See related documentsCommunication
| Doc. 13669
| 23 January 2015
Activities of the President of the Assembly between the fourth part of the Ordinary session of 2014 and the first part of the Ordinary session of 2015
1. Visits and meetings
1.1. President’s activities between 29 September and
17 November 2014
1.1.1. Situation in Ukraine
1. I continued to focus on developments in Ukraine,
especially taking into account the conclusions of the current affairs
debate on the consequences of the crisis in Ukraine held during
the October 2014 part-session of the Assembly.
2. On 3 October 2014, condemning resolutely the continued violence
and violations of the ceasefire agreement, I called on the urgent
need to conduct impartial and effective investigations into killings
and human rights violations.
3. Speaking at the meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies on 8 October
2014, I summed up the conclusions of the current affairs debate
held during the October part-session, stressing the need to respect
the ceasefire agreement. The ceasefire is an opportunity to create
the necessary conditions for reconciliation, but also an opportunity
to work to ensure that there is no impunity for human rights violations.
Full and transparent investigations are needed into all alleged
human rights violations.
4. Furthermore, I pointed out that it was essential to ensure
that the parliamentary elections of 26 October be held in the best
possible conditions, taking into account the situation on the ground,
and I informed the Ministers’ Deputies of the state of preparation
of the Assembly observation mission.
5. Referring to the conclusions of the Assembly’s observers,
on 29 October 2014 I addressed a letter to the President of Ukraine
Petro Poroshenko, congratulating the Ukrainian people on holding
early parliamentary elections which to a large extent complied with
Ukraine’s democratic commitments and aspirations. Moreover, I stressed
the need to move forward on much-needed reforms relating to Ukraine’s
membership in the Council of Europe, as well as to the advancement
of the country’s European integration agenda, expressing the hope that
the political actors in Parliament would soon agree on an inclusive,
stable and reform-oriented majority coalition, so as to continue
ongoing reform projects, in co-operation with the relevant Council
of Europe bodies and, in particular, the Venice Commission. Furthermore,
I reaffirmed the Parliamentary Assembly’s support for the territorial
integrity of Ukraine, stressing that a solution to the current crisis
should be found by means of an inclusive national dialogue, respecting
Ukraine’s Constitution, laws and the recently agreed peace initiatives.
6. Ahead of the holding of the so-called ‘parliamentary’ and
‘presidential elections’ in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk
People’s Republics, I deplored the decision of the self-appointed
authorities to proceed with the ‘voting’ on 2 November 2014. I stressed
that these ‘elections’ were in violation of the Minsk Protocol signed
on 5 September 2014, that they would hinder the implementation of
the already fragile peace agreement, and pointed out that they would
not be recognised by the Assembly. Instead, I called on the leadership
of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics to facilitate
the holding of local elections, in line with Ukrainian legislation,
as foreseen in the Minsk Protocol. In addition, I urged the Russian
authorities to honour their commitments under the Minsk Protocol
and not to recognise the outcome of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk
People’s Republics ‘elections’, which would undermine the peace
process and risk further undermining stability in the region.
1.1.2. Relations with the Russian delegation
7. On the basis of the discussions in the Presidential
Committee during the October part-session, it was decided to move
ahead with organising a meeting between the Presidential Committee,
the representatives of the State Duma of the Russian Federation
and the members of the Russian Delegation to the Assembly, in Moscow,
on 13 November 2014. In the margins of these meetings, I held a
bilateral meeting with the Speaker of the State Duma, Mr Sergey
Naryshkin.
8. The aim of these meetings was to look, in priority, at the
participation of the Russian Delegation in the work of the Parliamentary
Assembly.
9. In my discussions, I stressed that as Parliamentarians we
have a special responsibility to find solutions to problems together,
whether these are at national level or at the European level, on
the basis of the Council of Europe standards on democracy, human
rights and the rule of law.
1.1.3. Role of parliaments in ensuring the implementation
of the European Convention on Human Rights
10. The promotion of active participation of Parliaments
in ensuring the implementation of the European Convention on Human
Rights is one of the priorities of my mandate as President of the
Assembly. In pursuing this aim, on 31 October 2014 I participated
in the seminar on “The role of national parliaments in the implementation
of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights” organised in
the Spanish Parliament by the Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee
on Legal Affairs and Human Rights. I would like to thank the Committee,
as well as the Spanish authorities, for the excellent organisation
of this event. The discussions were extremely interesting and stimulating,
especially as regards the presentation and analysis of the various parliamentary
experiences that exist in this field in our member states.
