1710091130E

AA17CR28

AS (2017) CR 28

2017 ORDINARY SESSION

________________

(Fourth part)

REPORT

Twenty-eighth sitting

Monday 9 October 2017 at 11.30 a.m.

In this report:

1. Speeches in English are reported in full.

2. Speeches in other languages are reported using the interpretation and are marked with an asterisk

3. The text of the amendments is available at the document centre and on the Assembly’s website.

Only oral amendments or oral sub-amendments are reproduced in the report of debates.

4. Speeches in German and Italian are reproduced in full in a separate document.

5. Corrections should be handed in at Room 1059A not later than 24 hours after the report has been circulated.

The contents page for this sitting is given at the end of the report.

(Sir Roger Gale, Acting President of the Assembly, took the Chair at 11.35 a.m.)

1. Opening of the fourth part of the 2017 ordinary session

The PRESIDENT – I declare open the fourth part of the 2017 ordinary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

I open this part-session as acting President of the Assembly.

2. Statement by the Acting President of the Assembly

The PRESIDENT – You should have already been informed or may have seen in the news that Mr Pedro Agramunt resigned from the office of President of the Assembly on Friday 6 October. Under Rule 54.8, his resignation terminates proceedings on the motion for his dismissal. This item has therefore been removed from the agenda. Two nominations for the office of President have been received within the deadlines set out in Rule 15. We will proceed to elect a new President after we have examined the credentials of new representatives and substitutes.

In the meantime, let me share with you some information about my activities, as acting President and senior Vice-President, since the June 2017 part-session.

First, I reiterate our strongest condemnation of terrorism and express, on behalf of the Assembly, our deepest sympathies to the victims and their families following the recent terrorist attacks in Spain, the United Kingdom and France. I have written to the Speakers of the parliaments concerned communicating our condolences, but we have an opportunity to show, in this Chamber, our solidarity with the many Europeans and others directly or indirectly affected by terrorism, including those of an associate of ours, the United States, in the recent horrendous Las Vegas shooting.

Therefore, I call for a minute of silence to the memory of the victims of recent and past attacks.

A minute’s silence was observed.

Ladies and gentlemen, after the terrorist attack in the London tube, I praised Londoners for their courage because they were not intimidated by the attack. Just like the Londoners, just like the people in Spain, France and elsewhere, we shall not be intimidated by terrorism, because the values that underpin the foundations of our societies – democracy, human rights, dignity and respect for the rule of law – are stronger than the violence and fear that terrorists seek to propagate. Our Assembly will continue to defend these values and I count on your support.

I would also like to inform you that I have personally issued a statement condemning the use of excessive force during the imposition of order in Catalonia last Sunday. I am pleased that the Spanish authorities locally have apologised to those injured or distressed. There can be no place for violence within or between member States of this Council of Europe. The only way to resolve differences must be through the dialogue that I trust will now take place.

Colleagues, you are aware that since the June part-session, an important development affecting not only our Assembly but the whole of the Council of Europe has happened: one of our member States – the Russian Federation – informed the Secretary General of the Council of Europe that it was suspending the payment of the remaining part of its 2017 financial contribution to the Organisation’s budget. It has declared that it is doing that until the full and unconditional restoration of the credentials of the delegation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation in the Parliamentary Assembly. Clearly, this decision represents an unprecedented challenge for the Organisation.

As statutory bodies of the Council of Europe, both the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly bear a shared responsibility for preserving the Organisation’s unity, viability and effective capacity to deliver the results that our citizens and our governments expect from us. Therefore, both statutory bodies need to work together to address the current situation. In this context, a meeting of the Joint Committee has been convened for Thursday 12 October at 3 p.m.

Ladies and gentlemen, as usual during the October part-session, we will award the 2017 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize. I chaired the meetings of the selection panel in Prague and in Strasbourg. Therefore, allow me to thank wholeheartedly the members of the panel for their competence, professionalism and dedication. I would also like to thank our partners – the Václav Havel Library, the Charta 77 Foundation and the Czech authorities – for their support to the Prize and excellent organisation of our meetings in Prague.

The selection panel shortlisted three candidates: Mr Murat Arslan from Turkey, who is a former rapporteur of the Turkish Constitutional Court and president of the now dissolved Association for the Union of Judges and Prosecutors; the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, a non-governmental human rights organisation founded in 1989 and based in Budapest, which carries out a broad range of activities in the area of human rights with a particular focus on access to justice and the rights of asylum seekers, refugees and stateless persons; and Father Georg Sporschill from Austria, who is a Jesuit who has devoted his life to the care of the most vulnerable – notably children.

The Václav Havel Prize award ceremony will take place this afternoon at 3 p.m., and I appeal to you all, as a courtesy to the nominated contestants and in recognition of the importance of this Prize, to be in the Chamber on time and participate in the ceremony.

Allow me now to announce the visit of a number of distinguished guests who will address the Assembly during this part-session: the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Mr Lubomír Zaorálek; the President of the Czech Republic, Mr Miloš Zeman; the President of Ukraine, Mr Petro Poroshenko; the Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Mr Angel Gurría; and finally, the President of the Venice Commission, Mr Gianni Buquicchio.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is where I go off-script and embarrass Mr Wojciech Sawicki. Mine will almost certainly have been the shortest ever presidency of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, but in the time, since June, that I have been afforded the honour of acting as the senior Vice-President and subsequently, over the last two days, sitting in the President’s Chair, I have been hugely impressed by the unfailing courtesy and professionalism of the Secretary General, and of the staff of the President’s Office and of the Press Office, without whose assistance a passage through what has been an extremely difficult time could not have been made. Let nobody in this Assembly or outside it ever suggest that we are served by other than the finest professionals. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Finally, I would like to thank all of you for your support and commitment during this interim period. Together, we have demonstrated that, in times of crisis and turmoil, our Assembly can act with courage and determination.

As a pan-European Assembly founded on the principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, we have an important mission to fulfil. We are going through a difficult period, and that will continue for a short while, but I firmly believe that our commitment to the ideals of the Council of Europe is strong and our Assembly will not disappoint the hopes and expectations of Europeans. Thank you for your attention; we shall now move to the agenda of the part-session.

3. Examination of new members’ credentials

The PRESIDENT – The names of the representatives and substitutes for the examination of credentials of new members are in Document 14411. If no credentials are challenged, the credentials will be ratified.

Are any credentials challenged?

The credentials are ratified. I welcome our new colleagues.

4. Election of the President of the Assembly

The PRESIDENT – We now come to the election of the President of the Assembly.

I have received two candidatures with the support required by our Rules of Procedure: that of Ms Stella Kyriakides of Cyprus, representing the EPP, and that of Mr Emanuelis Zingeris from Lithuania, also representing the EPP. The nominations are set out in Document AS/Inf (2017)08.

Under Rule 15.2, the President is elected by secret ballot under the supervision of two tellers chosen by lot. The candidate who obtains an absolute majority of the representatives sitting in the Assembly wins the election. In this case, a 152 votes minimum is required to be elected. If neither candidate has done so after two ballots, the President will be elected by simple majority of votes cast in a third ballot.

I shall now choose the tellers. If the occupants of seats 154 and 331, Mr García Hernández and Ms Estrela, are both available, we would like you to act as our tellers. The voting will take place in the areas behind the President’s chair.

The ballot is now open. Please do not rush; there is plenty of time. We will continue with business while the election of the President takes place.

Mr KANDELAKI (Georgia) – On a point of order, Mr President. It is important to note that we had a vote in the European People’s Party group on the candidacy. Mr Zingeris was chosen by the majority of the group as the group’s candidate.

The PRESIDENT – I am sorry but I must interrupt you. The discussions in a group are not a matter for the Parliamentary Assembly or for the chair. That is not a point of order and I rule it out of order.

We will continue with the business while the election of the President takes place. Would those members who wish to cast their votes please do so in an orderly fashion and as quietly as possible?

5. Election of Vice-Presidents of the Assembly in respect of France and Serbia

The PRESIDENT – The next item of business is the election of Vice-Presidents of the Assembly in respect of France and Serbia. The two candidates are Ms Nicole Trisse from the French delegation and Ms Marija Obradović from the Serbian delegation. If there are no requests for a vote, Ms Trisse and Ms Obradović will be declared elected.

I see no objection, and since there are no requests for a vote, I declare Ms Trisse and Ms Obradović elected as Vice-Presidents of the Assembly. They will take precedence following the Vice-Presidents previously elected. I know that you would wish us to congratulate them on their election.

6. Changes in the membership of committees

The PRESIDENT – Our next item of business is to consider the changes proposed in the membership of committees set out in the relevant documents and in addendum 1. Are the proposed changes in the membership of the Assembly’s committees agreed to? They are agreed to.

7. Requests for debate under urgent procedure and current affairs debate

The PRESIDENT – Before we examine the draft agenda, the Assembly needs to consider two requests for a debate under urgent procedure and one request for a current affairs debate. We will consider those in the following order. There is a request from Mr Talip Küçükcan and 24 other members of the Assembly for an urgent debate on “The extremely worrying humanitarian situation of the Rohingya”; a request from Mr Titus Corlăţean and 39 members of the Assembly for an urgent debate on “The new Ukrainian law on education: a major impediment to the teaching of national minorities’ mother tongues”; and a request from Mr Tiny Kox on behalf of the Group of the Unified European Left for a current affairs debate on “The need for a political solution to the crisis in Catalonia”.

