30/09/2021 | 16:11:21 Thank you, Chairman. What we're facing today is the unintended but – to an extent – predictable consequences of the policies that we have adopted. We shouldn't be surprised that someone like president Lukashenko is behaving the way that he is, because this is the way he's behaved all the way along towards his own people and towards refugees; most of whom incidentally have paid to get as far as Belarus. I would like us to have a common position, but I also think we need to keep an eye on the... 28/09/2021 | 12:21:03 Thank you Madam President, Inequality is a bit like sin, isn't it? We're all against it, but on occasions, we quite enjoy some of the byproducts thereof. I put forward the argument that a certain level of inequality is inevitable but it's in the sensible interests of the State to promote equality in certain areas; if only to get the best out of the people. Because if you have discrimination in education, in health, and in other areas, you actually end up not functioning well as a society... 20/11/2020 | 15:06:44 Can I firstly say that we're in a transition phase and at the beginning of next year we might still face a situation in which different countries have different rules, both for travel and the quarantining after travel. So, we have to look at the transition period and that means that some people will work remotely and others will be able to be there. Now, we've had this situation in the House of Lords for the last two months and we can be made to work and you can as remote voting works. I... 04/10/2019 | 11:30:37 Thank you, Madam President. We're within a few days of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. That recalls to me a conversation I had in this very chamber where the European Parliament used to meet with Jacques Delors, probably the greatest president Europe has ever had. And we referred to Ronald REAGAN's statement "tear down this wall Mr GORBACHEV" and one of the things that we agreed on was that the consequences of tearing down the wall would be a very fundamental change in... 03/10/2019 | 16:07:57 Thank you, Madame President. Can I associate myself also with the condolences to the French government on the dreadful attack today. I voted for Russia to return to this Assembly. I welcome them back, but most of all, I welcome the fact that they wish to join us. They know what this Assembly stands for and the very thoughtful speech by Madame CHRISTENSEN, I thought came very close to where we should be. We need to look carefully at each other but not in a condemnatory way, but in a helpful... 02/10/2019 | 12:36:55 Thank you, President. Can I add my congratulations to the new Secretary General? I've often argued in lectures that I give that you can change your history, you can rewrite it -- but you can't change your geography. This Assembly has recently readmitted the Russian delegation, which I voted for and welcome, but that has given rise to yet more problems. To my view, there are many many hatreds running around Europe and not enough understanding. But unless we get the understanding, we will never... 02/10/2019 | 11:37:25 Thank you Mr President. Let me first thank everybody who is taking part in this debate. There has been a large number of extremely useful points. I won't be able to deal with them all in my six minutes, but I'm here for the rest of the week if any members want to come up and speak to me privately: I'm delighted to talk to them. Among the valuable points made which I will refer to, I'd like to start with my friend and colleague John Howell. I fully acknowledge that the report doesn't, as he... 02/10/2019 | 10:13:05 Thank you Mr President and Colleagues, The Council of Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly have consistently promoted the creation and strengthening of Ombudsman institutions, in particular, in its Resolution 1959 (2013) on ‘Strengthening the Institution of Ombudsman in Europe’. This called on member states which have set up institutions to ensure that they fulfil a number of criteria, in particular as regards independence. Maybe at this point I could make it clear we're talking about... 01/10/2019 | 10:17:05 Thank you Madam President. One of the most enjoyable things about being a member of the European Conservatives is that you can say things which are not totally politically correct. Though I will say with political correctness that I congratulate the rapporteur. I think it's very important to defend whistle-blowing but we need a much clearer definition. We've got into a position where we say oh, anyone who blows a whistle must be protected. That is the case for people who expose corruption or... 26/06/2019 | 11:33:00 Dear Chairman, Can I add my congratulations to the Rapporteur both of the report and of the opinion. We are dealing, of course here, with a very difficult situation, which has very wide dimensions. We, at the one hand, have to cope with public opinion and if there were two words in this report, which I think are out of place is the word "loved ones", because the problem many of these people face is precisely that they are not loved or cared for. The public opinion is great in theory but very...