11. During the discussion, I stressed that non-implementation
of the European Convention on Human Rights and of the judgments
of the Strasbourg Court threatened the very survival of the Convention
system. I pointed out that it was our duty as elected representatives
to guarantee that the Convention is applied in our country and,
if it is not, that the decisions of the European Court of Human
Rights be implemented without delay.
12. Praising the examples of national parliaments which had set
up procedures and structures to monitor the implementation of the
Strasbourg Court rulings – notably in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany,
Finland, Romania and Poland – I called on the parliaments of our
member states to take a more active part in monitoring the execution
of the Court’s judgments at national level and ensuing that laws
adopted complied with the standards of the Convention.
13. I will continue to follow closely the Assembly’s activities
on this and provide political support to the sharing of experiences
and good practices between parliaments in this field.
1.1.4. High level conference on the European Social Charter
(Turin, 18 October 2014)
14. On 18 October 2014, I participated, together with
the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament,
Ms Laura Boldrini, in the High level conference on the European
Social Charter, held in Turin, and made an opening presentation
devoted to the implementation of social rights in Europe. In my
opening speech, I recalled that social rights must be considered
as fundamental human rights, indivisible, interdependent and complementary.
With a view to ensuring consistency of national measures in the
field of social rights, I called for the ratification of the relevant
texts by all member states, hence creating a harmonised European landscape.
Furthermore, I encouraged national parliaments to use both the Charter
and the Case Law of the European Committee of Social Rights when
drafting national and regional legislation to ensure the implementation
of the European Social Charter. I would like to thank the organisers
and the Italian authorities for the excellent organisation of this
conference.
1.1.5. World Forum for Democracy (Strasbourg, 3-5 November
2014)
15. On 3 November 2014, I participated in the Opening
of the 2014 World Forum for Democracy, moderating a round table
on “Young people – actors of global change”. In my introductory
remarks, I stressed that the divide between young people and democratic
institutions was a matter of concern. Their exclusion from political party
leadership and electoral participation leads to a growing democratic
deficit and de-legitimation of democratic institutions.
16. Furthermore, in the current context of crisis, young people
who are excluded from employment and education tend to be marginalised
politically and socially. This may push them towards extremist groups.
17. To respond to this challenge, we may need new standards or
practices to ensure that the ideas, needs and demands of youth are
better heard. Therefore, our main challenge is to encourage and
channel young people’s civic commitment in a meaningful way and
“inject it” into the political system.
18. This year’s Forum provided an excellent discussion platform
to identify mechanisms that could help us address this challenge
effectively.
1.1.6. Working visit to Spain (Madrid, 29-31 October
2014)
19. On 30 October 2014, in the margins of my participation
in the Madrid seminar on “The role of national parliaments in the
implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights”,
I held bilateral meetings with the Spanish authorities, including
with the Speakers of the Congress of Deputies and Senate of the
Spanish Parliament, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister
of Justice and the Minister of the Interior. I would like to again
thank the Spanish authorities for the excellent organisation of
these meetings. In my discussions, I praised the Spanish authorities
for their commitment to human rights, especially, as regards the implementation
of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, fight against
intolerance and racism, as well the promotion of our standards and
values in Europe’s southern neighbourhood.
20. Speaking about the human rights challenges of migration and
the very specific challenges the Spanish authorities have to address,
I stressed the need for European states to share responsibilities
between them and called for greater solidarity at European level.
21. Referring to the situation in Ceuta and Melilla, I stressed
the need to find appropriate solutions that comply with international
and European human rights standards, but which are also tailored
to the specific situation of these territories, in order to address
the needs of those requiring international protection. In this context,
I offered the Council of Europe’s support and expertise to the Spanish
authorities, as required.
1.1.7. Other activities
22. On 6 October 2014, in Strasbourg, I attended a conference
organised to mark the 50th anniversary of the European Pharmacopoeia
(EDQM). In particular, I praised the positive impact of the European Pharmacopeia
on public health activities across Europe. Moreover, I stressed
that the counterfeiting of medicines had recently grown into an
industry that killed hundreds of thousands of people a year whilst generating
huge profits for counterfeiters. In this context, regretting that
the Medicrime Convention, which had been initiated by the Parliamentary
Assembly to combat the counterfeiting of medicines, had only been
ratified by four member States so far, I reminded participants that
it was important to make lawmakers aware of the challenges in the
field of medicines as the ratification of the convention was in
their hands.