At its meeting this morning, the Bureau agreed to recommend to the Assembly that the request for a debate on the humanitarian situation of the Rohingya be rejected.

Is the Bureau’s recommendation not to hold an urgent debate on the humanitarian situation of the Rohingya accepted?

The Bureau’s recommendation is accepted and the request for an urgent procedure debate on that topic is therefore not approved.

We now come to the request for an urgent debate on “The new Ukrainian law on education: a major impediment to the teaching of national minorities’ mother tongues”. At its meeting this morning, the Bureau approved the request for a debate on the new Ukrainian law on education, and therefore recommends to the Assembly that the matter be debated during this part-session, as set out in the draft agenda as issued.

Does the Assembly agree to that recommendation? Mr Ariev wishes to take the floor.

Mr ARIEV (Ukraine) – First, I would like to inform colleagues that the recent law adopted has the same system for Ukrainian schools as our neighbours. Secondly, the Ukrainian Government has already sent the law voluntarily to the Venice Commission for consideration by expert eyes. We have made a clear statement that the conclusions of the Venice Commission will be implemented by the Ukrainian Parliament later. Thirdly, in January, we will have a planned debate on regional and minority languages, which is being prepared in the culture committee and the rapporteur Rózsa Hoffman from Hungary. The Ukrainian delegation believes that this urgent debate is inappropriate, and that it is a political consideration of the matter of the defence of human rights and the rights of minorities. It is a very political point. I call on members to vote down this addition to the agenda.

The PRESIDENT – Thank you, Mr Ariev. There is an objection to the Bureau’s recommendation, and we shall shortly proceed to a vote. We have heard a speaker against the motion; I require a speaker, if there is one, in favour.

Mr CORLĂŢEAN (Romania) – I tabled the motion and I thank all colleagues that supported it. I strongly support the recommendation of the Bureau to have the urgent debate. The decision taken by Ukraine goes again the will, spirit and European standards that the Council of Europe has established on the subject of national minorities, and it goes against the democratic interests of Ukraine itself. There are many arguments, but I will end with the fact that Ukraine did not listen to the appeal not to promulgate the legislation, to consult the Venice Commission in advance and to make conclusions after that. That was not supported. I strongly support the recommendation of the Bureau.

The PRESIDENT – Thank you, Mr Corlăţean. As has been stated, the Bureau is obviously in favour. We now vote on the request for an urgent procedure debate. The decision requires a two-thirds majority. Those in favour of holding an urgent procedure debate on the new Ukrainian law on education should vote yes; those who are against holding such a debate should vote no.

The vote is open.

The request for an urgent procedure debate is agreed to.

The Bureau proposes that the topic of the debate that we have just agreed to be referred to the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media. Is that agreed? The reference is agreed to.

We now come to the request for a current affairs debate on “The need for a political solution to the crisis in Catalonia”. At its meeting this morning, the Bureau approved the request for this debate and therefore recommends to the Assembly that the matter be debated during this part-session, as set out on the draft agenda as issued.

Does the Assembly agree that the recommendation of the Bureau that there should be a current affairs debate on the topic as set out on the draft agenda is correct?

The proposal is agreed to.

The current affairs debate will be opened by Mr Hunko, in line with the Bureau’s decision this morning, and if he is not available, the Acting President or the President will designate another first speaker.

8. Adoption of the agenda

The PRESIDENT – The next item of business is the adoption of the agenda for the fourth part of the 2017 ordinary session, Document 14391 prov2. The draft agenda submitted for the Assembly’s approval was drawn up by the Bureau on 4 September and updated this morning.

I remind you that we have just agreed to hold an urgent debate and a current affairs debate. The urgent debate on education in Ukraine will take place as the first item of business on Thursday morning. The current affairs debate on the need for a political solution to the crisis in Catalonia will take place on Thursday afternoon.

Is the draft agenda, as amended, agreed to?

It is agreed to. Details of the debates are set out in each sitting’s Organisation of Debates document.

To enable as many members as possible to speak – I am sorry to have to say this – the Bureau proposes that speaking time be limited to three minutes all week. We have a considerable number of applicants who wish to speak and we wish to accommodate as many voices as is humanly possible.

Is that agreed?

It is agreed. The limit will be three minutes for the whole week.

The ballot for the election of the President is still open. Members who have not voted should do so. I will close the ballot at 1 p.m.

9. Progress report of the Bureau and the Standing Committee/Observation of the parliamentary elections in Albania

The PRESIDENT – The next item on the agenda is the debate on the progress report of the Bureau and Standing Committee (Document 14409 and Addenda 1 and 2), presented by Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger.

This will be combined with consideration of the report of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Bureau on the observation of parliamentary elections in Albania, presented by Mr Paolo Corsini (Document 14392).

I remind all members that speaking time in this debate will be limited to three minutes.

This business must conclude at 1 p.m., so I will interrupt the list of speakers at that time.

I call Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger to present the progress report. You have 13 minutes in total, which you may divide between presentation of the report and the reply to the debate.

Mr LIDDELL-GRAINGER (United Kingdom) – Thank you very much indeed, Mr President, for allowing me to present the progress report of the Bureau.

I do not think that any member at this plenary session will disagree with me when I say that this has been the most difficult three months that this august Organisation, the home of democracy in Europe, has faced for a generation and perhaps since its inauguration all those years ago. The last three to four months have been incredibly difficult. Whatever we may think, it is the view of the Bureau, the Presidential Committee and our acting President that this has not been our finest hour. It has been a difficult, awkward and, for most of us, embarrassing time.

I will go through some of the things that have been discussed since we last met here in Strasbourg. I believe that the resignation of our former President came too late and did not conform to the due process that parliamentarians in this place would expect. At some time today or tomorrow, we will have a new interim President for the next three months. We will then select the next President in January of next year and they will take us through the following two years. The challenge we face is to rebuild the institution we know, love and represent as parliamentarians.

May I, on behalf of the Assembly, thank Sir Roger Gale? He will stand down either today or tomorrow. He is a colleague of mine and we have worked together for a long time. He has taken on this role in difficult circumstances and I hope you will agree that he has handled it – or manhandled it – in a way that brings credit to us all. He has managed to keep this Organisation on an even keel.

I also thank Wojciech and the Secretariat of the Assembly for their work at what I know has been a very difficult time. A lot of their time has been spent on making sure that we get the message out there that we are not all cut from the same cloth. Thank you.

I would also like to talk about the loss of the Russian money. We are liable to lose many millions of euros because the Russian delegation have decided not to honour their obligations. That means that there will have to be changes somewhere here. The loss of such an enormous amount of money will make it difficult to do everything we would like to do. I know that the Secretary General is very aware of that and is doing what he can to mitigate the effects, but we are where we are. It is always sad when a country feels that it cannot participate in what is a tremendous club.

That said, we will obviously do everything we can to continue the work of the Organisation. Rest assured that, from the point of view of the Presidential Committee, the Bureau and the Standing Committee, everything necessary will be done. Our new President will have their own views and we wait to see what those are, because we will work with their thoughts in continuing our work.

I pay tribute to those who have been affected by terrorism across Europe. We have discussed this matter a lot here and we are still discussing it in our committees. I send my heartfelt condolences to the countries that have been affected, including my own, over the past few months. It will continue for quite some time. This august Organisation has made its position very clear on acts of wanton terrorism, wherever in the world they take place and whoever they are perpetrated by. They are not acceptable and never will be. Therefore, as parliamentarians and as democrats, we will defend our organisations and our countries to maintain democracy. I say to those who wish to disrupt it: I am sorry, but we will never be cowed and we will continue.

We have already heard from the President about the debate on Catalonia. I pay great tribute to Mr Tiny Kox, who proposed the debate, for allowing it to be a general debate. It is a very difficult situation. My country had a referendum on the possibility of part of our country, Scotland, leaving it. Scotland decided not to leave, but it was done with great dignity and enormous understanding. Our representatives from the Scottish National Party are here today.

We, as democrats, expect things to be done in an orderly fashion. There are questions that we need to ask about the situation in Catalonia and Spain. We do not seek to cast vast aspersions, but we do need to have our questions answered. It is not easy for any of us to sit idly by when people who want to express their views and thoughts about the future are – dare I say it – manhandled by the State. That debate needs to be had.

If I may, I will talk about the allegations of corruption here. It is not an easy subject, but it affects us all. When one of us is tainted, we are all tainted. I want to read out the resolution on protecting the integrity of this place verbatim because it is important to all of us who stand up for this place and defend its rights. We resolved to “pay special attention to the revision and effective implementation of” our “own code of conduct”; to “fully support the independent external investigation body to look into allegations of corruption within the Assembly”; to strengthen our “anti-corruption platform with the aim of promoting integrity campaigns in national parliaments”; and to “provide sound regulation for lobbying activities, including through the setting up of a Parliamentary Assembly transparency register, following the example of the European Parliament”. We need to do that as a matter of urgency.

