01/10/2026 | 16:55:29 Thank you very much, Mr Chairperson, Dear colleagues, On behalf of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, we thank our rapporteur, Ms Marietta KARAMANLI, and the rapporteurs for opinion, Ms Maria-Gabriela HORGA, of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development and Ms Larysa BILOZIR, of the Committee on Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation. We also thank the Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD for joining us and sharing his assessment... 30/09/2026 | 17:30:29 Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to start with congratulating Mr Tekke PANMAN for his work and this timely report. Dear colleagues, violations of international law by the United States of America are not new. What is new, though, is the Trump administration's utter contempt for international law. In the United Nations (UN) Chapter, this contempt is accompanied by attacks on institutions capable of halting the United States and Israel. The pattern is clear. The Trump administration... 29/09/2026 | 19:45:09 Thank you, Madam Chair. I will start by thanking our colleague Ms Laura CASTEL for the excellent work she has done, together with Ms Miapetra KUMPULA-NATRI. Thank you very much, Laura. Dear colleagues, Greece's democratic resilience and progress deserve recognition. We welcome the ratification of Council of Europe conventions and steps to strengthen the protection of rights. The Greek people have borne the consequences of the debt crisis and harsh austerity. Workers, pensioners and young... 29/09/2026 | 10:31:04 Thank you, Madam President. Dear colleagues, in 2019, our Assembly reaffirmed its role as the political engine of the Council of Europe. Already in 2017, it had called for a new summit to reaffirm European unity around our common values. Our sustained efforts contributed to the Reykjavík Summit in May 2023. Many of the priorities advanced by this Assembly were reflected in its declaration, which gave our organisation a political roadmap for strengthening human rights, democracy and the rule... 28/09/2026 | 15:34:46 Thank you very much, Madam Chairperson. On behalf of the Group of the Unified European Left (UEL) Group, I would like to thank our rapporteurs for their work. Dear colleagues, Our commitment to peace and human rights must be reflected in the priorities we fund and the political choices we make. Since June, the illegal war waged by the United States and Israel against Iran has continued to threaten regional peace. Renewed increases in fuel prices are deepening the cost of living crisis. And... 24/06/2026 | 16:45:38 Thank you very much, Mister Chairperson. I will start with the dialogue. We are a platform of dialogue and democracy. So in order to serve the values of this organisation, we should have to be persistent, otherwise we undermine the credibility of this organisation, Mr Oleksii GONCHARENKO. When we use double standards, when we exercise our duties with hypocrisy, then we undermine the very same values of this organisation. And this is very clear. So, on behalf of my group, the Group of the... 23/06/2026 | 16:49:07 Thank you very much, Mr Mogens JENSEN. Dear colleagues, on behalf of the Group of the Unified European Left, I would like to thank the co-rapporteurs for their comprehensive report. The report acknowledges that Serbia has made progress in a number of important areas, including judicial reforms, anti-corruption efforts and the alignment of legislation with Council of Europe standards. These developments deserve recognition and should be further encouraged. At the same time, the report... 23/06/2026 | 11:17:40 Thank you, Madam Chair. On behalf of the Group of the Unified European Left, I wish to express our deep concern regarding the continuing deterioration of democracy, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in Türkiye. The facts, dear colleagues, are very well known. Türkiye remains the only member state of the Council of Europe that was returned from post-monitoring to a full-monitoring procedure, reflecting the profound democratic regression that has accelerated since 2016. The... 22/06/2026 | 12:27:30 Thank you very much, Madam President. Allow me to focus on three simple questions related to the challenges we are facing. First question: what is the greatest threat to peace today? It is the growing attempt to normalise the open violation of international law and the return of the law of the mighty in international relations. Violations of international law are not new, of course. What is new, though, is the increasingly open and unapologetic contempt for the UN Charter and for the very... 29/01/2026 | 20:13:20 Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2. Mister President, Dear Colleagues, For six and a half decades, the Charter has stood as the social counterpart to the European Convention on Human Rights, affirming that dignity cannot exist without the fundamental rights to housing, health, employment, social protection and equality. Yet today, these rights are under unprecedented pressure. Austerity measures, precarious labour, rising poverty and shrinking welfare systems are undermining the...