23. During this period, I continued to follow closely the human
rights situation in Azerbaijan. On 14 October 2014, reacting to
the fact the that ECtHR decision in Ilgar Mammadov’s case became
final, I called on Azerbaijan to free him, as well as to speed up
reforms to implement the European Convention on Human Rights, in
particular in areas where there exist systemic deficiencies, as
highlighted by the Court’s decision in Ilgar Mammadov’s case. Moreover,
on 31 October 2014, in the margins of the Madrid seminar (see Section
3 above), I met a representative of human rights defenders in Azerbaijan
who had briefed me on the deteriorating situation, especially as
regards the legislation governing the operation of NGOs. As I stressed
during my visit to Baku in September 2014, in the light of the specific
post-accession commitments taken by Azerbaijan, more progress is
needed on this front. I encourage, once again, the Azerbaijani authorities
to co-operate fully with the Venice Commission in this field. I
will continue to follow this issue closely.
1.2. Activities of the President between 17 November
and 10 December 2014
1.2.1. Situation In Ukraine
24. During this period, I continued to follow political
developments in Ukraine and the negotiations between the political
forces on the setting up of a new majority coalition following the
parliamentary elections of 26 October 2014. To this end, and in
order to keep myself up to date, I had a telephone conversation
on 24 November with Mr Pavlo Klimkin, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister.
During this conversation, I informed Mr Klimkin of the Assembly’s
work regarding the crisis in Ukraine, in particular the drafting
of the report on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, scheduled
to be debated during the first part-session of 2015, and of the contacts
between the Presidential Committee and the Speaker of the State
Duma of the Russian Federation and the members of the Russian delegation
to the PACE, in Moscow, on 13 November 2014. In our discussions,
I reaffirmed the PACE’s support for the territorial integrity of
Ukraine. In addition, I stressed the need for the Ukrainian authorities
to pursue the essential reforms relating to the commitments entered
into with the Council of Europe, expressing the hope that the newly
elected parliament could play a leading role in this process.
25. With regard to relations with the Russian delegation to the
PACE, we stressed the need to continue the dialogue, with due regard
for the positions of principle adopted by the PACE on the question
of the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
26. We also agreed to make further contact as soon as possible,
once the new parliament had been formed, to discuss the dates and
arrangements for a working visit to Ukraine which I am planning
to make in early 2015.
27. On 27 November 2014, I congratulated Mr Volodymyr Groysman,
the new Speaker of the Ukrainian parliament on his election to this
senior position. In my letter of congratulations, I restated the
PACE’s readiness and commitment to continue to support the Ukrainian
authorities on the path of reform.
28. In order to discuss the priorities of our co-operation, I
invited Mr Groysman to travel to Paris, or elsewhere, for a working
visit. I also reiterated my readiness to travel to Ukraine in early
2015 to pursue our political dialogue with the authorities.
1.2.2. Assembly meetings in and official visit to Belgium
(16-18 November 2014)
29. From 16 to 18 November 2014, I attended the meetings
of the Presidential Committee, the Assembly Bureau and the Standing
Committee, held in Brussels in the context of the Belgian Chairmanship
of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. Alongside
these meetings, I held a series of bilateral meetings with the Belgian
authorities, in particular with Mr Siegfried Bracke, Speaker of
the Chamber of Representatives, Ms Christine Defraigne, Speaker
of the Senate, and Mr Didier Reynders, Minister of Foreign Affairs
and Chairman of the Committee of Ministers.
30. I also took part in the commemoration events for the victims
of the First World War held in Ypres on 17 November. I would particularly
like to thank the Belgian parliament and the Ypres local authorities
for the excellent organisation of this visit which was a very emotional
experience for all those who were able to attend.
31. In my bilateral meetings, I was able to discuss the main political
challenges facing Europe today and co-operation between the Council
of Europe and Belgium, in particular with regard to accession to
the Council of Europe’s legal instruments and parliamentary scrutiny
of implementation of the judgments of the European Court of Human
Rights. In addition, I reiterated the Assembly’s full support for
the priorities and activities scheduled for the Belgian chairmanship,
placing particular emphasis on the need to co-ordinate the actions taken
by the various organisations that make up the European architecture.
