27/01/2021 | 18:44:14 Thank you, Mister President, Dear Colleagues, Madam Rapporteur, I thank you for the work you have done. I share your concerns about the restrictions on NGOs in several Council of Europe Member States. As you point out, not only do some countries - you mention Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey - continue to apply restrictive legislation and regulations, but other Member States have prepared draft laws apparently based on these restrictive laws. You mention Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, and Greece. This... 27/01/2021 | 11:28:13 Thank you, Mr President. Good morning to all of you, rapporteur, ladies and gentlemen. Rapporteur, as you quite rightly point out in your report, the COVID-19 pandemic that has been affecting the whole world for a year and has already claimed 1.5 million victims can only be brought under control through the successful deployment of vaccines. It would be absolutely catastrophic if the remarkable scientific successes of recent months were to be undone by faulty vaccine strategies. You emphasise... 28/01/2020 | 13:02:34 Thank you, Mr. President. Madam President, On 12 December, the Georgian Parliament appointed 14 judges to the Supreme Court out of a total of 20 judges. The selection process of candidates, carried out by the High Council of Justice, has been the subject of much criticism. The co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, for the monitoring of Georgia, deplored in particular the appointment of persons who had not demonstrated the necessary legal knowledge and... 02/10/2019 | 19:38:14 Thank you, Madam President. Madam and Mr co-rapporteurs, I congratulate you for your hard work and your well documented study of the situation in North Macedonia There has been a lot of progress, as you have all pointed out, particularly not only due to the Prespa agreement. It is to be welcomed that the recommendations have been taken into account by this country despite a sometimes complicated political situation. However, it is necessary to continue this dialogue with the Monitoring... 02/10/2019 | 16:24:40 Thank you, Madame President. Madam rapporteur, Dear colleagues, I would like to thank you for allowing us to hold this debate today on a rather little known body of the Council of Europe. I read your work with a lot of interest. Several points caught my attention. The proportion of loans disbursed in 2018, allocated to target countries, represents less than half of the loans. In the name of solidarity among its Member States, the CEB provides more support to 22 target countries in Central... 02/10/2019 | 12:39:27 Thank you, Madame President. Madame Secretary General, I would like to express to you formally and publicly my sincere congratulations on your election. I listened carefully to your speech and I would like to thank you because you have taken the full measure of the difficulties facing our Assembly, challenges that we collectively need to address. We will be with you in your task, but I am confident in your ability, your capacity to federate and bring modern, concrete solutions and resolutely... 01/10/2019 | 10:26:32 Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Mr Rapporteur, for your very interesting work. In France, the Mediator trial alone demonstrated the importance of these people who awaken our conscience, these whistle-blowers. Unfortunately, while Irène Frachon continues to lead an almost normal life, most whistle-blowers are mostly unemployed and are bogged down in multiple, isolated and unreported court proceedings. This is particularly the case of those who denounce cases of corruption or tax fraud... 27/06/2019 | 10:57:03 Madam President, Albert Einstein, emphasizing that “the word progress will have no meaning as long as there are unhappy children“ summarized what makes our debate on child abuse so important. The Council of Europe, through its One in Five campaign and its continued commitment to put children at the heart of the rights system, has made progress possible. However, it must be noted, through various facts and our experience as elected representatives, that even in the oldest democracies, this... 25/06/2019 | 11:52:47 Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Mr. Rapporteur. Yes, the budgetary situation of the Council of Europe is difficult. However, at a time when the rise of populism and nationalism is exacerbating tensions and trying to attack our values and Human rights, it would be suicidal for us democracies and for Europe to weaken the only pan-European institution, our only common home. Especially since it is the only organization whose purpose is to defend Human rights and the Rule of law. The... 10/04/2019 | 10:39:09 “Education is a ‘powerful weapon’ if we want to see mentalities evolve and to transcend differences, and sport is of course a source of inspiration, showing young people the merits of excellence, tolerance, learning, and respect. These two elements help us to contribute to a fairer society based on brotherly love”. With those words, Nelson Mandela, who was a victim of apartheid and hatred, summarised what this debate is all about. Prevention needs to be our priority and, like the rapporteurs...