27/11/2008 Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Strasbourg, 27.11.2008 – The disastrous impact of the financial crisis on the living conditions of Europe’s citizens “could possibly threaten to undermine the very foundations of democracy”, the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) has warned.
In a statement adopted yesterday in Paris, the committee also said public authorities had “failed in their duty” to adequately supervise the sophisticated financial instruments which partly led to the financial crisis.
The committee endorsed the recommendations of last month’s G20 summit, but deplored that there was no reference to protecting the social and economic rights of citizens in a period of crisis.
It called for the holding of a current affairs debate during the Assembly’s January session (26-30 January 2009) entitled “The protection of citizens’ rights during the present financial crisis”.