1.2.3. Bilateral meetings with senior officials in the
European Union institutions
32. During my working visit to Brussels, on 18 and 19
November 2014, I met the President of the European Parliament, Mr
Martin Schulz, the President of the European Commission, Mr Jean-Claude
Juncker, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs
and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission, Ms Federica
Mogherini, and the European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood
Policy, Mr Johannes Hahn.
33. During my meeting with the President of the European Parliament,
we discussed several issues of common concern for both our parliamentary
assemblies, in particular the rise of populism and extremist movements,
relations between the majority and the opposition in parliaments,
frozen conflicts in Europe and the crisis in Ukraine. In addition,
we discussed recent political developments in several European countries, including
Azerbaijan, Hungary and Russia.
34. With regard to co-operation between the Parliamentary Assembly
and the European Parliament, we agreed to organise regular meetings
between the leaders of the political groups in our two assemblies,
in an informal setting and based on a precise agenda, to be attended
by eminent guests who could introduce and provide input to our debates.
We agreed that the first of these meetings would be organised by
President Schulz, with the participation of a senior official from
the European Commission as the eminent guest.
35. I was delighted that during our bilateral meeting, the President
of the European Commission, Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, confirmed his
visit to Strasbourg during the first part-session of 2015. His visit
will doubtless help further develop our relations with the institutions
of the European Union. In this context, I would like to mention
the excellent bilateral contacts I was able to establish with Ms
Federica Mogherini and Mr Johannes Hahn. In our talks, we agreed
to pursue our regular consultations on subjects of common interest
in order to fully explore the complementarity between the Council
of Europe and the European Union.
1.2.4. Visit by His Holiness Pope Francis to the Council
of Europe (Strasbourg, 25 November 2014)
36. On 25 November 2014, I had the immense honour and
privilege to welcome to the Council of Europe, together with the
Secretary General, His Holiness Pope Francis. I am convinced that
his address to the Council of Europe institutions which focused
on the values championed by our Organisation, the importance of respecting
and capitalising on the differences which constitute Europe’s wealth
and the need for dialogue in order to pursue the harmonious development
of our continent, will be a major source of inspiration for our
work. In my speech on the occasion of the Pope’s visit, I paid tribute
to the commitment of His Holiness to defending the values underpinning
the European Convention on Human Rights, which are values that unite
all Europeans. Referring to his homely in Lampedusa last July in
which he condemned “globalised indifference”, I stressed that our
common aim was to humanise and democratise this process of globalisation.
37. With regard to the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue,
I thanked Pope France for his proposal to create a new agora as
a forum for dialogue and exchange. Such a dialogue is more important
than ever, at a time when some quarters preach violence and cite
their faith to justify the most serious violations of human rights;
this discredits whole communities and cultures and the very essence
of religion.
38. Lastly, I welcomed the message of His Holiness to promote
dialogue. Our Assembly pursues the same objective and our duty,
as European elected representatives, is to prevent the emergence
of new divisions on our continent and in the minds and hearts of
European citizens.
1.2.5. Visit by the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Mr
Xavier Bettel (Strasbourg, 1 December 2014)
39. It was an honour for me to be able to welcome to
Strasbourg on 1 December the Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of
Luxembourg, Mr Xavier Bettel. During our talks, we discussed the
major challenges facing Europe and our Organisation in order to
defend the values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
We emphasised the fact that the main role of the Council of Europe
and of our Assembly was to react, speedily and resolutely, to any
attack on its values, while at the same time pursuing constant political
dialogue with our member states.
40. With regard to co-operation between Luxembourg and the Council
of Europe, we stressed the need to continue the work to promote
the signature and ratification of the Council of Europe’s key legal
instruments.
1.2.6. Other activities
41. I had the opportunity to meet the President of the
International Committee of the Red Cross, Mr Peter Maurer, and to
discuss the humanitarian challenges facing us today in Europe and
in the world. We concluded that it was necessary to secure the humanitarian
space and that the conflicts and divisions in Europe had repercussions
elsewhere in the world.
42. On 4 December 2014, I attended the Conference on the freedom
of the media and the security of journalists organised by the Committee
on Culture, Science, Education and the Media. This event gave me
the opportunity to closely observe the important work carried out
by the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and the Media in
this field.
