21/10/2021 European Conference of Presidents of Parliament
“The members of the Parliament of the Council of Europe - because this is how I like to call it - is not composed of directly elected members, but rather of members coming from your national parliaments, which makes PACE your Assembly, your Parliament,” said Rik Daems at the opening ceremony of the European Conference of Presidents of Parliaments.
“Our relationship is built on synergies, on sharing experiences and on finding added value from each other in order to make life better for the citizens we represent, under the umbrella of the European Convention on Human Rights.”
The basic rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Convention are “untouchable”, Mr Daems said, referring to one of the themes due to be debated, democracies facing the Covid-19 public health crisis. “We have observed in some of our member countries that because of the Covid-19 crisis, some laws have been passed which aim to enlarge the executive powers in the hands of government. The scrutiny, Parliament’s control of the executive, is of the utmost importance”.
As regards national parliaments and the right to a healthy and sustainable environment, an item also included in the discussions, the President stressed that “the environment is a basic human right. And I am very grateful to you because your representatives, in our Assembly, in our Parliament, unanimously voted for this. When you make the environment a basic human right, it is not only about responsibility, but also about accountability,” Mr Daems underlined.