20.06.2011-final

OPENING STATEMENT OF MR MEVLÜT ÇAVUŞOĞLU

PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE

JUNE 2011 PART-SESSION

STRASBOURG, Monday, 20 June 2011, 11.30 a.m.

Dear colleagues,

I welcome you to Strasbourg for a session of great importance. First of all, we will face a historical decision to grant the first ever “partner for democracy status” to the parliament of a country beyond Europe’s geographical borders. The fact that this country is the Kingdom of Morocco gives this moment an even greater significance.

The Arab world is in turmoil. A full-fledged civil war is raging in Libya, there are hundreds of victims in Syria and Yemen, revolutionary political changes have taken place in Egypt and Tunisia. Thousands of refugees are arriving in Europe, by sea or by land.

These changes are due to internal causes and are driven by the desire of the populations for a more just society, both in political and social terms. It is our duty to offer help to all those who clearly declare their willingness to build their societies on our standards. The report of the Political Affairs Committee concludes that the Moroccan authorities have clearly demonstrated such willingness and tomorrow I hope to sign, together with both Speakers of the Moroccan Parliament, the act of partner for democracy status for their country.

We will also discuss the situation in Tunisia. As you know, the Tunisian authorities invited us to observe their elections to the Constituent Assembly. The fact that these elections have now been postponed will give us more time to assist in preparing the right conditions for holding them, including by training election officers and NGOs.

Just after this part-session, I will be the first Assembly President to carry out an official visit to Kirgizstan. This country, which is already a member of the Venice Commission, has expressed its interest to explore closer links with our Assembly and it could also qualify as a partner for democracy. In this connection, I will also visit Kazakhstan to continue the discussions about the partnership status with the new Speaker of the Senate and the new Foreign Minister.

I am glad that this Assembly’s efforts are in line with the general policy of the Council of Europe to actively develop cooperation with non-European countries seeking our support for the transition to democracy. At the Ministerial Session of the Committee of Ministers in Istanbul on 11 May, our Secretary General, Mr Jagland, presented his proposals for the Council of Europe neighborhood policy which in large measure takes into consideration the potential of the Assembly.

At this Ministerial meeting, the Group of Eminent persons also presented their report “Living together – Combining diversity and freedom in 21st century Europe”. I welcomed this initiative, but declared that most of its content is not new to us and the challenge is to put the report’s recommendations into practice. Therefore, I am very pleased with your great interest to take the floor during our debate on Wednesday to which we have also invited the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

On my side, I consider that a Council of Europe Summit is needed to get the necessary level of political commitment to deal with the issues raised in this report. I proposed this at the Istanbul meeting, stressing that such a summit would highlight the unique capacity of our Organisation to cover a united, but multi-polar Europe – comprising the European Union, but also non-European Union member states.

Dear friends,

At this session, we will also decide about the reform of the Parliamentary Assembly. The report, prepared by the Ad Hoc Committee chaired by Jean-Claude Mignon, is the result of deep reflection and hard work which started almost a year ago. I thank all members of this group for their efforts and congratulate Jean-Claude for his leadership and negotiating skills.

As President, I invite all of you to take active part in the debate and the vote, which will be decisive for maintaining and increasing the relevance of the Assembly and its capacity to deal with new challenges. At the same time, I wish to remind you that all proposals in this report have been carefully considered and subject to consultation at all levels. I therefore urge you to think very carefully about the larger impact of possible amendments before tabling them.

Dear colleagues,

We often call the Council of Europe the democratic conscience of Europe. However, we are only the tip of the iceberg of this “democratic conscience”, which must be developed, first of all, at the grass-root level, in the civil society. To award the Human Rights Prize to those who fight, day after day, for human rights, is an important encouragement. This year, this award goes to the Russian NGO “Committee against Torture” and I invite you all to attend the award ceremony on Thursday, at the end of our now traditional debate on the state of human rights in Europe.

Colleagues,

I started my address by mentioning the upheavals of the “Arab spring”. However, there are situations in some European countries – - members of the European Union and the Euro-zone - where people, and especially young people, are increasingly taking to the streets to express their dissatisfaction and dispair about their economic conditions and incapacity to influence their fate and the fate of their countries. For these people, the existing political establishment does not seem to offer the solutions they are looking for. This is an extremely worrying situation. I have been informed that some of our colleagues have tabled motions in this respect, and I will propose to the Bureau to discuss this subject at our October part-session.

Friends,

The importance of this session is underlined by the series of eminent personalities who will come to address us during the week. Two Heads of State – the Presidents of Ukraine and Armenia, three Ministers – the Foreign Ministers of Ukraine and Bulgaria as well as the Minister of Justice of Germany, the Speakers of both Chambers of Morocco and the Attorney General for England and Wales, come here because they consider it important to address this Assembly and exchange views with its members.

It is an important show of respect for our work and our Organisation and it should be an encouragement to us to work even harder this week.

I wish you a successful session.

Thank you for your attention.