The Bureau decided to submit the matters listed in paragraph 10 of Resolution 1903 (2012) to the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs to be taken into account in the preparation of the report on the follow-up resolution on promoting and strengthening the transparency and accountability of Parliamentary Assembly members. For my sins, I am the rapporteur on that. As it is an objective opinion, I will carry my comments no further. We now need to get the resolution in place and to abide by it – all of us. It is vital that we defend our rights and the right of this place to continue.

I have little time, but I want objectively to draw attention to the fact that, as many people know, a new group has been formed and started its work on 4 September. There have been questions, on which I will not comment because I am one of the people involved. I simply bring that to the Assembly’s attention in this plenary session.

We must get up, dust ourselves off and move forward. We have so much to do, so many challenges and so much that we want to achieve.

I wish Sir Roger well. A new President will hopefully be elected later today. I wish them well on behalf of the Bureau and the Standing Committee with their future deliberations, and with guiding us through the next three months.

The PRESIDENT– Thank you, Mr Liddell-Grainger. You have four minutes remaining.

I now call Mr Corsini to present the report of the Bureau’s ad hoc Committee on the observation of parliamentary elections in Albania. You have three minutes.

Mr CORSINI (Italy)* – Thank you, Mr President. I will preface my remarks by thanking Mr Hunko, on behalf of all members of the delegation, for making available some very interesting material and providing us with a plausible diagnosis of the problems that affect Albania today. We all worked as a team. I also thank Council of Europe staff, who accompanied and supported us.

The political context in Albania is extremely complex. One could say that there is a risk of a low-intensity civil war in the clash of the two major political blocs in the country. There is no doubt that the agreement that enabled the election to take place on 25 June prevented a clash, which would have had dire consequences for the country. However, it is clear to observers – I think we all agree with this assessment – that the agreement was almost private and extra-institutional. However, an overall assessment shows that the candidates could express their views freely; fundamental freedom of expression was respected. Compared with previous elections, the situation has improved and the local authorities were prepared to co-operate with us, and made considerable efforts to facilitate our mission.

We have little time, so I will limit myself to flagging up one or two critical points. First, public institutions enjoy little independence. There are also problems with the procedures for appointing the chair and members of the central electoral commission and with the registration of some political parties. We need to underline the difficulties put in the way of forming coalitions, and of an overly detailed electoral code.

The rights of independent candidates and the quotas for gender representation need to be reinforced. We need to enhance procedures for dealing with disputes, and the mechanism for counting the votes need to be reviewed. The count does not take place in individual polling stations but in counting centres, in which there is a general lack of confidence.

In spite of those critical points, we have to say that there have been improvements in guaranteeing electoral democracy in Albania.

The PRESIDENT– May I remind members again that the ballot for the election of the President is still open? Those who have not yet voted should do so. As I have indicated, I intend to close the ballot at 1 o’clock.

We now come to the debate and I call Mr Németh.

Mr NÉMETH (Hungary, spokesperson for the Group of the European People’s Party) – We have discussed things in respect of the actions of our President, Pedro Agramunt, but given his resignation, it is time to recognise his merits, and I would like to express our gratitude for his work for the Parliamentary Assembly.

There has been a discussion between our chairman and Mr Kandelaki. It is important to clarify that the EPP decided this morning to support Mr Zingeris as candidate for President. Politically speaking, he is the EPP candidate for the President, so it is misleading when it is said that Stella Kyriakides stands “on behalf of the EPP”. She does not; she is an independent candidate.

After the German elections, the debate about the future of Europe has intensified, and it is time for the Council of Europe to adjust to the new political conditions. Europe’s unity and the quality of democracy have become a vital component in European debates. We need to focus on that when considering the Council of Europe Summit.

The topic of immigration has stayed with us. Our Organisation can help especially with the approach of not bringing problems into Europe, but taking them up with the countries of origin. The transparency of non-governmental organisations and Iain Liddell-Grainger’s report, which we will discuss this week, are also vital. I hope we will have a fruitful debate.

We will have an urgent debate on Ukraine. As we all know, that country has rightly long been the subject of our solidarity, but we must also expect stability and appropriate respect for national minorities.

Finally, this year marks the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation. Its key sentence is “semper reformanda”, and that is a message for the Council of Europe. We need to reform our organisations constantly.

The PRESIDENT– Before we proceed, I remind colleagues that we are considering a progress report of the Bureau and the Standing Committee, not a hustings for the presidential election that is currently taking place. Members were not privy – nor should they have been – to a private discussion in a group meeting.

I call Mr Schennach.

Mr SCHENNACH (Austria, spokesperson for the Socialist Group)* – I will not fall into the trap or make the same mistake as previous speaker.

On behalf of the Socialist Group, I thank the two rapporteurs for the progress report. It was drawn up in difficult circumstances. As a member of the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs, I confirm that we have never been as active as recently.

Mr Liddell-Grainger spoke the truth about everything that has happened since the last part-session of the Assembly. A series of measures have been taken, including on the code of the conduct and the investigation and inquiry committee, to make it clear that the Parliamentary Assembly must be above the fray. We have to get that message across to all those who look to us when it comes to upholding the rule of law, human rights and democracy. We have to make it clear to them that we are behind them and that we are not playing a game or being part of the problem. It is regrettable that the Russian Federation has decided not to make its remaining payment, but at the same time it is pitching a discursive effort at a number of member States.

There have been measures to drain the swamp, as it were, with regard to the financing of terrorism through cultural goods. Some five member States have already signed up to that recent Council of Europe convention and I appeal to all countries to end the funding of terrorism through illegal trade in and trafficking of cultural items and commodities. It is important that all member States sign up to that text.

We have seen the police quelling homophobic protests and demonstrations in France and other countries. On recent events in Catalonia, I think that, irrespective of the question of independence, we have to address the way in which the police use force against people who are doing nothing other than expressing their views freely.

I was part of the mission that produced the report on Albania, which makes clear that decisive progress has been made since that country’s last elections.

Mr HOWELL (United Kingdom, Spokesperson for the European Conservatives Group) – First, I warmly congratulate Ian Liddell-Grainger and the Bureau and the Standing Committee on their work on some very important aspects of the Council of Europe. Their discussions will set up the Organisation for the future so that, as you have said, Mr President, it can act with courage and determination.

On the question of who the next President will be, I hope that we will go a stage further and completely abolish the practice of cosy little deals whereby the President is chosen by individual political parties rather than by the Assembly as a whole. I hope that we can make enormous progress in that regard.

I want us to promote and strengthen transparency, accountability and integrity with the members’ code of conduct. The greatest of those three is integrity. Following recent events in the Council of Europe, its members should seek to show integrity that is second to none. I am deeply worried by the lack of integrity that has been shown and by the attacks on the Council of Europe because of alleged corruption. The majority of us are not corrupt, but the accusations affect us all, as Ian Liddell-Grainger has said.

I have absolutely no problem with the formation of the new political group, but it is already mired in allegations of corruption and irregular signatures. Questions need to be asked and the situation needs to be examined in great detail. This is not a technical issue; it goes fundamentally to the heart of this Assembly and it needs to be addressed properly. I hope that we can tackle it and come up with a solution. The formation of the new group must allow for democratic rights to be expressed, but it has to be done properly.

Ms BRASSEUR (Luxembourg, Spokesperson for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe)* – First, I thank and congratulate you, Mr President, on the way in which you have guided our Assembly through a very difficult period. I also thank the Secretary General, Mr Sawicki, and all his staff, who have had a very hard time of it.

Although we are discussing the progress report, there has been no progress as such, because of circumstances that have gravely impaired the Assembly’s prestige. Some progress has been made since Friday and I hope it will provide an impetus to make further progress. We were stuck, but now we need to pool our efforts and turn once more to what unites us. We should take that message to our national parliaments and champion our principles and fundamental values, which are under pressure in certain countries.

It is unconscionable that some countries wish to place their national law over and above the European Convention on Human Rights. They are not implementing the Court’s judgments and thereby not protecting their citizens. Fundamental freedoms, therefore, are under pressure in many countries. In some countries, decisions are taken not according to the rule of law, but by a majority that, albeit elected, has turned into a dictatorship of the majority, which is undemocratic.

We have to rise to a huge number of challenges and I hope that we will be able to do so as of today, beginning with a good choice as new President. As acting President, Sir Roger, you will be the immediate past President and I am also a former President. I am sure that you will be skilful in passing on this role of honour to your successor.

We must turn over a new leaf, but without forgetting everything that has happened. The allegations and accusations of corruption must be brought to light, and we must know exactly what happened. If we are not transparent, we shall no longer be credible. It is not just our reputation that will be at stake; we must also protect the 820 million citizens whom we represent. That is a huge responsibility.

Finally, I wish to note that ALDE has just elected its new chair, Mr Rik Daems.

Mr PRESIDENT – Thank you, Ms Brasseur, for your kind personal comments. I call Mr Tiny Kox.

