10/06/2011 Session
Strasbourg, 10.06.2011 – Addresses by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych (Tuesday 21) and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan (Wednesday 22) will be among highlights of the summer plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg on 20-24 June 2011.
Support for fledgling Arab democracies will be the main theme on Tuesday, when the parliamentarians will decide on the Moroccan Parliament’s request for “Partner for Democracy” status with the Assembly, followed by statements from the Speakers of both chambers of the Parliament, Abdelwahed Radi and Mohamed Cheikh Biadillah. Tunisian Foreign Affairs Minister Mohamed Mouldi Kefi will also take part in a debate on the situation in Tunisia.
This will be followed by a joint debate on sharing responsibilities for asylum seekers and refugees in Europe, and on the interception and rescue at sea of asylum seekers, refugees and irregular migrants. A number of refugees and asylum seekers who have come together to form a “living library” will be present during session week to share their personal experiences.
Wednesday sees a debate on follow-up to the report of the Council of Europe Group of Eminent Persons “Living together in 21st century Europe”. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov will also address the Assembly on the same day.
On Thursday, the Assembly holds its biennial debate on the state of human rights in Europe. German Federal Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger and the Attorney General for England and Wales Dominic Grieve will take part in a joint debate on national parliaments as guarantors of human rights in Europe, and on the role of parliaments in the consolidation and development of social rights in Europe. This will be followed by the ceremony to award the Parliamentary Assembly’s Human Rights Prize for 2011 to the Russian NGO “Committee against Torture”.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Gryshchenko will present the Communication from the Committee of Ministers to the Assembly on Monday afternoon, and answer questions from parliamentarians. On Wednesday, there will also be a debate on reform of the Assembly.
Draft agenda
(the final agenda is decided by the Assembly on the opening day of the session)
Monday 20 June (opening at 11.30 a.m.)
• Statement by Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, PACE President
• Election of Vice-Presidents with respect to Finland and Ireland
• Progress report of the Bureau of the Assembly and the Standing Committee
• Communication from the Committee of Ministers to the Parliamentary Assembly, presented by Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers
• Joint debate on budgets and priorities of the Council of Europe for the financial years 2012-2013 and expenditure of the Parliamentary Assembly for the financial years 2012-2013
Tuesday 21 June
• Possible election of a judge to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of France
• Request for partner for democracy status with the Parliamentary Assembly from the Parliament of Morocco and statements by:
– Abdelwahed Radi, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Morocco
– Mohamed Cheikh Biadillah, Speaker of the House of Counsellors of Morocco
• Address by Viktor Yanukovych, President of Ukraine
• Co-operation between the Council of Europe and emerging democracies in the Arab world
• The situation in Tunisia and statement by Mohamed Mouldi Kefi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Tunisia
• Joint debate on asylum seekers and refugees: sharing responsibilities in Europe and on the interception and rescue at sea of asylum seekers, refugees and irregular migrants
Wednesday 22 June
• Living together in 21st-century Europe: follow-up to the report of the Group of Eminent Persons of the Council of Europe
• Address by Serzh Sargsyan, President of Armenia
• Address by Nikolay Mladenov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria
• Reform of the Parliamentary Assembly
Thursday 23 June
• The state of human rights in Europe:
- National parliaments – guarantors of human rights in Europe
- The role of parliaments in the consolidation and development of social rights in Europe, and statements by:
- Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, Federal Minister of Justice of Germany
- Dominic Grieve, Attorney General for England and Wales
• Award ceremony for the 2011 Human Rights Prize of the Parliamentary Assembly
• Possible urgent or current affairs debate
• More women in economic and social decision-making bodies
Friday 24 June
• The progress of the Assembly's monitoring procedure (June 2010-May 2011)
• Joint debate on towards a European framework convention on youth rights and on reversing the sharp decline in youth employment
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Practical information
Live web stream: The session is streamed live over the web.
Press conferences: PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will give a press conference on Monday 20 June at 10.30 am. Other press conferences will be announced on the spot. Press conferences are streamed live over the web.
For TV planning units: videos in broadcast quality summing up PACE highlights can be downloaded for free at no later than two hours after the event. Further information from the Council of Europe Audiovisual Service, tel. +33 3 88 41 25 64 (prior to the session) or +33 3 88 41 35 00 (during the session).
Further details: see the Assembly's website.
For accreditation: Directorate of Communication, [email protected].
Contact: PACE Communication Division, tel. +33 3 88 41 31 93; [email protected].