposition leaders Maria Kalesnikava and Maksim Znak have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms on so-called conspiracy charges,” PACE President Rik Daems said today. “These sentences are entirely without merit, and both of these courageous individuals...

Afghanistan: the international community should remain united and firm in demanding an immediate end to...

17/08/2021 | President

“The entire world is watching the events unfolding in Afghanistan with grave concern and sadness. The international community should remain united and firm in demanding an immediate end to violence and the respect of human rights for all, both in the current situation and once a system of...

Statement by the PACE President on the outcomes of his working visit to Georgia and recent political...

30/07/2021 | President

Ending his working visit to Georgia (27-28 July 2021), PACE President Rik Daems made the following statement: "I wish to express my gratitude to the Georgian authorities and, in particular, to the Chairperson of the Georgian Parliament, Kakha Kuchava, and the head of the Georgian delegation to...

PACE President makes working visit to Georgia

23/07/2021 | President

Rik Daems, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), is to make a working visit to Georgia on 27 and 28 July 2021. In Tbilisi he is due to meet the Speaker of Parliament and Prime Minister, as well as the Foreign, Justice and Internal Affairs Ministers. Meetings...

Rik Daems welcomes the increased presence of women in the Parliament of Morocco

13/07/2021 | President

“At a moment when we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Parliament of Morocco’s partner for democracy status with PACE, I would like to congratulate the parliament on the progress it has made as regards the representation of women (21 per cent), since the adoption of the quota system in...