43. I intend to pursue my contacts with our Assembly’s committees
in order to contribute my political support to their work.
44. In this context, on 8 December, I attended the meeting of
the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, taking part in
the exchange of views on the question of co-operation with the European
Union (in the discussion of the report by Ms Lundgren on the memorandum
of understanding between the Council of Europe and the European
Union) and on the political consequences of the crisis in Ukraine.
1.3. Activities of the President between 9 December
2014 and 25 January 2015
1.3.1. Situation in Ukraine
1.3.1.1. Visit of the Presidential Committee to Ukraine
45. As far as the situation in Ukraine is concerned,
my activities during this period focused on the organisation of
the visit of the Presidential Committee to Kyiv. In this context,
I met in Strasbourg, on 6 January 2015, the Permanent Representative
of Ukraine to the Council of Europe. Moreover, within the framework
of the preparation of the visit, I met the Ambassadors of Ukraine
and Russia in Luxemburg.
46. The visit of the Presidential Committee to Kiyv took place
on 15 and 16 January 2015, at the invitation of the Speaker of the
Verkhovna Rada, Mr Volodymyr Groysman. Within the framework of this
visit, we met with the President of Ukraine, Mr Petro Poroshenko,
the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Mr Volodymyr Groysman, the Prime
Minister, Mr Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr
Pavlo Klimkin, as well as the leaders of different political forces
represented in the Verkhovna Rada and members of the new delegation
of Ukraine to the Parliamentary Assembly.
47. Summing up the results of our discussions, I called for the
immediate implementation of the Minsk Peace Plan by all parties,
including the Russian Federation, and respect for the territorial
integrity of Ukraine. In particular, on behalf of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe, I expressed condolences over the
tragic deaths of 12 civilians following a rocket attack near Volnovakha
in eastern Ukraine, on 13 January 2015.
48. In this context, I highlighted the importance of the need
for transparency and accountability for human rights abuses committed
in Ukraine, whether during the Maidan events, or in Odessa, the
East of the country, or elsewhere, stressing the role that the Council
of Europe and the International Advisory Panel could play in this
process in providing appropriate support.
49. Speaking about the reforms, I stressed that Ukraine needed
the help and support of Europe to move forward in building democratic
structures and coping with the economic crisis facing the country.
Urgent reforms, including of the constitution, decentralisation
of powers to the regions, reform of the judiciary and the election
law, combating corruption and tackling, in a fair way, the issue
of lustration, should be carried out, taking into account the Council
of Europe standards in all these areas. We understand that these
reforms would require tough decisions by tough people and would
not be easy to negotiate. Therefore, I called on the government,
the parliament, the President and civil society to work together.
50. On the issue of the high humanitarian toll of the conflict
in the east of the country, I stressed that the only way to bring
this humanitarian catastrophe to an end was to fully implement the
Minsk Peace Process. In this context, I referred to the provisions
of the Minsk protocol, including the need for the immediate release
of all hostages and illegally held persons. In this context I called
for the immediate release by the Russian authorities, of the Ukrainian
pilot Nadiya Savchenko as well as others who are detained illegally.
I stressed that I would take this issue up with the Russian authorities
and I have already done this in a letter addressed to the Speaker of
the State Duma, Mr Sergey Naryshkin.
1.3.1.2. Relations with the Russian delegation to the Assembly
51. As keeping the channels of dialogue open is essential
to resolving the crisis in Ukraine, the Presidential Committee decided
to hold a meeting with the members of the Russian delegation to
the Assembly, in Strasbourg, before the opening of the 2015 first
part-session. This meeting is to be held on 25 January 2015 with
the participation, in particular, of Mr Naryshkin, Speaker of the
State Duma of the Russian Federation, who has been appointed member
of the PACE delegation.
1.3.2. Response to the terrorist attacks in France on
7 and 9 January 2015
52. I was deeply shocked by the massacre at the headquarters
of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo,
on 7 January 2015, which was a frontal attack on the fundamental
values of democratic societies and in particular freedom of expression
– one of the most precious of the principles upheld by the Council
of Europe. I expressed condolences and support to the French authorities
in telephone conversations with the President of the Senate, Gérard
Larcher, and the French Permanent Representative to the Council
of Europe. Subsequently, I addressed letters of sympathy and support
to Mr Claude Bartolone, President of the National Assembly, and Mr
Gérard Larcher, Président of the Senate.
