‘Left to die’ boat: PACE rapporteur to seek MEPs help in clarifying who is responsible
[25/05/2012]Tineke Strik (Netherlands, SOC), whose report “Lives lost in the Mediterranean Sea: who is responsible?” was recently adopted by the PACE, will be in Brussels on 30 May to brief members of the European Parliament on her findings and seek their assistance in clarifying further how 63 people fleeing the Libya conflict by sea in March 2011 were “left to die”.
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PACE Standing Committee meets in Tirana to discuss Albania’s priorities for the Council of Europe
[16/05/2012]The priorities of Albania during its forthcoming Chairmanship of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers will be discussed at a meeting of PACE's Standing Committee in Tirana on Friday 25 May 2012. Albanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Edmond Haxhinasto will hold an exchange of views with the committee, which brings together around 60 parliamentarians from the Council of Europe’s 47 member states.(more..)
[25/05/2012]There are numerous Jewish cemeteries in Europe and they need to be protected and preserved. They are part of the European cultural heritage and constitute an important element of the Jewish religion, PACE's Standing Committee said today at its meeting in Tirana.
Considering that these cemeteries are probably more at risk than those of other confessions represented in Europe, the adopted text, based on the proposals by the rapporteur (Piet De Bruyn, Belgium, NI), calls on governments, members of Jewish communities and heritage organisations to develop appropriate forms of co-operation to ensure their protection.
PACE seeks to preserve culturally significant films and recordings
[25/05/2012]Europe’s governments should set up digital film libraries and other archives of audiovisual material for education and research purposes, and clarify copyright issues for making it available on the internet, according to PACE’s Standing Committee. Approving a report by Doris Fiala (Switzerland, ALDE), the committee said that old films and recordings were “vanishing due to their material fragility”.(more..)
PACE President to meet Albanian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
[23/05/2012]PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon is to meet Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha and Foreign Minister Edmond Haxhinasto on the fringes of a meeting of the Assembly’s Bureau in Tirana on 24 May. Talks will cover, among other things, Albania’s plans for its six-month Chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, which begins today, and co-operation with the Parliamentary Assembly during this period.
Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Measures to combat unemployment, underemployment, poverty and exclusion among young people
[23/05/2012]In a draft resolution adopted yesterday on “The young generation sacrificed: social, economic and political consequences of the financial crisis”, PACE Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development notes that the young generation is disproportionally hit by the unemployment/underemployment-poverty-exclusion trap, a situation that could have tragic consequences. Young people should be viewed not as a problem to be addressed but as an asset,” said the rapporteur, Luca Volontè (Italy, EPP/CD).(more..)
Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Access to healthcare – putting a stop to discrimination
[23/05/2012]In view of the growing inequalities and current challenges, the Assembly should demand equal access to health-care and treatment for everyone living in Europe, without discrimination on the basis of financial means, residence status or place of residence,” said Jean-Louis Lorrain (France, EPP/CD) in his draft report on equal access to healthcare.(more..)
Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
PACE Social Committee recommends profound re-orientation of austerity programmes
[22/05/2012]Adopting a report on “Austerity measures – a danger for democracy and social rights”, prepared by Andrej Hunko (Germany, UEL), the PACE Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development said it was concerned that the restrictive approaches currently pursued may not reach their objective of consolidating budgets, but risk further deepening the crisis and undermining the social rights as they mainly affect lower income classes and the most vulnerable categories of the population.
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Situation of human rights defenders ‘far from satisfactory’
[21/05/2012]“Today the situation of human rights defenders in Europe is far from satisfactory. In some Council of Europe member states they risk their own personal security, especially when they champion sensitive issues such as fighting the impunity of state officials for serious crimes including murder, torture and corruption, or promoting the rights of oppressed minority groups,” said Mailis Reps (Estonia, ALDE) in her report on the situation of human rights defenders in Council of Europe member states.
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