Mr KOX (Netherlands) – First, I want to thank our rapporteur, Ian Liddell-Grainger, for his excellent progress report. He spoke about President Agramunt’s decision at last to step down and thus avoid the need for this Assembly to send him away. I sent a message to Mr Agramunt, thanking him for his decision, but I also informed him that it came far too late and that it would have been better if he had taken the decision earlier. It would have been to the benefit of this Assembly. Nevertheless, by stepping down now our former President has underlined that no President of this Assembly can function if he or she does not have the trust of this Assembly. That is a normal democratic rule, and I hope that is the lesson we learn from this crisis, which was very bad for this Organisation’s image. As Anne Brasseur said, the crisis made it very difficult for this Organisation to function.

My group welcomes the new President, whoever they may be. We will know later. The Group of the Unified European Left will give our full support to the new President, because being the President of this Assembly is a very complex and difficult job. Mr President, you have learned that in the past months, when you did your utmost to keep this Organisation on track in difficult times. I thank you wholeheartedly for doing that. It was a privilege and an honour to work with you as our most senior Vice-President and more recently as our President. I wish you well in the future.

From now on, it is time to concentrate on our core business: democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Our committees have worked hard during the summer, with the great support of our staff, for whom holidays do not really exist in the same sense as they once did. They helped us very much. Through their work, this week the Assembly can debate the future of this Organisation, especially on Wednesday, when we have two reports on the future of the Council of Europe. There is my colleague Mr Nicoletti’s report on the upcoming fourth Summit of Heads of State and Government and the report I have prepared on the convention-based system.

Recently, we have seen the development of new crises, such as Catalonia. I thank the Assembly for approving my proposal to have a current affairs debate on the need to find a political solution to the crisis in Catalonia. This Organisation and this Assembly have tried via dialogue to overcome problems and to avoid the use of violence against our citizens, which cannot be the answer.

The PRESIDENT – Thank you, Mr Kox. Mr Liddell-Grainger, you will reply at the end of the debate. If you wish to comment at this stage, you can do so. You have a maximum of four minutes remaining. Thank you; as you do not wish to do so, I call Bernard Fournier from the EPP.

Mr FOURNIER (France)* – The legislative elections of 25 June in Albania came back from the brink. They were initially to be held a week earlier, and then they were not going to be held at all. The implementation of the political agreement made on 18 May between the main political parties in Albania was very tricky. That is all clearly set out in the balanced and complete report of our colleague Paolo Corsini, who led the electoral observation mission of our Assembly. The report is imbued with a certain degree of fatalism or weariness. It repeats some of the shortcomings and renews some of the criticisms already levelled at the Albanian authorities with previous votes.

Free and fair democratic elections are essential, and it has been ensured that they take place in Albania. Fundamental rights are respected and pluralist elections are allowed. The report underscores a number of positive points. In particular, there is media freedom, transparent functioning of the central electoral commission and the good organisation of polling on election day, yet Albania is still a victim of its old demons, namely the excessively conflictual nature of its political life. The two main parties – the Socialist Party, which is in power, and the Democratic Party, which is in opposition – are unable to imagine democratic and peaceful confrontation in the exercise of power. Brutality, personal invective and boycotts often replace debate on the merits of electoral programmes. That is deplored in the report.

The extreme polarisation of political positions is harmful for the good functioning of the electoral process. From that point of view, the conclusion of the political agreement of 18 May has had some ambiguous effects. The agreement made it possible for legislative elections to be held, but the opposition threatened those elections with a boycott. The agreement also contributed to a freezing of the political landscape. The agreement could not have been reached without strong international mediation from Europe and America. This is not the first time that Albania has made progress under external pressure – for example, there was the vote on judicial reform last year – but that is not good for the image or reputation of the country.

Albania has a dynamic civil society, which is to be welcomed, but it must realise and remind itself that joining the European Union – it has been asking for that for a long time – has to be prepared for and deserved. I have been a great friend of Albania for a long time, and I keep telling the leaders, “If you really want to ensure development in this country, which was so long a prisoner of a tyrannical regime, abandon your partisan reflexes in favour of a culture of dialogue and compromise. The Council of Europe and the Assembly are prepared to assist you in that.”

Lord FOULKES (United Kingdom) – Mr President, I hope you will excuse my voice; I am speaking through a cold. After what happened to our Prime Minister last week, I hope I can make it to the end of my three minutes. Although I am on the other side of the aisle from you, I would like to offer a very warm thank you for the work you have done here. I also thank Ian Liddell-Grainger as rapporteur of the Committee. Both of you contribute such a great deal to the work of the Parliamentary Assembly, and all the parties of the United Kingdom appreciate it.

I did not challenge the Bureau’s recommendation that we should not have an urgent debate on the Rohingya people. I can understand that it may not be the most appropriate way of dealing with the issue, but it would be indefensible if this whole week went by without us doing something on that dreadful example of ethnic cleansing. We cannot comment on every human rights violation around the world, but this is on such a major scale and has such implications that we must take account of it.

Bangladesh, a Commonwealth country that I hope to go to soon, is one of the poorest countries in the world. It suffers from natural disasters and is having to bear the burden of the crisis, and that makes the issue particularly difficult. Perhaps it will be taken up by the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons, the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights or the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, so that we can make some kind of declaration before the end of the week.

Look what happened in Rwanda when we all stood back and let it happen without taking strong action. We need to make it absolutely clear, as one of the foremost parliamentary human rights organisations in the world, that we condemn the ethnic cleansing that has taken place. We are asking the Burmese Government and Aung San Suu Kyi to take action to stop the ethnic cleansing and look after their people. I hope that in your responses, Mr Liddell-Grainger and Mr President, you will indicate whether there is some way that we can take action, because I and all the other members would not like to go away at the end of this week without having made some kind of condemnation of the situation and issued some kind of statement.

The PRESIDENT – Thank you, Lord Foulkes. I call Antonio Gutiérrez. He is not here. I call Mr Seyidov.

Mr SEYIDOV (Azerbaijan) – I thank the rapporteur; it is very important to hear what you have said. I also express my gratitude to the acting President, Sir Roger Gale. At the same time, I am in a very difficult situation because I do not share the optimism expressed by the rapporteur, in that although this is of course a progress report, it seems to me that it is a visible regression in some way. As the very famous Italian writer Umberto Eco said, this is regressive progress. That is really very strange, and it is the main reason we see this situation – the absence of leadership and the absence of vision. Unfortunately, instead of fighting for our common values – democracy, human rights and the rule of law – we see fighting for positions and fighting each other. That has incredibly undermined the credibility of this Organisation.

I do not know what will be the result of these elections and who will be the new President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, but I wish that the new President will be able to manage this crisis. When we hear from officials of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and officials from the Council of Europe – for example, the Secretary General – very intolerant and aggressive statements concerning the member States, we start to ask why we are here: why we, a Muslim State that gave a great contribution to European values, is under such big pressure. Maybe it is because of a particular tendency, and tensions in European politics, where radicals are coming to power, or maybe it is because of attitudes to the Muslim States or Islamophobia. I do not know, but I think it is because there is a crisis in this Organisation. We do not want to be a target for some politicians who are looking to be more Catholic than the Pope. We want to see adequate attitudes concerning each member State. When we can see separatism within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, it is a signal for member States, for us and for me to ask why we are here. The answer to this question is still open.

The PRESIDENT – Thank you, Mr Seyidov. Before we proceed, I again remind members that the ballot for the presidency is still open. It will close promptly at 1 o’clock.

I call Mr Huseynov.

Mr R. HUSEYNOV (Azerbaijan) – We live in a significant transition period which heralds important changes in the life of the world and of our whole Organisation, and this requires a serious review of the past. In such a very crucial time, one cannot be satisfied with a progress report simply listing the facts relating to the period of the report and assessing them. We should also keep in focus and analyse deeply and sensitively our working principles in the remaining period, as well as the best and worst aspects observed within the activities of the Organisation, and make conclusions.

Against this background, I would like to share my considerations on the targeting of Azerbaijanis in recent months. I recall our meeting with Heydar Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which took place after one of the first part-sessions of 2001. It was a meeting without the participation of the press where a great politician and statesman was giving us his recommendations. He said that regarding the admission of Azerbaijan to the Council of Europe, one of the heads of State told him not to be so enthusiastic about the Organisation as we would undergo constant criticisms as they did. The Azerbaijani President responded promptly that we were not afraid of criticism if we had shortcomings. If we hold to the path of democracy, we will endure every testing on this path.

The Council of Europe has an undeniable share in the development and progress achieved by my country over these years, though we have heard here the most severe criticism. Recently, however, especially within the last months we are discussing, a large-scale attack on Azerbaijan has started, with the organisation and administration of forces intending to put Azerbaijan under their political influence. The essence of this attack is made up mostly of evil, slander and defamation. Unfortunately, the influence of these forces has also reached the Council of Europe, and the Council of Europe has joined the same chorus. There is a team that works against Azerbaijan here.

Every piece of work, every action, and even every criticism, can only be useful if it is in proportion, does not run to extremes, and does not dilute impartiality. The Bureau of the Council of Europe and its chairmanship should, on the whole, avoid the undesirable course of moving different countries away from this Organisation by applying double standards and specific pressure mechanisms, because such initiatives can quickly lead the Organisation to a serious crisis and its collapse.