53. On 13 January 2015, within the framework of my official visit
to Germany, I attended, at the invitation of the Speaker of the
Bundestag, Mr Norbert Lammert, a public meeting at the Brandenburg
Gate organised by the German Muslim community. Together with the
political leadership of Germany and high representatives of Islam,
Judaism and Christianity, I expressed solidarity with the victims
of the terrorist attacks and spoke up for freedom of expression,
freedom of religion and tolerance.
54. These terrorist attacks have highlighted, once again, the
threats that radicalisation and extremism represent for democratic
societies. The Council of Europe and our Parliamentary Assembly
must address these threats and defend the basic values on which
European societies are based. In the coming months, I shall give
priority to supporting the Assembly’s action on this front.
1.3.3. Official visit to France (Paris, 8-10 December
2014)
55. At the invitation of the French delegation to the
Assembly, I paid an official visit to France from 8 to 10 December
2014. During this visit, I met Mr Claude Bartolone, President of
the National Assembly, Mr Gérard Larcher, President of the Senate,
Ms Christine Taubira, Minister of Justice, Mr Jacques Toubon, Défenseur des droits, Ms Elisabeth
Guigou, Chair of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee,
and the French delegation to the PACE. I also held exchanges of
views with the European Affairs Committees of the National Assembly
and the Senate.
56. Summing up the conclusions of my discussions in Paris, I called
for broad mobilisation of all democratic political forces and civil
society actors, in particular in response to the rise in populism
and intolerance. I welcomed the response of the French government
and the country’s political actors in combating racism, anti-Semitism
and intolerance.
57. In particular, I welcomed the efforts by the Ministry of Justice
and the initiatives by the Défenseur
des droits, stressing that the Council of Europe’s instruments
and tools – notably, the future No Hate Parliamentary Alliance –
were at the disposal of the French authorities, calling for the
stepping up the co-operation between the relevant French structures
and the Council of Europe bodies.
58. With regard to the issue of management of migration, I underlined
the need to develop a real European policy in this area so as to
promote solidarity between States and meet international commitments,
in particular the standards of the European Convention on Human
Rights, while taking account of the specific situations facing member
States and the constraints affecting local communities. In particular,
I welcomed the fact that the National Assembly and the Senate place
particular emphasis on this issue in their work and praised the initiative
by the members of the French delegation who recently visited a holding
centre for migrants in Calais in order to examine the situation
and help find solutions together.
59. My discussions also focused on the question of the implementation
of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and, in particular,
the role which national parliaments should play in this process.
In this context, I urged the National Assembly and the Senate to
continue their discussions of the matter with a view to establishing
a mechanism to enable parliamentarians to play an active part in
monitoring the execution of the Court’s judgments, in close co-operation
with the executive and other national bodies, such as the Défenseur des droits.
60. With regard to the crisis in Ukraine and relations with Russia,
I stressed the importance of parliamentary diplomacy and dialogue,
as well as the political responsibility of members of Parliament
to look for and identify solutions together.
61. Lastly, I called on France and all member States to continue
providing the Council of Europe with the political and financial
support which the organisation needs so that it can perform its
tasks effectively and ensure compliance with Council of Europe standards
in all member States.
1.3.4. Official visit to Germany (12-15 January 2015)
62. At the invitation of the Speaker of the Bundestag,
Dr Norbert Lammert, I paid an official visit to Germany from 12
to 14 January 2015. During this visit, I met the President of the
Republic, Mr Joachim Gauck, the Speaker of the Bundestag, Dr Norbert
Lammert, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the
Minister of Justice, Mr Heiko Maas, the Minister of Finance, Dr
Wolfgang Schäuble, as well as the leaders of the political groups
in the Bundestag. I also met a delegation of the Bundestag’s Committee
on European Affairs and participated in a meeting of its Committee
on Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs. Furthermore, I visited
the German Institute for Human Rights and the Berlin Treatment Center
for Torture Victims. In addition, I met a group of representatives
of major German think tanks, organised by the Ambassador of Luxemburg
to Germany.
63. As indicated above, on 13 January 2015, I attended a public
meeting at the Brandenburg Gate to express solidarity with the victims
of the terrorist attacks in France.
64. I would like to thank the Permanent of Germany, Ambassador
Georg Luy, for providing support in the organisation of this visit
and joining me for all meetings.
