The idea of a united Europe, and of the establishment of some body representatives of Europe as a whole and competent to speak, perhaps to act, on its behalf, was commonly advanced at least as early as the XIXth century. Only in the XXth century, however, has that idea taken concrete form – and then … Read more
Michele Nicoletti “At a time of great and dramatic challenges – from terrorism to migration, from poverty old and new to mistrust in representative institutions, from the re-emergence of racism and xenophobia to the desperate solitude of so many people – we must offer a response to nationalist and chauvinistic temptations to close … Read more
Home News Search web content Search News Home-old Members Members Search Members since 1949 Vice-Presidents President Anne BRASSEUR BiographyPresident test template Jean-Claude MIGNON Activities Mevlüt ÇAVUŞOĞLU Lluís Maria de PUIG René van der LINDEN Peter SCHIEDER Anne BRASSEUR Pedro AGRAMUNT Biography Pedro Agramunt Roger GALE Stella KYRIAKIDES Michele NICOLETTI NicolettiOpeningSpeech Liliane MAURY PASQUIER Work Documents … Read more
How are judges of the European Court of Human Rights elected? The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe elects the judges of the European Court of Human Rights, providing them with democratic legitimacy. According to the European Convention on Human Rights, judges must “be of high moral character and possess the qualifications required for … 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
There are six organised political groups within the Assembly: the Group of the European People’s Party (EPP/CD) the Socialists, Democrats and Greens Group (SOC) the European Conservatives Group (EC) – New site under construction, thank you for your patience the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) the Group of the Unified European … Read more
Anne Brasseur “I am proud to be the president of an Assembly which brings together 324 parliamentarians from 47 European countries, representing 820 million people. To benefit from this diversity, we must not only foster permanent dialogue and mutual respect but also make the effort to understand others, taking account of their backgrounds, their history, … Read more
The Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly will meet in Paris (Assemblée nationale) on 7 March 2014. Members of the Standing Committee will hold an exchange of views with Ranko Krivokapić, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE. This will be followed by debates on “Migrants and refugees and the fight against AIDS”, “Europe’s … Read more
The Parliamentary Project Support Division was created in 2012. Its aim is, in co-operation with the general Committees, to assist with the implementation of specific co-operation involving parliamentarians and staff of national parliaments, so as to increase the visibility and impact of the PACE’s work. It is intended to ensure that the PACE’s key recommendations … Read more
Pedro Agramunt: Biography Born in Valencia, 12 September 1951. Married, two children. Education: Bachelor in Law, University of Valencia. Political positions: President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, elected on 25 January 2016 for a one-year term, renewable once. President of the European People’s Party group in the Parliamentary Assembly of the … Read more
European Conference of Presidents of Parliament Strasbourg, France, 15-16 September 2016 The Presidents and Speakers of parliament from the 47 Council of Europe member states and many partner, observer and neighbouring countries, along with the Presidents of other international assemblies, met in Strasbourg on 15 and 16 September 2016 for a European parliamentary summit, … Read more
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
PACE offers ‘self-service’ video clip tool With the aim of promoting parliamentary debate on social media, the Assembly offers an online tool which allows video clips from PACE plenary sessions to be swiftly edited, downloaded and posted on social media or the web. The “self-service” tool enables to download extracts from member and guests speeches … Read more
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
Composition and working methods of committees Committees are composed of representatives or substitutes of the Assembly. All committees (with the exception of the Committee on the Honouring of obligations and commitments by member states, known as the Monitoring Committee and the Committee of Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs) have an equal … Read more
The Assembly has a framework for ensuring the transparency of its work and the accountability and integrity of its members, in place for many years. This was significantly improved in 2017 and is regularly updated, ensuring that members act in line with the highest ethical standards. The Code of Conduct spells out what is expected … Read more
How are judges of the European Court of Human Rights elected? The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe elects the judges of the European Court of Human Rights, providing them with democratic legitimacy. According to the European Convention on Human Rights, judges must “be of high moral character and possess the qualifications required for … Read more
