06/03/2012 President
Strasbourg, 06.03.2012 – The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Jean-Claude Mignon, will be holding high-level talks in Brussels on 6 and 7 March with Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, Michel Barnier, European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Štefan Füle, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, and Pierre Vimont, Executive Secretary General of the European External Action Service.
The PACE President will also be meeting Wilfried Martens, President of the European People’s Party, Nicolas Beger, Director of Amnesty International’s EU Office, and Antoine Madelin, Director of IGO Activities – Worldwide Human Rights Movement.
In these talks, Jean-Claude Mignon will address the possibilities of stepping up co-operation between the Council of Europe and the EU institutions in specific fields, including: conflict prevention and resolution, activities in the Council of Europe’s southern neighbourhood, with particular reference to the countries enjoying Partner for Democracy Status with PACE, the fight against corruption and money laundering, and the situation regarding migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers.
He will also discuss the need to avoid duplication of activities between the Council of Europe and the EU and the issue of EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights, which is a key priority for the Council of Europe and PACE in terms of creating a coherent Europe-wide legal framework for the protection of human rights.