06/04/2021 | President
Following the passing away of Cheryl Gillan (United Kingdom, EC/DA), Chairperson of the Assembly's Political Affairs Committee, PACE President Rik Daems made the following statement: "I was deeply saddened to learn about the passing away of Dame Cheryl Gillan. A most dedicated European and a...
01/04/2021 | President
PACE President Rik Daems, ending a working visit to Turkey, has recalled the importance of dialogue, trust, mutual respect and working together as partners to overcome challenges and make progress (ilerleme in Turkish). The President visited the country from 29 to 31 March at the invitation of...
26/03/2021 | President
Rik Daems, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), will make a working visit to Ankara from 29 to 31 March, during which he will hold a series of high-level meetings, in particular with the President of the Repuplic, the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly, the...
21/03/2021 | President
The German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Heiko Maas, President of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers, and the President of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, Rik Daems, joined their voices to that of the Secretary General of the 47-nation Council of Europe, Marija...
19/03/2021 | President
PACE President Rik Daems has again recalled that the rule of law must prevail in the emergency situation created by the Covid-19 pandemic – and stressed that any laws linked to the pandemic should comply with the constitution and international standards. “Today’s debate – held as the crisis...
17/03/2021 | President
The need to find common ground and advance co-operation based on shared values and agreed equal standards was the focus of meetings yesterday in Moscow between Rik Daems, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and...
15/03/2021 | President
On the first day of his working visit to the Russian Federation, the President of the Assembly met with Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of the State Duma, and Valentina Matvienko, Speaker of the Federation Council. Discussions focused on the 25th anniversary of the Russian Federation’s membership of...
09/03/2021 | President
Rik Daems, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), will make a working visit to Moscow on 15-16 March, during which he will hold a series of high-level meetings, in particular with the Speaker of the Russian State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin; the Speaker of Russia's...
08/03/2021 | President
According to the PACE President, “men and women need to push together more forcefully for change to come. This is our responsibility, as citizens and as politicians.”For PACE Equality Committee Chair Petra Bayr (Austria, SOC), "we just can’t afford to keep ignoring the knowledge and experience we...
04/02/2021 | President
The German Federal Government’s Special Representative for the Presidency of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers, State Minister Michael Roth, the President of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, Rik Daems, and the Secretary General of the 47-nation Council of Europe...
22/01/2021 | President
The President of the Assembly presented to the Bureau the PACE activity report for the second half of 2020. The document details the five main priorities for the Assembly's action during this period: completing its workplan despite the difficulties of the pandemic, making the case for the...
07/01/2021 | President
PACE President Rik Daems, reacting to yesterday’s events at the US Capitol in Washington DC, has condemned what he described as “an assault on democracy by an extremist mob, incited by false claims and irresponsible statements at the highest political level”. “This is not America!” the President...