Partners for democracy By its Resolution 1680 (2009) the Assembly decided to establish a “partner for democracy” status. This status aims at developing co-operation with parliaments of non-member States of neighbouring regions as a means of consolidating democratic transformations and promoting stability, good governance, respect for human rights and the rule of law. The national … Read more

Legal Affairs and Human Rights News Sharia versus the Convention on Human Rights: protect human rights regardless of religious practices 14/12/2018 Legal Affairs and Human Rights The committee is greatly concerned that Sharia law, including provisions clearly contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights, is applied officially or unofficially in several Council of Europe … Read more

  Committee meetings Although committees deal in particular with reports, they have great freedom to discuss any matter within their competence when they agree to do so. They organise hearings, colloquies or conferences on particular subjects, the findings of which can then be used for the preparation of reports to the Assembly. Sessions and sittings … Read more

The parliamentarians who make up PACE come from the national parliaments of the Organisation’s 47 member states. They meet four times a year to discuss topical issues and ask European governments to take initiatives and report back. These parliamentarians speak for the 800 million Europeans who elected them. They broach the issues of their choice, … Read more

  The meeting of the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly was held in Vienna at the Austrian Parliament on Friday 22 November 2013 under the Austrian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers. After the opening of the meeting by PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon, the President of the Austrian National Council, Reinhard Todt, gave a … Read more

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  The PACE Standing Committee meets in Sarajevo on 22 May, ahead of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s six-month chairmanship of the Council of Europe. The parliamentarians will hold an exchange of views with Foreign Minister Igor Crnadak on his country’s priorities, and are also due to debate children’s rights, the criminalisation of irregular migrants and cultural … Read more

On this website you will find the texts adopted by the parliamentary assembly, its public working papers (“the Documents”) and the Assembly records. Adopted Texts The Assembly can adopt three different types of texts: recommendations, resolutions and opinions. Recommendations contain proposals addressed to the Committee of Ministers, the implementation of which is within the competence … Read more

  Parliamentary representation The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) consists of a number of individual representatives from each member State, with a President elected each year from among them for a maximum period of two sessions. The present President is Stella Kyriakides (Cyprus, EPP/CD). She was elected in October 2017. Whilst in … Read more

PACE Standing Committee will meet in Brussels on Tuesday 18 November at the Federal Parliament, in the context of the Belgian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers (November 2014-May 2015). After the opening of the meeting by PACE President Anne Brasseur, the Speaker of the House of Representatives [tbc] will address participants. The members of … Read more

Strasbourg, 22-26 June Speeches by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the President of Malta Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, and the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mladen Ivanic are among the highlights of the PACE 2015 Summer Session (Strasbourg, 22-26 June). Debates on the agenda include consideration of the annulment of the previously ratified … Read more

Political Affairs and Democracy News New guidelines for fair referendums 11/12/2018 Political Affairs and Democracy Political Affairs Committee unanimously adopted a draft resolution aimed at updating the Venice Commission’s Code of Good Practice on Referendums, following, in particular, the increasing use of referendums. More A PACE delegation at the UN ponders how to uphold common … Read more

The Bureau and the committees The Bureau The President, twenty Vice-Presidents, the Chairpersons of the political groups or their representatives as well as the Chairpersons of the general PACE Committees or their substitutes make up the Bureau of the Assembly. The big countries have a permanent seat in the Bureau; the smaller countries take turns. … Read more

Detail of decisions taken by the Committee at each meeting Détail des décisions prises par la Commission à chacune de ses réunions Date English Français 2016 25/01/2016 AS/SOC 001 AS/SOC 001 15/03/2016 AS/SOC 002 AS/SOC 002 17/03/2016 AS/SOC/CSE 001 AS/SOC/CSE 001 18/04/2016 AS/SOC 003 AS/SOC/003 02/06/2016 AS/SOC 004 AS/SOC/004 21/06/2016 AS/SOC 005 AS/SOC/005 08/07/2016 AS/SOC/PRIX … Read more

Detail of decisions taken by the Committee at each meeting Détail des décisions prises par la Commission à chacune de ses réunions Date English Français 2018 12/01/2018 AS/CDH 001 AS/CDH 001 24/01/2018 AS/CDH 002 AS/CDH 002 12/04/2018 AS/CDH 003 AS/CDH 003 15/06/2018 AS/CDH 004 AS/CDH 004 27/09/2018 AS/CDH 005 AS/CDH 005 2017 13/01/2017 AS/CDH 001 … Read more

When is it appropriate for government members, civil servants or parliamentarians to accept gifts? How often are judges offered bribes? When does legitimate lobbying cross the line into undue influence? What role can investigative journalists play in revealing corrupt practices? What should parliaments be doing to root out corruption? Corruption is theft. It also subverts … Read more

Diary Print version December 2018 Month January February March April May June July August September October November December Year 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 … Read more

Did you know? The Joint Committee is the organ of co-ordination of the Council of Europe. Secretariat – 6.229 – +33/3 88.41.2370 Reference texts Resolution (51) 30 C, Statute of the Council of Europe Functioning Terms of reference The functions of the Joint Committee are: to examine the problems which are common to the Committee … Read more

  Strasbourg, 30 September-4 October 2013   Strasbourg, 05.09.2013 – Addresses by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić and the Speaker of the Russian State Duma Sergey Naryshkin will be among highlights of PACE’s forthcoming autumn plenary session (30 September-4 October). Also on the agenda are debates on national security and access to … Read more