09/04/2025 | 10:20:58 Dear colleagues, First of all, let me congratulate the rapporteur for his solid and important report for this Assembly. And the Assembly has come a long way since the 2017 corruption scandal. The so-called "caviar diplomacy" involving Azerbaijan seriously damaged the credibility of our work and revealed major weaknesses in our ethical safeguards. Just for the recollection, in response, we took important steps: we launched an independent investigation, introduced codes of conduct, strengthened... 30/01/2025 | 11:59:45 Thank you very much. First of all, I want to say that I was really moved when our colleague Ms Anzhelika MELNIKAVA was speaking here on behalf of Belarus. This is really historical and this is very important. It opens a new chapter, not only in our Assembly, but also, I hope, that in the democratic forces for Belarus. Secondly, I thank you very much for this debate. It's important. It's important that we reacted so quickly to the sham elections that took place last Sunday. And last, it's... 30/01/2025 | 11:17:20 Thank you, Mister President. Dear colleagues, dear friends, It is less than a 2-hour flight from Berlin; 2:30 from Athens or Rome; less than 3 from Paris and 4 from Madrid. This is how long it takes to the capital of Belarus, Minsk. It is not far. It is not far, but at the same time it feels, looks so far away. Belarus is in Europe. It was in Europe, it is in Europe, and it will be in Europe. Belarusian people showed their willingness to be a part of democratic European society in 2020, when... 02/10/2024 | 18:24:34 Thank you, Mister President. We welcome and support the report on the obligations and commitments by Bosnia and Herzegovina. First of all, we welcome Bosnia's path to the European Union. The report we are discussing today does two key things. Firstly, it recognises the steps that Bosnia and Herzegovina took in the last two years on its European path. They result in the Council of Europe's decision to give a green light to opening accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the same... 02/10/2024 | 15:44:22 Thank you, Mister President. Let me start by saying that the charges against Mr Marcin ROMANOWSKI has nothing to do with this Assembly. The immunity of the Council of Europe should only apply to the activities conducted as a representative of the Council. The allegations against Mr Marcin ROMANOWSKI refer to the period when he was not a member of the Council of Europe. The charges refer to his activities from 2018 up to 2023 when he was Deputy Minister of Justice in Poland. Please note, he... 17/04/2024 | 16:41:15 Thank you. First of all, let me thank Ms Yevgenia KARA-MURZA for being with us today and for your testimony. Let me start by saying that the death of Alexei Navalny was one of the most important events in modern Russian history. A turning point. The Russian Federation today is a state which bans the existence of any political opposition. Today there are more over 1 000 political prisoners in Russia and 1 500 in Belarus, without counting many others, which are not formally political prisoners...