The Assembly was instrumental in introducing institutionalised parliamentary observation of elections in Europe. Its first initiative was monitoring the electoral process of a state in 1974 in the context of the return of Greece to the Council of Europe. Founded on 5 May 1949 by ten states, in 1989 the Organisation had 23 members.  Since … Read more

News 27/04/2016 | NewsThe President expresses concern at the decision to ban the Mejlis of Crimean-Tatar people 18/04/2016 | NewsPACE President, ahead of debates on migration and asylum: ‘They are still dying out there’ 18/04/2016 | NewsPresident Agramunt calls for release of PACE member Nadiya Savchenko more

Political groups In order to develop a non-national European outlook, the formation of political groups in the Parliamentary Assembly has been promoted and from 1964 onwards they were granted certain rights within the Rules of Procedure. At present the Assembly counts five political groups: the Group of the European People’s Party (EPP/CD) ; the Socialist … Read more

The Museum of Communication (Bern, Switzerland) wins 2019 Museum Prize Strasbourg, 07.12.2018 – The 2019 Council of Europe Museum Prize has been awarded to the Museum of Communication (Bern, Switzerland). The museum was selected by the Culture Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) at a meeting in Paris today. According … Read more

(January 2018) The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Right promotes the rule of law and defends human rights. It is also responsible for a whole variety of activities that make it, de facto, the Assembly’s legal adviser. The Committee (AS/Jur) comprises 86 members and their alternates. It deals with a wide range of legal … Read more