Parliamentary questions | Doc. 11723 | 29 September 2008
Parliamentary questions to the Chairperson-in-office of the Committee of Ministers
Question from Mr Slutsky
(open)"Le Figaro" newspaper of 11 August 2008 wrote: "Sweden has also advocated a firm line, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karl Bildt, going so far as to compare Moscow's justifications for intervening in Georgia with the doctrine followed by Adolf Hitler". No denial has been forthcoming.
To ask the Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers,
Whether he still holds this view, and whether he said this in the capacity of Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, expressing the viewpoint of all his colleagues, or of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, expressing the viewpoint of the Swedish Government, or of a private individual.
Question from Mr Branger
(open)The report of the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Mr Jean Claude Juncker, presented to our Assembly on 11 April 2006, made a number of recommendations with a view to strengthening the links between the Council of Europe and the European Union.
The calls made on numerous occasions by successive chairmanships of the Council of Europe for dialogue between the two organisations appear to have been acted upon on 28 August with the holding of a meeting in Brussels between the Presidential Committee of our Assembly and the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament.
To ask the Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers,
Since news of this inter-parliamentary initiative is worthy of being brought to the attention of executive authorities in Europe, whether meetings of this kind have already taken place between the Committee of Ministers and the Europe Commission and what initial conclusions, if any, have been reached.
Question from Mr Ivanov
(open)Two years ago the Parliamentary Assembly adopted Recommendation 1771 (2006) on the establishment of a Stability Pact for the South Caucasus. In its reply of 30 June 2007 the Committee of Ministers rejected that initiative of the Assembly.
In the light of the latest invasion of Russian forces in Georgia and the considerable worsening of the situation;
To ask the Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers,
Whether the Committee of Ministers considered reviewing its position to set up a Stability Pact for the South Caucasus as the question involves a number of member states of the Council of Europe – Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, etc.
Question from Mrs Jonker
(open)To ask the Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers,
What is the latest information on progress made by Georgia in relation to its commitments on the return of formerly deported people, in particular Meskhetians, to Georgia and what are the measures contemplated by the Council of Europe to assist Georgia in meeting its commitments.
In the light of recent events, how can the Council of Europe promote an extension of the deadline for applications for return, which is scheduled to expire by the end of this year.