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Mr Damien COTTIER

Speeches since 2019

24/06/2026 | 11:50:11 Thank you, Madam Chair. Whilst preparing for this debate, I asked an artificial intelligence (AI) system what it suggested I should say about this report, and it suggested a quote from Alexis DE TOCQUEVILLE on democracy, which I’m not sure actually exists. I am currently trying to verify this, but I have not been able to find it through my own research. This therefore proves what the rapporteur was saying: nowadays, we can no longer necessarily believe what we see, and that should make us... 23/06/2026 | 19:06:10 Thank you, Mister Chair. Many of my colleagues, including the rapporteur, have highlighted the appalling repression that has taken place in Iran over recent months and years, with a staggering number of victims that is truly spine-chilling. And like others, I would like to thank Mr Jacques PARIS for his testimony, which allows us to hear first-hand the words of someone who has suffered terribly, bearing witness to behaviour on the part of this regime that simply should not exist. Another... 23/06/2026 | 10:45:51 Thank you, Madam President, Mr Secretary-General, We have seen during the recent elections observed by this Assembly just how much pressure is being exerted on these democratic elections: cyber-attacks, fake news, interference, etc. There are also a number of instruments that need to be adapted; you mentioned the Convention on Foreign Information Manipulation & Interference (FIMI). I believe that this Assembly must also adapt the way it observes elections. However, in this context, Ukraine... 22/06/2026 | 16:47:53 Thank you, Mister President. I would like to speak on the subject of election monitoring. We have had several such observations in recent weeks and, in every case that has been monitored, we have seen foreign interference – at times on a massive scale – hybrid attacks, pressure – sometimes economic, sometimes even involving military threats – as well as heightened tensions and increased polarisation across the country. I shall have the opportunity to present a detailed report at the next part... 22/06/2026 | 16:09:51 Thank you, Madam President. Mr Christophe MIRMAND, First of all, congratulations to Monaco, which has long been a global leader in the protection of the oceans, and we would be interested to hear your views on the challenges in this area. And with regard to human rights and social rights in particular, you mentioned women’s rights, Mister Minister. What does Monaco intend to do to reform the law on abortion or liberalise access to it, given that it is currently very restrictive, if not... 24/04/2026 | 10:07:39 Thank you, Mister President. We are living in a period of multiple crises: geopolitical crises, economic and financial crises, of course security crises and a climate crisis. And this is obviously a time for concern, but like all crises, it can also be a time for opportunity. I am convinced, and so is my group, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, that in this period our liberal democracies can assert themselves, but to do so they must work together. And they must work on three... 22/04/2026 | 19:58:44 Thank you, Madam President. This amendment is based on facts alleged in a press article which, surprisingly, was published a few days before our debates. These facts have not been officially supported or confirmed and, according to my information, do not correspond to legal practice, which provides for such accounts to be frozen until the courts have reached a final decision. So it would be extremely surprising if these funds had been unfrozen, and probably, but this is a personal... 22/04/2026 | 19:32:41 Thank you, Madam Chair. Dear colleagues, It is sad. The first draft report targets my country, Switzerland, excessively, based on unbalanced and sometimes poorly substantiated elements. After a great deal of constructive work in the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights and with the rapporteur, whom I would like to thank for this, it has been possible to produce a resolution that, while not perfect, is more balanced and no longer targets a single country for no objective reason. But it... 21/04/2026 | 19:50:29 Thank you, Mister President. First of all, I would like to thank the rapporteur, or should I say the rapporteurs, since there have been two successive rapporteurs on this issue, for her work, and also to congratulate our colleague, Mrs Petra BAYR, for her chairmanship for the last two years of the Committee on the Election of Judges to the European Court of Human Rights, now excellently replaced by our colleague Mr Sergiy VLASENKO, since this is a Committee that does important work and has... 21/04/2026 | 11:59:39 Thank you, Mister President. The report we are discussing today is important, and we must dispel the notion – if that is the impression people might get from listening to this debate – that politicians today are only concerned with themselves. They are not concerned with protecting themselves, they are concerned – and we are concerned today, through this debate – with protecting our institutions and, therefore, protecting democracy. And I would like to thank the rapporteur, because this...