65. In my discussions, I addressed the following main issues:
- the possibility of a challenge
to the credentials of the Russian delegation in the light of the
ongoing annexation of Crimea and the ongoing conflict in the east
of Ukraine;
- the urgent need for reforms in Ukraine, including decentralisation,
judicial reform and the fight against corruption;
- the difficult human rights situation in a number of member
States, including the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Turkey
and Hungary;
- migration issues and the rise of xenophobic populist movements,
including the so-called Pegida in Germany;
- the status of ratifications of Council of Europe Conventions
by Germany and the implementation of recommendations addressed to
Germany by the Parliamentary Assembly;
- the budgetary situation of the Council of Europe in the
face of major new challenges.
66. All my interlocutors expressed support for the Council of
Europe’s action and encouraged us to continue upholding the values
and principles of the Organisation.
67. Regarding refugees and migrants, we agreed on the need to
find European solutions, which have to be both humane and realistic.
Thousands of desperate refugees cannot be left to drown in the Mediterranean
Sea, and the southern States cannot deal with this problem alone.
In this context, I underlined that addressing the challenges of
migration in a transparent way and in constant dialogue with the
local population, was the best way to stem the rise of intolerance
and xenophobia.
68. Last but not least, as indicated above, I did not fail to
raise the difficult budgetary situation of the Council of Europe
and the challenges the organisation is facing. I received encouraging
signals from some of my interlocutors on this difficult issue.
69. Details of all my activities and meetings are to be found
in the Appendix to this statement.
2. Press Releases
1. Lost lives in the Mediterranean: 2014 sets sad records
(3 October 2014)
2. PACE President condemns ceasefire violations in east of
Ukraine (3 October 2014)
3. 50 years of the European Pharmacopeia: a success story
(6 October 2014)
4. PACE President calls on Azerbaijan to free Ilgar Mammadov
(14 October 2014)
5. Social rights are not second class rights, says PACE President
(18 October 2014)
6. Anne Brasseur congratulates Jean-Claude Juncker and his
team (23 October 2014)
7. PACE President congratulates Ukrainian people on election
(29 October 2014)
8. President deplores holding of so-called 'elections' in
Donetsk and Luhansk (31 October 2014)
9. Parliaments must do more to ensure Strasbourg Court judgments
are implemented (31 October 2014)
10. Anne Brasseur: improved protection for journalists (3
November 2014)
11. President marks a quarter century since fall of the Berlin
Wall: ‘let us tear down the walls that separate us’ (7 November
2014)
12. PACE President meets in Moscow with the Speaker of the
Russian State Duma (13 November 2014)
13. PACE President urges Belgian Parliament to look into implementation
of the ECHR in domestic law (19 November 2014)
14. PACE President ‘calibrates’ human rights priorities with
new EU leaders (20 November 2014)
15. Euromaidan anniversary: PACE President calls for urgent
implementation of reform agenda (21 November 2014)
16. We must unite in order to combat what Pope Francis rightly
calls ‘the globalisation of indifference’ (21 November 2014)
17. Anne Brasseur: ‘Globalisation must be humanised and democratised’
(25 November 2014)
18. Anne Brasseur congratulates new Ukrainian Speaker on his
election (27 November 2014)
19. On World AIDS Day, PACE President backs UN ‘close the
gap’ campaign for people living with HIV (1 December 2014)
20. Human rights, a watchword for the Luxembourg Prime Minister
(1 December 2014)
21. Deep concern at the detention of Azerbaijani journalist
Khadija Ismayilova (5 December 2014)
22. We must redouble our efforts to eliminate corruption,
says Anne Brasseur (9 December 2014)
23. Pressure on Ilgar Mammadov’s lawyer is unacceptable (10
December 2014)
24. ‘The Council of Europe is more important than ever’, says
Anne Brasseur (11 December 2014)
25. President expresses grave concern at media arrests in
Turkey (15 December 2014)
26. “Stop using language which discriminates against migrants”
(17 December 2014)
27. Let's overcome hurdles to ensure EU accedes to the Human
Rights Convention (18 December 2014)
28. 60th Anniversary of the European Cultural Convention (19
December 2014)
