08/04/2019 | 11:58:10 The next item on the agenda is the debate on the progress report of the Bureau and Standing Committee, Document 14855, Addenda 1 and 2, and Document 14857, presented by Ms Boriana ÅBERG. This will be combined with consideration of the Report of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Bureau on the observation of parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova on 24 February 2019, Document 14859, presented by Mr Claude KERN. I remind members that we need to conclude this debate, including the vote, by... 08/04/2019 | 11:55:11 We now come to the adoption of the agenda for this part-session. The draft agenda was drawn up by the Bureau on 28 February and updated this morning, and it has been distributed. I remind you that we have already agreed to hold an urgent debate on the “Role and mission of the Parliamentary Assembly: main challenges for the future”. The Bureau proposes that this urgent debate takes place on Wednesday afternoon as the second item of business. Mr Egidijus VAREIKIS’s report on the rules of the... 08/04/2019 | 11:54:00 Thank you. We shall proceed to a vote on the urgent debate. I remind you that it needs a two-thirds majority. The vote is open. The request is agreed to. Since the two-thirds majority has been achieved, an urgent debate on “Role and mission of the Parliamentary Assembly: main challenges for the future” is included on the agenda for this part-session. We do not have to take a stand on which committees should have this referred to them, because this was already decided on 13 October 2017, with... 08/04/2019 | 11:50:00 Thank you, Mister Schwabe. So, we shall now vote on the request for an urgent debate. I would like to remind you that a decision requires a two-thirds majority. Those who are in favour of holding an urgent procedure debate on the budgetary crisis should vote yes; those who are against holding such a debate should vote no. The vote is open. The request is rejected. We come to the next proposal, which is for a debate under urgent procedure on the challenges for the future of the Council of... 08/04/2019 | 11:43:19 Before we adopt the draft agenda, the Assembly needs to consider requests for debates under urgent procedure and for a current affairs debate, which we will consider in the following order: a request from the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs for an urgent debate on “The Budgetary Crisis at the Council of Europe”; a request from the Socialists, Democrats and Greens Group, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and the Group of the Unified... 08/04/2019 | 11:35:09 Dear colleagues, welcome to Strasbourg for a new part-session, which will be exceedingly important given its agenda and political dimension. We are heading towards the 70th anniversary of our Organisation, and a key moment for its future. Just a week ago, while on an official visit to Armenia, I had the great honour of participating in the inauguration of Europe Square in the capital, Yerevan. As I was getting ready for the ceremony, I asked myself: what does Europe mean for each of us? There... 25/01/2019 | 12:28:17 I am pleased to be able to announce the names of our voting champions, those members who have taken part in the most votes during this part-session. There is only one. It is our champion for all categories: Mr Stefan SCHENNACH. I congratulate him and say to those who have not been mentioned: keep trying. As is traditional, I invite him to come to see me so that I can give him a small gift as a token of our appreciation. We have now come to the end of our business. I would like to thank all... 25/01/2019 | 12:25:47 Does anyone wish to speak against the oral amendment? That is not the case. I gather that the committee is in favour, so we shall proceed to the vote. The vote is open. The oral amendment is adopted. We will now proceed to vote on the draft resolution contained in Document 14788, as amended. A simple majority is required. The vote is open The draft resolution in Document 14788, as amended, is adopted, with 20 votes for, 0 against and 0 abstentions. We will now proceed to vote on the draft... 24/01/2019 | 15:32:13 The first item of business this afternoon is a debate on a report prepared by Ms Marianne MIKKO and Mr Nigel EVANS, and presented by Sir Roger GALE on behalf of the Monitoring Committee, entitled “The worsening situation of opposition politicians in Turkey: what can be done to protect their fundamental rights in a Council of Europe Member State?” I remind you that on Monday morning the Assembly decided to limit the speaking time to three minutes. I would like to have the consideration of this... 24/01/2019 | 10:05:02 The next item of business this morning is a debate under urgent procedure on “The escalation of tensions around the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait and threats to European security”, Document 14811, presented by Mr Andreas NICK on behalf of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy. I remind the Assembly that at Monday morning’s sitting it was agreed that speaking time in all debates today be limited to three minutes. In order to finish by 12 noon, I will interrupt the list of...