24/01/2023 | 15:36:24 Dear colleagues, Let us continue our good work in this hemicycle. I first will announce the results of the election of judges to the European Court of Human Rights. First, with regard to the election of a judge to the Court of Human Rights for Iceland. The total number of members who voted in this election was 186. There were two spoilt or blank ballot papers. The absolute majority of the votes cast is therefore 93. The number of valid votes is 184. The results are Ms Arnardóttir 145 votes... 24/01/2023 | 12:45:38 Thank you very much, Madam Minister. We are not a German Bundestag where you applaud after every second sentence. But I hope that you understand that the applause that you received at the end shows that we are proud that a former member of this Assembly – now one of the leading politicians in Europe – is still a true advocate of the cause and role of the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly. Thank you very much. You have agreed to answer also questions of our members. I remind... 24/01/2023 | 12:09:18 Ladies and gentlemen, Dear colleagues, It is now my honour and privilege to welcome to our Assembly the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany Ms Annalena BAERBOCK. Madam Minister, we are very pleased to have you back in this chamber, the place you know from your time as a member of this Assembly. I can tell you, many of our former colleagues have found their ways to various governments in our member states. And you, Madam Minister, have managed to become the the leader of the German Foreign... 23/01/2023 | 13:22:05 Thank you very much. We now shall put the proposal to the vote. A simple majority is needed. Those who are in favour of holding the current affairs debate should vote "Yes". Those who are opposed to hold this debate should vote "No". The vote is open. I close the vote. I call for the results to be displayed. The current affairs debate is approved. Mr Paul GAVAN will open, no, Mr Pierre-Alain FRIDEZ is going to open the debate. We now come to a request for a current affairs debate that we... 23/01/2023 | 13:15:57 Your 30 seconds have passed. We have now had one speaker in favour. We now shall vote on the request for urgent procedure. Please listen carefully. The decision needs a two-thirds majority. Those who are in favour of holding this debate should vote "Yes". Those who are against holding such debate should vote "No". The vote is open. I close the vote. I call for the results to be displayed. The request is rejected as it does not have a two-thirds majority. We are now on page 55. We now come to... 23/01/2023 | 13:13:01 I am very sorry, Ian, I'm now not following the rules. We have one speaker on each item. We will surely hear from you during the week, Ian, but here you have to follow the rules. Okay. We have now this request for a vote. That means that we have to put it to vote. Yes? As you see, I'm just elected so I could not see these files before, because that would not have been fair. There is an objection to the Bureau's recommendation on the request for an urgent debate on attacks against public... 23/01/2023 | 13:08:20 Thank you very much. That is what I concluded. Now, sorry, we are now going to stop this discussion. What we do conclude is that, one, the credentials have been ratified. That is the fact we cannot change. I will seek advice from the Chair of the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs on what has happened and, if needed, we will come back to the issue. But the decisions have been taken. This decision is taken. I now continue with the rest of our Agenda. The next... 23/01/2023 | 13:06:28 Thank you very much. I take note of your remarks, Mister Ian LIDDELL-GRAINGER. I was in the Hemicycle. What I saw is that a statement was made by a member of the German delegation. I did not hear him indicate whether he was challenging credentials on Rule 7 or Rule 8. Sorry, sir, you do not have the floor. We behave here in a normal way. I do not know from which parliament you come, but you do not shout, and you do not say "rubbish!". You just listen. We are now answering a point of order... 23/01/2023 | 12:59:38 Dear Colleagues, Last year we were confronted with the beginning of Russia's unilateral war of aggression against our member State Ukraine. We, together, had to take unprecedented steps. Less than one day after the invasion, we suspended the membership of the Russian Federation in the Council of Europe. Within three weeks, we expelled Russia from this organisation because of its blatant violation of our statute, which obliges us all to maintain and protect peace in Europe. By crossing Ukraine... 14/10/2022 | 13:00:46 The speeches of members on the speakers list who have been present during the debate but have not been able to speak may be given to the Table Office for publication in the Official Report. I remind colleagues that typewritten texts can be submitted electronically if possible, no later than four hours after the list of speakers is interrupted. That concludes that the debate is closed. We turn now to the Progress Report of the Bureau. This morning the Bureau has proposed several decisions...