07/11/2012 President
Strasbourg, 07.11.2012 – PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon spoke this morning in Brussels in favour of closer co-operation between PACE and the European Parliament, particularly as regards specific issues of respect for fundamental rights in states both within the European Union and beyond. The President also called for the EU’s speedy accession to the European Convention on Human Rights in order to “fill a gap in the European human rights safeguards”.
Mr Mignon, who was attending the joint meeting of the PACE Presidential Committee and the European Parliament Conference of Presidents, said there should be no duplication between the two bodies. “Between us, it is truly a question of being complementary and not in competition. We uphold the same values and we must endeavour to do so with optimum effectiveness, avoiding overlaps,” he emphasised.
Jean-Claude Mignon mentioned the joint election observation missions, in particular for the presidential election in Ukraine on 28 October, as an example of good co-operation. It was agreed that the Secretaries General of the two assemblies should meet shortly to discuss ways of revitalising existing co-operation mechanisms and improving co-ordination on specific questions.
In reply to the invitation extended by Mr Mignon, the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schultz, expressed his desire to come to Strasbourg to address PACE.