Mr SOBOLEV (Ukraine) – This year was one of the most complicated years of this Organisation. After this year of lessons and conclusions, we have to draw our own lessons in order to understand how we can solve its problems. The first lesson is that no one person – no President or other official representative of this Organisation – can express their own point of view but not a point of view of this Organisation as expressed in our resolutions and other documents.

The second lesson is that we are discussing a lot of different questions but not the main questions of the values of this Organisation. On the one hand, the Ukrainian delegation want to thank you for your total support of our struggle against the aggressive policy of the Russian Federation. We totally support your position, but we want this support not only in words but in real actions. When we are discussing whether the Russian Federation will or will not pay money, the main idea of this Organisation, and the main idea of a new President of this Organisation, is to protect our rights, not only by political measures but by judicial measures in the Court of Human Rights, where the Russian Federation fulfils all obligations in order to be a member of this Organisation. This will be a task of the new President and future Presidents of this Organisation.

Thirdly, it is very important to understand that in comparison with frozen conflicts elsewhere, we now have in Ukraine a situation that is not a frozen conflict. Each day people are killed from the side of the Russian Federation and from the side of separatists whom the Russian Federation supported. So, for us, it is very important to have each resolution on the protection of human rights and the protection of the whole of democracy in Europe, with Ukraine now in the forefront. We must protect not only our land and our democratic values but all democratic values of Europe. For us, it is very important that the agenda of the work of this Organisation will support democracy and its main values. For us it is very important to form the agenda for this period and for future periods in order to stop the aggressive efforts of the Russian Federation that we can see in all other spheres of the activity of this country.

Mr SHALSI (Albania) – I thank and praise the rapporteur and the observers for their clear, objective, realistic and concrete conclusions about the elections in Albania and for encouraging Albania to seek to improve its legal and institutional framework. The report welcomes the political agreement before the election between the Socialist Party and the Democratic Party, the government and the opposition. That positive step contributed to the opposition’s participation in the electoral process. It aimed to reduce campaigning costs, enhance oversight of campaign financing and increase the sanction for electoral offences, but it also aimed to achieve a more inclusive electoral process by allowing the opposition to nominate key ministerial positions, including deputy and other ministers and heads of institutions.

The report also underlines the professional and transparent work of the Central Election Commission. The media offered full coverage of the electoral process. Despite the progress and improvement in the electoral process, some shortcomings were also noted and should be immediately addressed, including the politicisation of public administration, some vote buying and some useless restrictions on voting and on the rights of electoral observers.

We are very committed to reflecting on the report’s findings and recommendations, and together with our partners – I deeply thank the European Union and the OSCE for assisting us in the process – we will see a different situation in the next elections in Albania.

Mr ORELLANA (Italy)* – I thank the rapporteur and all those responsible for the electoral observation mission in Albania, in which I participated. We saw a very positive climate on polling day. The agreement of 18 May 2017 put an end to a stalemate that risked leading to political and institutional crisis in Albania. Despite the critical points about which we have heard and its being a last-minute agreement, the agreement made possible the elections at the end of June.

We have seen an improvement in the general situation. The media are basically free and, as the report says, the electoral campaign was free. All the parties were able to express their views. The turnout was below 50%, and there was a certain lack of confidence. There is also a huge diaspora outside Albania, particularly in Italy, and we need to see improvement in the ability of Albanians resident abroad to vote.

Much remains to be done. Reciprocal accusations were levelled by the two major parties, and it is difficult to register independent parties, which undermines the whole electoral process. There is room for improvement, but generally speaking the assessment is positive and progress has been made, which bodes well for Albania’s possible membership of the European Union, which is an objective that the present government has set itself.

I will stop there so that we do not lose any more time.

The PRESIDENT – Thank you, Mr Orellana.

The ballot for the election of the President will close in six minutes, for those who have not already voted. I call Ms Zohrabyan.

Ms ZOHRABYAN (Armenia)* – On 6 October 2017, Pedro Agramunt resigned on the advice of his political doctors. I congratulate the Assembly members who did not allow the name of the Parliamentary Assembly to be identified with corruption and anarchy, whereby a person can buy, sell and resell parliamentarians and force them to serve the interests of the authoritarian agenda of that person’s country. Our bringing an end to the career of Pedro Agramunt is not enough to clean our Assembly of the vicious web of corruption. It seems that various European politicians have been implicated in this notorious corruption scandal, which involved enormous sums of money at the Estonian branch of Danske Bank over the years.

I hope that colleagues in our Hungarian delegation will put questions to the political leaders of their country on the scandalous revelation that the Hungarian authorities sold the murderer Ramil Safarov for $7 million. I remind members that Ramil Safarov killed a sleeping Armenian officer with an axe. Our Hungarian colleagues should take an interest in how millions of dollars were transferred into an account opened by Metastar Invest at MKB Bank, and to what extent those accounts were linked to political authorities in Hungary. In that regard, I remind the Assembly that Metastar Invest regularly made transfers to the bank account of the former Vice-President of the Assembly, Luca Volontè, who as we speak is probably telling the Italian prosecutor about his warm relations with his totalitarian friend.

In June, we approved the creation of an independent external group of inquiry, which will no doubt impartially examine all the evidence of corruption linked to our Assembly. There is quite a bit of evidence, which has recently hit international headlines. I support the declaration made by the president of Transparency International, “It is shocking to see that some politicians at respected bodies like the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe are up for sale and are willing to turn a blind eye to corruption and human rights abuses” for filthy lucre.

The Seimas of Lithuania has just asked the Lithuanian agency responsible for investigating financial criminality to examine the possible involvement of Lithuanian politicians in the corruption scandals linked to the Parliamentary Assembly, and I hope that other member States of the Council of Europe will follow Lithuania’s example. I assure the Assembly that, if that happens, several disciples of the Don Pedro sect will be obligated to ask for political asylum in the State that funds them.

The PRESIDENT – Thank you, Ms Zohrabyan. The final speaker this morning will be Mr van de Ven.

Mr van de VEN (Netherlands) – On behalf of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, I participated in the observation mission at the parliamentary elections in Albania on 25 June. Due to a last-minute development of a personal nature for my PACE colleague, I travelled on my own to the city of Shkodër, which is some 100 km north of the capital Tirana on the border with the State of Montenegro.

As far as I can establish, the Albanian elections took place in a quiet way. I did not come across any disturbances or disorder. I noted some minor deficiencies in the formalities. Nevertheless, I am still under the impression that those deficiencies were essentially triggered by inexperience rather than by purposeful manipulation of the Albanian election process. I noted a gender imbalance in the officials at the polling stations I visited in Shkodër, with a slight majority of women officials, including chairpersons.

As it was very hot on election day, with temperatures reaching almost 40^oC, most voting occurred before 11 a.m. Also, as up to four or five polling stations were centralised in just one public school, I gained no insight after 11 o’clock. Consequently, after lunch, I decided to visit polling stations in the rural area around Shkodër. Almost no votes were cast in those rural polling stations when I was present, which was probably also due to the high temperature. I noted that, with only one exception, in the seven polling stations that I visited, all the officials were male. I just question whether gender equality has reached the countryside of Albania, and that might be a point of interest for future parliamentary elections in Albania.

Finally, I thank Mr Paolo Corsini for his leadership shown during the mission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, as well as my other colleagues.

The PRESIDENT – Thank you very much, Mr van de Ven. I must now interrupt the list of speakers so that we can end the sitting. This debate will resume with those who remain on the same list of speakers this afternoon at around 4.30 p.m., following the communication from the Committee of Ministers.

As it is 1 o’clock, the ballot for the election of the President is now closed, so would the tellers please go to oversee the counting of the votes? The result of the ballot, and any arising changes, will be announced at the start of the afternoon sitting. I know that all colleagues will want to be present for that, so once the next steps in the presidential election have been determined, I urge members to remain for the Václav Havel prize, rather than rushing out to do other things. That would be a courtesy to all concerned. With Václav Havel in mind, we shall shortly go into the foyer to open the exhibition “Václav Havel: Politics and Conscience”, and I would be grateful to any colleagues who wish to join us there.

10. Next public business

The PRESIDENT – The Assembly will hold its next public sitting this afternoon at 3 p.m. with the agenda that was approved this morning.

The sitting is closed.

(The sitting was closed at 1 p.m.)

CONTENTS

1. Opening of the fourth part of the 2017 ordinary session

2. Statement by the Acting President of the Assembly

3. Examination of new members’ credentials

4. Election of the President of the Assembly

5. Election of Vice-Presidents of the Assembly in respect of France and Serbia

6. Changes in the membership of committees

7. Requests for debates under urgent procedure and current affairs debate

8. Adoption of the agenda

9. Progress report of the Bureau and the Standing Committee/Observation of the parliamentary elections in Albania (25 June 2017)

Presentation by Mr Liddell-Grainger of the progress report of the Bureau and Standing Committee, Document 14409 and Addenda 1 and 2.

Presentation by Mr Corsini of the report of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Bureau on the observation of parliamentary elections in Albania, Document 14392.

Speakers: Mr Németh, Mr Schennach, Mr Howell, Ms Brasseur, Mr Kox, Mr Fournier, Lord Foulkes, Mr Seyidov, Mr R. Huseynov, Mr Sobolev, Mr Shalsi, Mr Orellana, Ms Zohrabyan, Mr van de Ven.

