Honorable President, Honorable Speaker,
[Minister]
Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me an honour to address you today, on the occasion of the Plenary Session of the 47th General Assembly of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Co-operation. I would like to thank in particular President Naryshkin for his invitation and kind hospitality here in Moscow, at the moment when Russia is chairing the Black Sea Economic Co-operation. Today's meeting provides not only an excellent platform for inter-parliamentary dialogue and co-operation, but also an opportunity to address – in an objective and non-partisan way – the common challenges the countries of the region are facing, so as to agree on concrete and practical actions in the interests of the citizens living in and around the Black Sea geographic area.
Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,
It gives me a special pleasure to address you today, because I feel myself at home at this meeting.
Indeed, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which I have the honour of chairing since 25 January 2016, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Co-operation have many things in common.
We share the same geography, as all member states of PABSEC are also members of the Council of Europe.
We pursue similar objectives: promoting international co-operation to foster stability, prosperity and peace.
Economic co-operation was at the very heart of European reconciliation and co-operation in the aftermath of Second World War. Therefore, PABSEC's activities aiming at fostering economic, cultural and social ties between the countries of the wider Black Sea region are very relevant and should be supported.
But economic co-operation requires solid legal and institutional foundations and this is where the Council of Europe comes into play. Since 1949, our Organisation, has managed to create a common Pan-European legal space and a forum for international co-operation for all European states. Therefore, the members of PABSEC can use the standards and tools developed by and for all Europe's 47, in order to deepen and further develop co-operation among them, to address the specific challenges they are facing.
As we share similar objectives and common standards, we have to respond to common challenges too: the refugee crisis and combating international terrorism are obviously the most important ones, but there are other issues, such as combating transnational organised crime, strengthening the Rule of Law and our legal and institutional framework to combat corruption, to give but a few examples.
These challenges are global by their very nature. No country alone can cope with them. We need to promote international co-operation and seek more synergies and complementarity to effectively tackle them.
As parliamentarians representing our citizens, we must explore fully all avenues for dialogue and co-operation offered by parliamentary diplomacy. Therefore, let me share today with you some information about two concrete activities of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe which are of relevance for your work during this week.
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First, the refugee crisis.
This topic is in the focus of our attention and our Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons regularly prepares reports on the various aspects of the refugee crisis and the ways to address its consequences and human rights implications. Providing for refugees and asylum seekers is our legal duty and, as parliamentarians of the Council of Europe, we must ensure that every person arriving on European soil benefits from the same protection regardless of the country they arrive in, on the basis of our common legal standards, enshrined in particular in the European Convention on Human Rights.
Our role as parliamentarians is to remind our governments of their responsibilities and obligations. It is therefore very important for us to know the situation on the ground and the challenges and difficulties our member states have to face.
In this context, I would like to inform you that during the last 2 years, our Assembly organised two visits of large delegations of parliamentarians to Turkey and to Greece, so as to visit refugee reception facilities and collect first-hand information about their situation and the difficulties they are facing.
Today, Greece and Turkey – as well as other countries of destination and transit in South-Eastern Europe – must cope with a disproportionate share of Europe's responsibility to care for refugees and asylum seekers. Since the launch of the EU-Turkey refugee deal, the number of arrivals to Greece has been substantially reduced. Nevertheless, this has not reduced the overall refugee pressure as, because of the continuing instability on Europe's southern borders, people seek other routes to escape war and poverty.
In this context, more co-operation among the countries of the Black Sea region is needed to manage the refugee flows and ensure that every person in need of international protection can count on our support.
During our visits to Greece and to Turkey, we could see for ourselves that the authorities and the people were doing their utmost to provide for refugees. But the frontline states need more of our support because providing for refugees and asylum seekers is a European responsibility which must be shared more fairly between European States.
Last week, during the Parliamentary Assembly's plenary session, we held a debate on the situation of Refugees at Risk in which we addressed some concrete recommendations to Greece as well as to the other member states of the Council of Europe, in particular, those which are members of the European Union. I am sure that this, as well as other Assembly texts on the refugee and migration problematic, could be useful for your deliberations and I encourage your committees and rapporteurs to establish direct contacts with their interlocutors within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
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The second Assembly priority activity I wanted to share with you is the #NoHateNoFear Hashtag initiative which the Parliamentary Assembly launched last week in Strasbourg.
Let me explain what our aims are.
Terrorism undermines the values we share and the very foundations of our political system and institutions. We must defend ourselves and our societies against terrorism, while guarantying that counter-terrorist actions comply with the highest human rights standards and in particular the European Convention on Human Rights.
Upon my election as President of the Assembly, I proposed launching an initiative to mobilise politicians, important actors in society and ordinary citizens against terrorism, and the hate and fear that terrorists seek to create. Because I strongly believe that, as politicians, we must take responsibility for our citizens and it is our duty to reassure them, show example, speak out strongly against hate and fear, and support our fundamental values and freedoms.
I am very pleased to announce that last week, the Parliamentary Assembly launched a Hashtag initiative #NoHateNoFear.
We wish to rally as many people as possible – politicians, academics, journalists, representatives of civil society and ordinary citizens – to say a resounding "NO" to fear and hatred.
Through this initiative, we call on politicians to shoulder their responsibility to speak out publicly against fear and hatred, and to promote fundamental freedoms and the values of tolerance, non-discrimination and respect for human dignity. Through practical action in our parliaments and in our constituencies, we can help immunise society against fear and hatred.
Since its launch, this initiative has already gained the support of many parliamentarians. Many members of our Assembly have accepted to have their picture taken with the #NoHateNoFear banner. We are using social networks – Facebook and Twitter – to share information about this initiative and its supporters. I would like to promote it further at international level and especially among inter-parliamentary Assemblies.
I hope that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Co-operation will join this initiative too. I count on your support!
Thank you very much for your attention.