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Parliamentary Assembly integrity

Written declaration No. 624 | Doc. 14256 | 25 January 2017

Signatories:
Mr Pieter OMTZIGT, Netherlands, EPP/CD ; Mr Claude ADAM, Luxembourg, SOC ; Lord Donald ANDERSON, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Sirkka-Liisa ANTTILA, Finland, ALDE ; Mr Volodymyr ARIEV, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Tobias BILLSTRÖM, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Ms Anne BRASSEUR, Luxembourg, ALDE ; Mr Roland Rino BÜCHEL, Switzerland, ALDE ; Ms Valentina BULIGA, Republic of Moldova, SOC ; Ms Anastasia CHRISTODOULOPOULOU, Greece, UEL ; Ms Lise CHRISTOFFERSEN, Norway, SOC ; Mr Boriss CILEVIČS, Latvia, SOC ; Mr Raphaël COMTE, Switzerland, ALDE ; Mr Titus CORLĂŢEAN, Romania, SOC ; Mr Yves CRUCHTEN, Luxembourg, SOC ; Ms Josette DURRIEU, France, SOC ; Lord George FOULKES, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Annette GROTH, Germany, UEL ; Mr Alfred HEER, Switzerland, ALDE ; Ms Gabriela HEINRICH, Germany, SOC ; Ms Françoise HETTO-GAASCH, Luxembourg, EPP/CD ; Mr Andrej HUNKO, Germany, UEL ; Ms Susanna HUOVINEN, Finland, SOC ; Ms Eva-Lena JANSSON, Sweden, SOC ; Mr Mogens JENSEN, Denmark, SOC ; Ms Kristin Ørmen JOHNSEN, Norway, EPP/CD ; Ms Lotta JOHNSSON FORNARVE, Sweden, UEL ; Ms Anne KALMARI, Finland, ALDE ; Mr Giorgi KANDELAKI, Georgia, EPP/CD ; Mr Niklas KARLSSON, Sweden, SOC ; Ms Ioanneta KAVVADIA, Greece, UEL ; Ms Elvira KOVÁCS, Serbia, EPP/CD ; Mr Tiny KOX, Netherlands, UEL ; Mr Eerik-Niiles KROSS, Estonia, ALDE ; Mr Georgios KYRITSIS, Greece, UEL ; Ms Yuliya L OVOCHKINA, Ukraine, SOC ; Mr Pierre-Yves LE BORGN', France, SOC ; Mr Ian LIDDELL-GRAINGER, United Kingdom, EC ; Mr Filippo LOMBARDI, Switzerland, EPP/CD ; Mr George LOUCAIDES, Cyprus, UEL ; Ms Kerstin LUNDGREN, Sweden, ALDE ; Mr Philippe MAHOUX, Belgium, SOC ; Sir Alan MEALE, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Martine MERGEN, Luxembourg, EPP/CD ; Mr Jean-Claude MIGNON, France, EPP/CD ; Ms Marianne MIKKO, Estonia, SOC ; Mr Rónán MULLEN, Ireland, EPP/CD ; Mr Zsolt NÉMETH, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Mr Michele NICOLETTI, Italy, SOC ; Ms Ria OOMEN-RUIJTEN, Netherlands, EPP/CD ; Mr Henk OVERBEEK, Netherlands, UEL ; Mr Martin POLIAČIK, Slovak Republic, ALDE ; Mr John PRESCOTT, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr René ROUQUET, France, SOC ; Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria, SOC ; Ms Ingjerd SCHOU, Norway, EPP/CD ; Mr Nico SCHRIJVER, Netherlands, SOC ; Mr Frank SCHWABE, Germany, SOC ; Ms Petra De SUTTER, Belgium, SOC ; Mr Imre VEJKEY, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Mr Nikolaj VILLUMSEN, Denmark, UEL ; Mr Phil WILSON, United Kingdom, SOC ; Dame Rosie WINTERTON, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Gisela WURM, Austria, SOC

The integrity and effectiveness of the Parliamentary Assembly depend on the observance of the highest standards of conduct by its members. Recent, serious and credible allegations of grave misconduct by some ot its members risk undermining public confidence in the Parliamentary Assembly's integrity.

We, the undersigned members of the Parliamentary Assembly believe that the Assembly must:

1. establish, without delay, an external, fully independent and impartial inquiry into all allegations of improper conduct or corruption that may have sought to influence the work of the Assembly in recent years, focusing in particular on allegations surrounding the vote on political prisoners in Azerbaijan in January 2013; the conclusions of the inquiry and its recommendations should be made public directly to the Assembly and the public at large;
2. ensure that the Assembly's Code of Conduct is strengthened in accordance with international best practice and recommendations requested from GRECO; and that the strict observance of these standards is monitored and enforced by a permanent independent mechanism attached to the Assembly.

We therefore call on all members from across political party groups to support our call for an independent investigation and for an integrity framework worthy of our institution.