10. Next public business

Appendix I

Representatives or Substitutes who signed the register of attendance in accordance with Rule 12.2 of the Rules of Procedure. The names of members substituted follow (in brackets) the names of participating members.

Liste des représentants ou suppléants ayant signé le registre de présence, conformément à l’article 12.2 du Règlement. Le nom des personnes remplacées suit celui des Membres remplaçant, entre parenthèses.

ÅBERG, Boriana [Ms]

AHMED-SHEIKH, Tasmina [Ms]

ALLAVENA, Jean-Charles [M.]

ANDERSON, Donald [Lord]

ANTTILA, Sirkka-Liisa [Ms]

ARENT, Iwona [Ms]

ARIEV, Volodymyr [Mr]

ARNAUT, Damir [Mr]

BADEA, Viorel Riceard [M.] (BRĂILOIU, Tit-Liviu [Mr])

BALFE, Richard [Lord] (GALE, Roger [Sir])

BALIĆ, Marijana [Ms]

BARNETT, Doris [Ms]

BARTOS, Mónika [Ms] (CSÖBÖR, Katalin [Mme])

BATRINCEA, Vlad [Mr]

BAYKAL, Deniz [Mr]

BECHT, Olivier [M.]

BERNACKI, Włodzimierz [Mr]

BĒRZINŠ, Andris [M.]

BESELIA, Eka [Ms] (CHUGOSHVILI, Tamar [Ms])

BEUS RICHEMBERGH, Goran [Mr]

BILDARRATZ, Jokin [Mr]

BİLGEHAN, Gülsün [Mme]

BÎZGAN-GAYRAL, Oana-Mioara [Ms] (PRUNĂ, Cristina-Mădălina [Ms])

BLONDIN, Maryvonne [Mme]

BOSIĆ, Mladen [Mr]

BRASSEUR, Anne [Mme]

BRUIJN-WEZEMAN, Reina de [Ms] (MULDER, Anne [Mr])

BRUYN, Piet De [Mr]

BUDNER, Margareta [Ms]

BUSHATI, Ervin [Mr]

BUSHKA, Klotilda [Ms]

BUSTINDUY, Pablo [Mr] (BALLESTER, Ángela [Ms])

BUTKEVIČIUS, Algirdas [Mr]

CENTEMERO, Elena [Ms]

CEPEDA, José [Mr]

ČERNOCH, Marek [Mr] (MARKOVÁ, Soňa [Ms])

CHRISTOFFERSEN, Lise [Ms]

CILEVIČS, Boriss [Mr] (LAIZĀNE, Inese [Ms])

CORLĂŢEAN, Titus [Mr]

CORSINI, Paolo [Mr]

COZMANCIUC, Corneliu Mugurel [Mr] (PLEȘOIANU, Liviu Ioan Adrian [Mr])

CSENGER-ZALÁN, Zsolt [Mr]

DALLOZ, Marie-Christine [Mme]

D’AMBROSIO, Vanessa [Ms]

DAMYANOVA, Milena [Mme]

DE TEMMERMAN, Jennifer [Mme]

DIVINA, Sergio [Mr]

DONALDSON, Jeffrey [Sir]

DUMITRESCU, Cristian-Sorin [M.] (ȘTEFAN, Corneliu [Mr])

DURANTON, Nicole [Mme]

DURRIEU, Josette [Mme]

EBERLE-STRUB, Susanne [Ms]

ESSL, Franz Leonhard [Mr]

ESTRELA, Edite [Mme] (ROSETA, Helena [Mme])

EVANS, Nigel [Mr]

FABRITIUS, Bernd [Mr] (OBERMEIER, Julia [Ms])

FAZZONE, Claudio [Mr] (BERNINI, Anna Maria [Ms])

FIALA, Doris [Mme]

FILIPOVSKI, Dubravka [Ms] (ZZ...)

FINCKH-KRÄMER, Ute [Ms]

FOULKES, George [Lord] (CRAUSBY, David [Mr])

FOURNIER, Bernard [M.]

FRESKO-ROLFO, Béatrice [Mme]

FRIDEZ, Pierre-Alain [M.]

GAFAROVA, Sahiba [Ms]

GAILLOT, Albane [Mme]

GAMBARO, Adele [Ms]

GARCÍA HERNÁNDEZ, José Ramón [Mr]

GATTI, Marco [M.]

GERASHCHENKO, Iryna [Mme]

GHILETCHI, Valeriu [Mr]

GILLAN, Cheryl [Ms]

GIRO, Francesco Maria [Mr]

GODSKESEN, Ingebjørg [Ms] (WOLD, Morten [Mr])

GONÇALVES, Carlos Alberto [M.]

GONCHARENKO, Oleksii [Mr]

GORGHIU, Alina Ștefania [Ms]

GOUTTEFARDE, Fabien [M.]

GOY-CHAVENT, Sylvie [Mme]

GRECH, Etienne [Mr] (CUTAJAR, Rosianne [Ms])

GROTH, Annette [Ms] (WERNER, Katrin [Ms])

GROZDANOVA, Dzhema [Ms]

GUTIÉRREZ, Antonio [Mr]

HAGEBAKKEN, Tore [Mr] (VALEN, Snorre Serigstad [Mr])

HAJDUKOVIĆ, Domagoj [Mr]

HAJIYEV, Sabir [Mr]

HAMID, Hamid [Mr]

HANŽEK, Matjaž [Mr] (ŠKOBERNE, Jan [Mr])

HEER, Alfred [Mr]

HEINRICH, Gabriela [Ms]

HERKEL, Andres [Mr] (NOVIKOV, Andrei [Mr])

HIGGINS, Alice-Mary [Ms] (CROWE, Seán [Mr])

HOFFMANN, Rózsa [Mme] (VEJKEY, Imre [Mr])

HOLÍK, Pavel [Mr] (BENEŠIK, Ondřej [Mr])

HOLLIK, István [Mr] (GULYÁS, Gergely [Mr])

HONKONEN, Petri [Mr] (GUZENINA, Maria [Ms])

HOPKINS, Maura [Ms]

HOVHANNISYAN, Arpine [Ms]

HOWELL, John [Mr]

HRISTOV, Plamen [Mr]

HUNKO, Andrej [Mr]

HUSEYNOV, Rafael [Mr]

HUSEYNOV, Vusal [Mr] (MAMMADOV, Muslum [M.])

JABLIANOV, Valeri [Mr]

JENIŠTA, Luděk [Mr]

JENSEN, Michael Aastrup [Mr]

JOHNSSON FORNARVE, Lotta [Ms] (KARLSSON, Niklas [Mr])

KALMARI, Anne [Ms]

KANDELAKI, Giorgi [Mr] (BAKRADZE, David [Mr])

KATSARAVA, Sofio [Ms]

KERESTECİOĞLU DEMİR, Filiz [Ms]

KESİCİ, İlhan [Mr]

KIRAL, Serhii [Mr] (BEREZA, Boryslav [Mr])

KOÇ, Haluk [M.]

KÖCK, Eduard [Mr] (AMON, Werner [Mr])

KORENJAK KRAMAR, Ksenija [Ms]

KORODI, Attila [Mr]

KOVÁCS, Elvira [Ms]

KOX, Tiny [Mr]

KROSS, Eerik-Niiles [Mr]

KÜRKÇÜ, Ertuğrul [Mr]

KVATCHANTIRADZE, Zviad [Mr]

KYRIAKIDES, Stella [Ms]

LAMBERT, Jérôme [M.]

LANGBALLE, Christian [Mr] (HENRIKSEN, Martin [Mr])

LEITE RAMOS, Luís [M.]

LIASHKO, Oleh [Mr]

LĪBIŅA-EGNERE, Inese [Ms]

LOGVYNSKYI, Georgii [Mr]

LOMBARDI, Filippo [M.]

LOPUSHANSKYI, Andrii [Mr] (DZHEMILIEV, Mustafa [Mr])

LOUCAIDES, George [Mr]

LOUIS, Alexandra [Mme]

LUPU, Marian [Mr] (BULIGA, Valentina [Mme])

MAELEN, Dirk Van der [Mr] (DUMERY, Daphné [Ms])

MAHOUX, Philippe [M.]

MAIRE, Jacques [M.]

MALLIA, Emanuel [Mr]

MARKOVIĆ, Milica [Mme]

MASIULIS, Kęstutis [Mr] (VAREIKIS, Egidijus [Mr])

MASSEY, Doreen [Baroness] (WINTERTON, Rosie [Dame])

MAURY PASQUIER, Liliane [Mme]

MIKKO, Marianne [Ms]

MULARCZYK, Arkadiusz [Mr]

MÜLLER, Thomas [Mr]

MUNYAMA, Killion [Mr] (HALICKI, Andrzej [Mr])

NAGHDALYAN, Hermine [Ms] (FARMANYAN, Samvel [Mr])

NÉMETH, Zsolt [Mr]

NENUTIL, Miroslav [Mr]

NICOLETTI, Michele [Mr]

NISSINEN, Johan [Mr]

OBRADOVIĆ, Jasmina [Ms] (BOJIĆ, Milovan [Mr])

OBRADOVIĆ, Marija [Ms]

OBRADOVIĆ, Žarko [Mr]

OHLSSON, Carina [Ms]

OOMEN-RUIJTEN, Ria [Ms]

ORELLANA, Luis Alberto [Mr] (SANTERINI, Milena [Mme])

OSUCH, Jacek [Mr] (MILEWSKI, Daniel [Mr])

PALLARÉS, Judith [Ms]

PANTIĆ PILJA, Biljana [Ms]

PASHAYEVA, Ganira [Ms]

PECKOVÁ, Gabriela [Ms] (KOSTŘICA, Rom [Mr])

POCIEJ, Aleksander [M.] (KLICH, Bogdan [Mr])

POMASKA, Agnieszka [Ms]

POSTOICO, Maria [Mme] (VORONIN, Vladimir [M.])

