09/04/2019 | 16:00:04 I thank the rapporteur, Ms Petra De SUTTER, for her extraordinary work and for this important report. It might help to establish concrete measures to enhance dialogue with national parliaments, under conditions favouring an open debate on the recommendations emanating from both organisations concerning the respect by member States of standards relating to human rights, the rule of law, and democracy, and to bring European decision makers and representatives of national parliaments closer... 22/01/2019 | 11:41:07 First, I wish to thank our rapporteur, Dame Cheryl GILLAN, for her extraordinary work and for giving us this important tool, which helps to introduce a new, uniform benchmark for measuring compliance with one of the founding principles of the Council of Europe. This practical tool is surely going to become an effective instrument, and I strongly support the report. At first glance, a referendum is a tool of democracy and it should always be welcomed by democratic societies. However, in some... 21/01/2019 | 18:40:31 I have to respond to the Azerbaijani delegates’ speeches about the Armenian elections and the new opportunities they created and about the former criminal regime. Azerbaijani delegates should be the last ones to speak about criminal regimes. Right now there are mass protests in Azerbaijan with people demanding the release of political prisoners, whose rights and freedoms are restricted in the most disgraceful way. Azerbaijan does not follow judgments from the European Court of Human Rights on... 21/01/2019 | 17:18:43 First of all, I appreciate the summary of the observation of early parliamentary elections in Armenia. I am very happy to see the positive statement of the international Election Observation Mission, which is self-explanatory. I thank the Parliamentary Assembly for sending, as always, a professional and experienced team to observe probably the most important elections in the recent history of Armenia. I especially give a big thanks to Mr Aleksander POCIEJ for heading the Mission and for his...