10/04/2025 | 11:46:10 Dear President, dear colleagues. Just some comments, but first of all I'd like to thank colleagues who participated in this urgent debate on the situation in Georgia. It was a very good and fruitful debate. I would like to thank the secretariat of the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee) and of course, Ms Sabina ĆUDIĆ, co-rapporteur, my dear colleague. Despite the different perspectives, we are united in our... 10/04/2025 | 10:56:43 Thank you very much, Mister President. Dear colleagues, Before presenting to you the content of the resolution on the situation in Georgia, adopted by the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee), allow me to begin with a personal note. I have been co-rapporteur for Georgia long enough to say that this is not the resolution I wanted to present to this Assembly. This was not the debate I expected to have at this... 09/04/2025 | 20:01:10 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) I start congratulating the co-rapporteurs of the Resolution, Mr Stefan SCHENNACH and Lord David BLENCATHRA. The recent arrest of the Mayor of Istanbul is not an isolated incident. It is yet another chapter in a troubling story — a story of rising authoritarianism, of institutions being hollowed out, of dissent being criminalized. The people of Istanbul have demonstrated their revolt because they are told that their votes do not matter. That... 07/04/2025 | 12:27:42 Dear President, dear colleagues. I participated in the election observation mission in Kosovo and I asked for the floor to speak about what I saw and heard. First of all, I would like to thank Ms Petra BAYR for her excellent work as Head of our delegation. I would also like to thank the authorities of Kosovo for their invitation and support. As you know, this was the first time that our Assembly was invited to observe elections in Kosovo. These elections, as the rapporteur mentioned, have... 28/01/2025 | 17:47:27 Thank you, Mister President, I thank the rapporteur for this important report. Dear colleagues, After more than a devastating year of war between Israel and Hamas, a ceasefire has finally been reached. This truce included an exchange of prisoners and allowed much-needed humanitarian aid to reach affected areas. Until when? I don't know, but I know that Palestinians need peace to rebuild their lives and their homes. I know that women and children of Palestine have a right to live in peace... 27/01/2025 | 17:12:52 Thank you, Mister President, The recent elections in Georgia, which should have been a reaffirmation of the Georgian people trust in democratic processes, have instead cast a shadow over the country’s future. These elections are the first elections since Georgia gained its independence from the Soviet Union that take place under a fully proportional election system. Most opposition parties, as well as those in the ruling majority, presented joint election lists to avoid losing the votes of... 03/10/2024 | 17:40:42 Thank you, Mister Chairman. Ladies and gentlemen, First of all, I'd like to thank the rapporteur, Mr Simon MOUTQUIN, for his excellent report and for the work he has done for our Assembly. Thank you, Simon. Thank you for all you have done for the environment, human rights and the rule of law. We shall miss you. Dear colleagues, The right to healthy food, including the right of access to drinking water, must become a fundamental pillar of European constitutions. Today, the rights to health... 01/10/2024 | 11:28:04 I will start. Dear President, first of all I'd like to congratulate Mr Stefan SCHENNACH for this crucial report. Dear colleagues, are you sure that the car you bought was really chosen by you? Are you sure that the book you read was really chosen by you? Are you sure that the opinion you expressed is your own thinking? These are not provocative questions. These are questions and concerns I have after reading Edward Bernays' book Propaganda, published in 1928. Edward Bernays laid the... 28/06/2024 | 10:23:34 Thank you, Mister Chairman. Dear colleagues, It is my duty, and I do so with pleasure and friendship, to underline the enthusiasm and competence of Mr Pedro CEGONHO in the preparation of this report. I would also like to thank Mr Simon MOUTQUIN for presenting the report. The rapporteur of this important report is not present as he would like and deserves to be. We all know that political life is unfair and doesn't always reward the best. This is the confusion and perplexity of the world, as... 27/06/2024 | 11:08:49 Thank you, Mr Chairman. Ladies and gentlemen, First of all, with the fair play that great people must show in both victory and defeat, I congratulate the Georgian team on yesterday's result against my country, Portugal; a result that did not change Portugal's first place, but which was very important for Georgia. I would like to thank all the colleagues who have spoken and, very briefly, I would like to remind you that the Council of Europe was created seventy-five years ago, after the Second...