PREDA, Cezar Florin [M.]

PRUIDZE, Irina [Ms]

PSYCHOGIOS, Georgios [Mr] (KAVVADIA, Ioanneta [Ms])

REICHARDT, André [M.] (GROSDIDIER, François [M.])

REISS, Frédéric [M.] (ABAD, Damien [M.])

RIBERAYGUA, Patrícia [Mme] (JORDANA, Carles [M.])

RIGONI, Andrea [Mr]

ROCA, Jordi [Mr] (BARREIRO, José Manuel [Mr])

RODRÍGUEZ HERNÁNDEZ, Melisa [Ms]

RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Soraya [Mme]

ROJHAN GUSTAFSSON, Azadeh [Ms] (GUNNARSSON, Jonas [Mr])

RUSTAMYAN, Armen [M.]

SALMOND, Alex [Mr]

SANDBÆK, Ulla [Ms] (JENSEN, Mogens [Mr])

SANTA ANA, María Concepción de [Ms]

SCHENNACH, Stefan [Mr]

SCHOU, Ingjerd [Ms]

SCHWABE, Frank [Mr]

SCULLY, Paul [Mr] (PRITCHARD, Mark [Mr])

SEYIDOV, Samad [Mr]

SHALSI, Eduard [Mr]

SHARMA, Virendra [Mr]

SILVA, Adão [M.]

ŠIRCELJ, Andrej [Mr]

SOBOLEV, Serhiy [Mr]

SØNDERGAARD, Søren [Mr]

SORRE, Bertrand [M.]

SOTNYK, Olena [Ms]

STELLINI, David [Mr]

STEVANOVIĆ, Aleksandar [Mr]

STIENEN, Petra [Ms]

STIER, Davor Ivo [Mr]

STRIK, Tineke [Ms]

STROE, Ionuț-Marian [Mr]

TARCZYŃSKI, Dominik [Mr]

THIÉRY, Damien [M.]

TOPCU, Zühal [Ms]

TRISSE, Nicole [Mme]

TRUSKOLASKI, Krzysztof [Mr]

TUȘA, Adriana Diana [Ms]

TZAVARAS, Konstantinos [M.]

VÁHALOVÁ, Dana [Ms]

VARVITSIOTIS, Miltiadis [Mr] (BAKOYANNIS, Theodora [Ms])

VEN, Mart van de [Mr]

VENIZELOS, Evangelos [M.] (CHRISTODOULOPOULOU, Anastasia [Ms])

VERDUCCI, Francesco [Mr] (CHITI, Vannino [Mr])

WALLINHEIMO, Sinuhe [Mr] (PELKONEN, Jaana Maarit [Ms])

WENAWESER, Christoph [Mr]

WOJTYŁA, Andrzej [Mr]

WURM, Gisela [Ms]

XUCLÀ, Jordi [Mr] (MATARÍ, Juan José [M.])

YEMETS, Leonid [Mr]

ZECH, Tobias [Mr]

ZOHRABYAN, Naira [Mme]

Also signed the register / Ont également signé le registre

Representatives or Substitutes not authorised to vote / Représentants ou suppléants non autorisés à voter

ALEKSANDROV, Nikolay [Mr]

ANGLADE, Pieyre-Alexandre [M.]

AST, Marek [Mr]

BEREZA, Boryslav [Mr]

BOUYX, Bertrand [M.]

BÜCHEL, Roland Rino [Mr]

CIMOSZEWICZ, Tomasz [Mr]

CORREIA, Telmo [M.]

EFSTATHIOU, Constantinos [M.]

ELENA, Eric [M.]

FUCHS, Bruno [M.]

GOGUADZE, Nino [Ms]

GOLUB, Vladyslav [Mr]

JANIK, Grzegorz [Mr]

JORDANA, Carles [M.]

LEŚNIAK, Józef [M.]

MAKHMUDYAN, Rustam [Mr]

MARUKYAN, Edmon [Mr]

MELKUMYAN, Mikayel [M.]

NAUDI ZAMORA, Víctor [M.]

OBREMSKI, Jarosław [Mr]

POPA, Ion [M.]

SUTTER, Petra De [Ms]

TAQUET, Adrien [M.]

VERDIER-JOUCLAS, Marie-Christine [Mme]

ZAVOLI, Roger [Mr]

Observers / Observateurs

ELALOUF, Elie [M.]

LARIOS CÓRDOVA, Héctor [Mr]

RAMÍREZ NÚÑEZ, Ulises [Mr]

SANTANA GARCÍA, José de Jesús [Mr]

SIMMS, Scott [Mr]

TILSON, David [Mr]

WELLS, David M. [Mr]

WHALEN, Nick [Mr]

Partners for democracy / Partenaires pour la démocratie

ABUSHAHLA, Mohammedfaisal [Mr]

ALQAWASMI, Sahar [Ms]

LABLAK, Aicha [Mme]

SABELLA, Bernard [Mr]

Representatives of the Turkish Cypriot Community (In accordance to Resolution 1376 (2004) of

the Parliamentary Assembly)/ Représentants de la communauté chypriote turque

(Conformément à la Résolution 1376 (2004) de l’Assemblée parlementaire)

Mehmet ÇAĞLAR

Erdal ÖZCENK

Appendix II

Representatives or Substitutes who took part in the ballot for the election of the President of the Assembly / Liste des représentants ou suppléants qui ont participé au vote pour l’élection du/de la Président(e) de l’Assemblée

ABAD, Damien [M.] / REISS, Frédéric [M.]

ÅBERG, Boriana [Ms]

AHMED-SHEIKH, Tasmina [Ms]

ALLAVENA, Jean-Charles [M.]

AMON, Werner [Mr]/ KÖCK, Eduard [Mr]

ANDERSON, Donald [Lord]

ANTTILA, Sirkka-Liisa [Ms]

ARENT, Iwona [Ms]

ARIEV, Volodymyr [Mr]

ARNAUT, Damir [Mr]

BAKOYANNIS, Theodora [Ms] / VARVITSIOTIS, Miltiadis [Mr]

BAKRADZE, David [Mr] / KANDELAKI, Giorgi [Mr]

BALIĆ, Marijana [Ms]

BALLESTER, Ángela [Ms]/BUSTINDUY, Pablo [Mr]

BARNETT, Doris [Ms]

BARREIRO, José Manuel [Mr] / ROCA, Jordi [Mr]

BATRINCEA, Vlad [Mr]

BECHT, Olivier [M.]

BENEŠIK, Ondřej [Mr] / HOLÍK, Pavel [Mr]

BEREZA, Boryslav [Mr] / KIRAL, Serhii [Mr]

BERNACKI, Włodzimierz [Mr]

BERTUZZI, Maria Teresa [Ms] / LUCHERINI, Carlo [Mr]

BĒRZINŠ, Andris [M.]

BEUS RICHEMBERGH, Goran [Mr]

BILDARRATZ, Jokin [Mr]

BİLGEHAN, Gülsün [Mme]

BLONDIN, Maryvonne [Mme]

BOGDANOV, Krasimir [Mr] / ALEKSANDROV, Nikolay [Mr]

BOJIĆ, Milovan [Mr] / OBRADOVIĆ, Jasmina [Ms]

BOSIĆ, Mladen [Mr]

BRĂILOIU, Tit-Liviu [Mr] /BADEA, Viorel Riceard [M.]

BRASSEUR, Anne [Mme]

BRUYN, Piet De [Mr]

BUDNER, Margareta [Ms]

BULIGA, Valentina [Mme] / LUPU, Marian [Mr]

BUTKEVIČIUS, Algirdas [Mr]

CENTEMERO, Elena [Ms]

CEPEDA, José [Mr]

CHITI, Vannino [Mr] / VERDUCCI, Francesco [Mr]

CHRISTODOULOPOULOU, Anastasia [Ms] / VENIZELOS, Evangelos [M.]

