OPENING SPEECH

BY MR LLUÍS MARIA DE PUIG

PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS OF PARLIAMENTS

(Strasbourg, Thursday, 22 May 2008, 4.00 pm)

Ladies and gentlemen, fellow presidents,

it is a great pleasure to welcome you to the Council of Europe debating chamber today for this European conference of presidents of parliaments. The Council of Europe is the house of democracy, so you should feel at home.

This is the 19th conference in the series. In accordance with our practice we are meeting in Strasbourg this time. The last conference was in Tallinn, Estonia, in 2006, and I would like to greet the president of the Estonian parliament, Ms Ergma, with whom I shall have the honour of jointly chairing the conference.

I am also very pleased to announce that we already have an offer to host our next conference, from the President of the Cypriot Parliament, Mr Garoyian. I would like to thank him most sincerely and hope that we shall be able to take up his proposal that we meet in Cyprus in 2010.

Ladies and gentlemen,

we all have extremely busy political lives in our capital cities so we are not just here today to honour a fine tradition. We have come all the way to Strasbourg to discuss issues of importance to our democratic societies and therefore to our parliaments. They are questions which we need to examine collectively.

The questions to which we shall be endeavouring to provide answers at this conference are, firstly, what kind of relations should there be between parliaments and civil society and, secondly, what role can parliaments play in promoting the fundamental values which our 47 member countries share: democracy, human rights, the rule of law?

These are not easy questions, even though, at first sight, the answers might seem obvious.

It is a matter of striking very complex balances, firstly between what is political and what is civic and secondly between politics at national level and politics at European level.

I shall start with the connection between the political domain and the civic one.

In the last 30 years the very concept of politics has changed enormously. The antidemocratic political ideologies which once split our continent have virtually ceased to exist. The political "norm" in most of our countries is that public opinion is sometimes much more interested in quality of life than in ideological controversy or the time-honoured differences between left and right.

Our societies’ unprecedented exposure to the media also has a big impact on public opinion. Amidst the never-ending stream of written, verbal and visual messages that daily bombard us, it is getting harder and harder to distinguish information from misinformation.

Political style has also changed a great deal. Though there is no doubting its seriousness, particularly when it comes to parliamentary debate, the superficial effect – in electoral campaigning, for example – is of a marketing exercise rather than genuine public debate.

We are all aware of a certain public disenchantment and loss of interest in traditional politics. But that does not mean that people are no longer interested in what is happening in society. On the contrary. There is still interest in the right kind of politics, as can be seen from the turnout for crucial elections or even from critical reaction on the part of the community.

In this context, civil society is a powerful force in pluralist democracies. It enriches public debate with new ideas; it helps create awareness of realities and urgent problems; lastly, it is also capable of bringing about many changes through involvement in policy-making and decision-making.

Action by civil society usefully complements the action and policies of the public authorities.

But in addition to these "classic" forms of action by civil society, there is now a whole new dimension to social organisation, due to the new technologies. Internet forums, blogs, sites for making friends worldwide, for information sharing, even for experiences of virtual reality – these are just a few examples.

These new forms of communication and participation transcend borders, languages and cultures. Their potential is huge and it seems to me that we have yet to fully realise the extent of their impact on our societies.

Society is in the throes of change. Where does politics fit into the picture?

The only realistic answer lies in exchange and interaction. Responsibilities must of course remain clearly demarcated. As elected representatives, we have mandates and are answerable to our electors, whereas civil society will continue to give free expression to people’s aspirations and creative energies. It is up to us, as holders of political responsibilities, to ensure that the rights of civil society – in particular freedom of assembly and freedom of expression – are fully respected; and it is for civil society to make responsible use of them in order to participate fully in the democratic process.

The Council of Europe has set an example in this area by giving a large number of international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) consultative status with it.

Since 1949 the Assembly has co-operated closely with NGOs in many fields, especially with those engaged in action to protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms, consolidate processes of democratic transition and develop good governance. Meetings and consultation take place alongside committee meetings, during on-the-spot visits by rapporteurs and at colloqies and conferences.

This brings me to the second connection I mentioned at the start, the one between national politics and European politics.

We now live in a multi-connected, multi-cultural, multi-faith world. The challenges which confront our societies are not only increasingly complex but also affect each and every one of us, whether global warming, the fight against terrorism, social cohesion or dialogue between civilisations.

In the age of globalisation, omnipresent media and high technology, Europe must continue down its own road while preserving its humanity. To be in the forefront of modernity, competition and prosperity as well as social and cultural development, it must above all lead the way in democracy, human rights and the rule of law, which are the Council of Europe's fundamental values.

Parliamentarianism was born in Europe and is still one of the key components of democracy. It makes sense to discuss what contribution parliaments can make to consolidating these values throughout the European continent.

The Council of Europe has introduced and developed various mechanisms for advancing and consolidating a fairer, more democratic Europe. It has established basic European legal standards and set up highly effective monitoring machinery for enforcing them.

The Assembly plays an active part in this, which is why we greatly rely on our members' active involvement and the strong link to national parliaments. The paramount concern is to ensure ratification and implementation of the Council of Europe's conventions in the various countries, which is essential for establishing a pan-European legal area. Parliaments also have a key role in giving full effect to European Court of Human Rights judgments in member countries' legal systems.

I would like to mention the highly effective co-operation and assistance programmes we run with national parliaments. Extremely successful co-operation has also developed in recent years between the Assembly and national parliaments as regards national-level investigation of suspected violations of human rights in member states' territories.

Though I cannot be exhaustive, the great potential of the parliamentary diplomacy we conduct in the Assembly is worth a mention. There are many controversial issues that can be solved thanks to Assembly members' simultaneous presence and friendly working relations in Strasbourg.

The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly is the political manifestation of our national parliaments’ desire to help build a Europe of and for the citizen. The Assembly thus derives from our national parliaments, and that is why it is so important for the national delegations your parliaments send to Strasbourg to represent you as actively as possible and with strong commitment to our common cause.

Ladies and gentlemen,

in bringing you together here the Assembly hopes to promote dialogue around the shared values on which the Council of Europe is founded.

Co-operation with other international bodies is no less important in this process, and I welcome the presence among us of presidents of a large number of European regional parliamentary assemblies with which we enjoy excellent co-operation.

The Assembly also recently decided to step up dialogue with, firstly, the Maghreb countries (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia) and, secondly, with the Central Asian republics (Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Tadzhikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan).

In that connection I would suggest we associate the presidents of those countries’ parliaments in our next conferences, though it will of course be necessary to lay down out clear arrangements for their participation in our work.

The European Conference of Presidents of Parliaments is an opportunity for high-level exchange of views, ideas and experiences. It is also a chance for us to familiarise ourselves with existing good practices and with innovations which are under way.

Please make the most of it. Let me wish all of you a lively and fruitful conference.