12/03/2024 Political Affairs and Democracy
The Political Affairs Committee, at its meeting on 5 March in Paris, welcomed the elaboration of the Venice Commission Checklist Parameters on the relationship between the parliamentary majority and the opposition in a democracy. It recommended this checklist to the parliaments of the Council of Europe member states and observer states, as well as to the parliaments enjoying partner for democracy status.
The report by Elvira Kovács (Serbia, EPP/CD), adopted by the Political Affairs Committee, underlines that this checklist is a result of a careful work carried out by the Venice Commission, which took its origin in PACE Resolution 1601 (2008) entitled “Procedural guidelines on the rights and responsibilities of the opposition in a democratic parliament”.
The committee believes that legally enshrined and clearly defined rights and guarantees are an effective tool for the functioning of the parliamentary opposition, and that strengthening the position of the opposition in parliaments can only be beneficial for the system of checks and balances in democracies.
The draft resolution adopted invites the parliaments of the member states to promote the Venice Commission Checklist Parameters and to take them into account when revising national regulations on the relationship between the parliamentary majority and the opposition.
Finally, the committee proposed that PACE political groups review their statutory rules and rules of procedure, including provisions specifying the procedure and requirements for, and consequences of, switches in political affiliation as well as the suspension, expulsion or resignation of members.