CHRISTOFFERSEN, Lise [Ms]

CHUGOSHVILI, Tamar [Ms] / BESELIA, Eka [Ms]

CORLĂŢEAN, Titus [Mr]

CORSINI, Paolo [Mr]

CRAUSBY, David [Mr] /FOULKES, George [Lord]

CROWE, Seán [Mr] / HIGGINS, Alice-Mary [Ms]

CSENGER-ZALÁN, Zsolt [Mr]

CSÖBÖR, Katalin [Mme] / BARTOS, Mónika [Ms]

CUTAJAR, Rosianne [Ms] / GRECH, Etienne [Mr]

DALLOZ, Marie-Christine [Mme]

D'AMBROSIO, Vanessa [Ms]

DAMYANOVA, Milena [Mme]

DE TEMMERMAN, Jennifer [Mme]

DIVINA, Sergio [Mr]

DONALDSON, Jeffrey [Sir]

DUMERY, Daphné [Ms] / MAELEN, Dirk Van der [Mr]

DUNDEE, Alexander [The Earl of]

DURANTON, Nicole [Mme]

DURRIEU, Josette [Mme]

DZHEMILIEV, Mustafa [Mr] / LOPUSHANSKYI, Andrii [Mr]

EBERLE-STRUB, Susanne [Ms]

ECCLES, Diana [Lady]

ESSL, Franz Leonhard [Mr]

EVANS, Nigel [Mr]

FARMANYAN, Samvel [Mr] / NAGHDALYAN, Hermine [Ms]

FIALA, Doris [Mme]

FINCKH-KRÄMER, Ute [Ms]

FISCHER, Axel [Mr]

FOURNIER, Bernard [M.]

FRESKO-ROLFO, Béatrice [Mme]

FRIDEZ, Pierre-Alain [M.]

GAFAROVA, Sahiba [Ms]

GALE, Roger [Sir] / BALFE, Richard [Lord]

GARCÍA HERNÁNDEZ, José Ramón [Mr]

GATTI, Marco [M.]

GERASHCHENKO, Iryna [Mme]

GHILETCHI, Valeriu [Mr]

GILLAN, Cheryl [Ms]

GIRO, Francesco Maria [Mr]

GONÇALVES, Carlos Alberto [M.]

GONCHARENKO, Oleksii [Mr]

GOY-CHAVENT, Sylvie [Mme]

GROSDIDIER, François [M.] /REICHARDT, André [M.]

GROZDANOVA, Dzhema [Ms]

GULYÁS, Gergely [Mr] / HOLLIK, István [Mr]

GUNNARSSON, Jonas [Mr] / ROJHAN GUSTAFSSON, Azadeh [Ms]

GUTIÉRREZ, Antonio [Mr]

GUZENINA, Maria [Ms] / HONKONEN, Petri [Mr]

HAJDUKOVIĆ, Domagoj [Mr]

HAJIYEV, Sabir [Mr]

HALICKI, Andrzej [Mr] / MUNYAMA, Killion [Mr]

HAMID, Hamid [Mr]

HEER, Alfred [Mr]

HEINRICH, Gabriela [Ms]

HENRIKSEN, Martin [Mr] / LANGBALLE, Christian [Mr]

HOPKINS, Maura [Ms]

HOVHANNISYAN, Arpine [Ms]

HOWELL, John [Mr]

HRISTOV, Plamen [Mr]

HUNKO, Andrej [Mr]

HUSEYNOV, Rafael [Mr]

JABLIANOV, Valeri [Mr]

JENIŠTA, Luděk [Mr]

JENSEN, Michael Aastrup [Mr]

JENSEN, Mogens [Mr] / SANDBÆK, Ulla [Ms]

JORDANA, Carles [M.] / RIBERAYGUA, Patrícia [Mme]

KALMARI, Anne [Ms]

KATSARAVA, Sofio [Ms]

KAVVADIA, Ioanneta [Ms] / PSYCHOGIOS, Georgios [Mr]

KERESTECİOĞLU DEMİR, Filiz [Ms]

KLICH, Bogdan [Mr] / POCIEJ, Aleksander [M.]

KOÇ, Haluk [M.]

KORENJAK KRAMAR, Ksenija [Ms]

KORODI, Attila [Mr]

KOSTŘICA, Rom [Mr] / PECKOVÁ, Gabriela [Ms]

KOVÁCS, Elvira [Ms]

KOX, Tiny [Mr]

KROSS, Eerik-Niiles [Mr]

KÜRKÇÜ, Ertuğrul [Mr]

KVATCHANTIRADZE, Zviad [Mr]

KYRIAKIDES, Stella [Ms]

LAIZĀNE, Inese [Ms] / CILEVIČS, Boriss [Mr]

LEITE RAMOS, Luís [M.]

LIASHKO, Oleh [Mr]

LĪBIŅA-EGNERE, Inese [Ms]

LIDDELL-GRAINGER, Ian [Mr]

LOGVYNSKYI, Georgii [Mr]

LOMBARDI, Filippo [M.]

LOUCAIDES, George [Mr]

LOUIS, Alexandra [Mme]

MAIRE, Jacques [M.]

MALLIA, Emanuel [Mr]

MAMMADOV, Muslum [M.] / HUSEYNOV, Vusal [Mr]

MARKOVÁ, Soňa [Ms] / ČERNOCH, Marek [Mr]

MARKOVIĆ, Milica [Mme]

MATARÍ, Juan José [M.] / XUCLÀ, Jordi [Mr]

MAURY PASQUIER, Liliane [Mme]

MEALE, Alan [Sir]

MIKKO, Marianne [Ms]

MILEWSKI, Daniel [Mr] / OSUCH, Jacek [Mr]

MULARCZYK, Arkadiusz [Mr]

MULDER, Anne [Mr] / BRUIJN-WEZEMAN, Reina de [Ms]

NÉMETH, Zsolt [Mr]

NENUTIL, Miroslav [Mr]

NICOLETTI, Michele [Mr]

NISSINEN, Johan [Mr]

NOVIKOV, Andrei [Mr] / HERKEL, Andres [Mr]

OBERMEIER, Julia [Ms] / FABRITIUS, Bernd [Mr]

OBRADOVIĆ, Marija [Ms]

OBRADOVIĆ, Žarko [Mr]

OHLSSON, Carina [Ms]

OOMEN-RUIJTEN, Ria [Ms]

PALLARÉS, Judith [Ms]

PANTIĆ PILJA, Biljana [Ms]

PASHAYEVA, Ganira [Ms]

PELKONEN, Jaana Maarit [Ms] / WALLINHEIMO, Sinuhe [Mr]

PLEȘOIANU, Liviu Ioan Adrian [Mr] /COZMANCIUC, Corneliu Mugurel [Mr]

PREDA, Cezar Florin [M.]

PRESCOTT, John [Mr]

PRITCHARD, Mark [Mr] / SCULLY, Paul [Mr]

PRUIDZE, Irina [Ms]

PRUNĂ, Cristina-Mădălina [Ms] /BÎZGAN-GAYRAL, Oana-Mioara [Ms]

RIGONI, Andrea [Mr]

RODRÍGUEZ HERNÁNDEZ, Melisa [Ms]

RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Soraya [Mme]

ROSETA, Helena [Mme] / ESTRELA, Edite [Mme]

RUSTAMYAN, Armen [M.]

ŠAKALIENĖ, Dovilė [Ms] / TAMAŠUNIENĖ Rita [Ms]

SALMOND, Alex [Mr]

SANTA ANA, María Concepción de [Ms]

SCHENNACH, Stefan [Mr]

SCHOU, Ingjerd [Ms]

SCHWABE, Frank [Mr]

SEYIDOV, Samad [Mr]

SHARMA, Virendra [Mr]

SHEHU, Tritan [Mr]

SILVA, Adão [M.]

ŠIRCELJ, Andrej [Mr]

SOBOLEV, Serhiy [Mr]

SØNDERGAARD, Søren [Mr]

SORRE, Bertrand [M.]

SOTNYK, Olena [Ms]

ȘTEFAN, Corneliu [Mr] / DUMITRESCU, Cristian-Sorin [M.]

STELLINI, David [Mr]

STEVANOVIĆ, Aleksandar [Mr]

STIENEN, Petra [Ms]

STIER, Davor Ivo [Mr]

STRIK, Tineke [Ms]

STROE, Ionuț-Marian [Mr]

TARCZYŃSKI, Dominik [Mr]

THIÉRY, Damien [M.]

TOPCU, Zühal [Ms]

TRISSE, Nicole [Mme]

TRUSKOLASKI, Krzysztof [Mr]

TZAVARAS, Konstantinos [M.]

VÁHALOVÁ, Dana [Ms]

VALEN, Snorre Serigstad [Mr] / HAGEBAKKEN, Tore [Mr]

VAREIKIS, Egidijus [Mr] / MASIULIS, Kęstutis [Mr]

VEJKEY, Imre [Mr] / HOFFMANN, Rózsa [Mme]

VEN, Mart van de [Mr]

VORONIN, Vladimir [M.] / POSTOICO, Maria [Mme]

WASERMAN, Sylvain [M.]

WENAWESER, Christoph [Mr]

WERNER, Katrin [Ms]/ GROTH, Annette [Ms]

WINTERTON, Rosie [Dame] / MASSEY, Doreen [Baroness]

WOJTYŁA, Andrzej [Mr]

WOLD, Morten [Mr] / GODSKESEN, Ingebjørg [Ms]

WURM, Gisela [Ms]

YEMETS, Leonid [Mr]

ZECH, Tobias [Mr]

ZINGERIS, Emanuelis [Mr]

ZOHRABYAN, Naira [Mme]