The Standing Committee (*) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which brings together around 60 of the Assembly’s members, met in Reykjavik on Friday 25 November 2022.
After the opening of the meeting by PACE President Tiny Kox, Alþingi Speaker Birgir Ármannsson gave a welcome address, and there was an exchange of views with Icelandic Foreign Minister Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir in the framework of Iceland’s Presidency of the Committee of Ministers.
An event on “Digital violence against women” was organised on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, with the participation of Ragnhildur Arnljótsdóttir, Permanent Representative of Iceland to the Council of Europe, National Commissioner of Police lawyer and GREVIO member María Rún Bjarnadóttir, and the head of the Sexual Offences Investigation Division Ævar Pálmi Pálmason.
Parliamentarians held a current affairs debate on “Escalation in the Russian Federation’s war of aggression against Ukraine”. They also adopted a statement on the 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe (Reykjavik, 16-17 May 2023), following the intervention of Icelandic Prime Minister and Equality Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir.
During the meeting, they also adopted reports on the role of the Council of Europe as a cornerstone of the European political architecture, protecting democracy during health crises, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on civil society space and on the prison population, securing safe medical supply chains, the evaluation of the partnership for democracy in respect of the Parliament of Jordan, and discussed the observation of early parliamentary elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Bulgaria.
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(*) The Standing Committee, which acts on the Assembly’s behalf between plenary sessions, is made up of the President and Vice-Presidents of the Assembly, the chairpersons of political groups, the chairpersons of national delegations and the committee chairpersons, totalling some 60 parliamentarians from the Council of Europe’s 46 member States.
Friday 25 November 2022
Doc. 15651 (Report) Strengthening the role of the Council of Europe as a cornerstone of the European political architecture Doc. 15649 (Report) Evaluation of the partnership for democracy in respect of the Parliament of Jordan Doc. 15650 (Report) Protecting the pillars of democracy during health crises Doc. 15654 (Report) The impact of the Covid-19 restrictions for civil society space and activities Doc. 15652 (Report) The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on prison population in Europe Doc. 15653 (Report) Securing safe medical supply chains Doc. 15648 (Report) Contact tracing applications: ethical, cultural and educational challenges