29. PACE President condemns Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack
(7 January 2015)
30. Anne Brasseur marches for tolerance: ‘we are united in
defending democratic values’ (14 January 2015)
31. Anne Brasseur in Berlin: we must uphold our values together,
with all our force (15 January 2015)
32. Anne Brasseur in Kyiv: Ukraine needs the help and support
of Europe to move forward (16 January 2015)
33. PACE President asks for help in securing Ukrainian pilot
Nadiya Savchenko’s release (21 January 2015)
3. Speeches
1. Opening speech of the Fourth part of the 2014 ordinary
session (29 September 2014)
2. Speech on the occasion of the Václav Havel Human Rights
Prize award ceremony (Strasbourg, 29 September 2014)
3. Address on the occasion of the Opening Ceremony of the
Living Library: Don’t judge a book by its cover! No hate, no extremism
(Strasbourg, 30 September 2014)
4. Opening of the International Conference organised by the
EDQM Council of Europe: “EDQM: 50 years of leadership in the quality
of medicines – paving the way for the future” (Strasbourg, 6 October
2014)
5. Speech at the University of Tübingen: the Council of Europe
as defender of human rights, democracy and the rule of law - more
important than ever (Tubingen, Germany, 6 October 2014)
6. Exchange of views with the Ministers’ Deputies at the 1209th
meeting of the Committee of Ministers (Strasbourg, 8 October 2014)
7. Opening speech of the high-level Conference on the European
Social Charter “Europe restarts in Turin” (Turin, Italy, 18 October
2014)
8. Welcome remarks at the seminar on the role of national
parliaments in the implementation of judgments of the European Court
of Human Rights (Madrid, 31 October 2014)
9. Speech delivered at the Seminar and Inter-regional Dialogue
on the protection of journalists: Towards an effective framework
of protection for the work of journalists and an end to impunity
(Strasbourg, 3 November 2014)
10. Moderating of the Round Table Young people – actors of
global change (World Forum for Democracy) (3 November 2014)
11. Speech delivered at the Ceremony of commemoration at the
Commonwealth military cemetery «Tyne Cot» (Ypres, Belgium, 17 November
2014)
12. Speech at the Standing Committee meeting (Brussels, 18
November 2014)
13. Address to His Holiness Pope Francis (Strasbourg, 25 November
2014)
14. Opening speech at the Symposium on transition of young
people to autonomy and working life (Strasbourg, 1 December 2014)
15. Speech during the dinner debate at the “Maison de l’Europe
Strasbourg Alsace” (Strasbourg, 1 December 2014)
16. Speech delivered at the opening of the Conference on media
freedom and security of journalists organised jointly by the PACE
Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media and the Committee
on Culture, Education and Communication of the French Senate (Paris,
4 December 2014)
Appendix 1 – Activities between 29 September and 17 November
2014
(open)
1. Bilateral meetings (in chronological
order)
PACE session (29 September – 3 October
2014)
Political personalities
- B'Tselem Israeli Information
Center for Human Rights (Israel), the Jesuit Refugee Service (Malta)
and Mr Asaf Mammadov, father of Mr Anar Mammadli, currently in detention
(Azerbaijan (the three candidates shortlisted for the Václav Havel
Human Rights Prize)
- Ms Yulia Tymoshenko
- Mr Juli Minoves Triquell, President, Liberal international
- Mr Luca Volontè, former PACE member, President of the
Novae Terrae Foundation
- Mr Olemic Thommessen, President of the Norwegian Storting
- Mr Denis Krivosheev, Deputy Director of programmes for
Europe and central Asia, Amnesty International
- Dr Andreas Schockenhoff, Vice-President, German parliamentary
group CDU/CSU
- Mr Angel Gurria, Secretary General of the OECD
- Ms Anna Koj, Open Dialog Foundation
- M. Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of
Azerbaïdjan, President of the Committee of Ministers
- Ms Karen Benn, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, and
Ms Roswitha Britz, President elect, European Breast Cancer Coalition,
Europa Donna
- Sir Suma Chakrabarti, President of the EBRD
- Mr Thierry Braillard, State Secretary for Sports of France
PACE members
- Ms Hermine Naghdalyan,
Chairperson of the delegation of Armenia
- Mr Ivan Popescu, Chairperson of the delegation of Ukraine
- Mr Samad Seyidov, Chairperson of the delegation of Azerbaijan
- Mr José Maria Beneyto, Chairperson of the delegation of
Spain
- Members of the Japanese delegation
- Mr Tedo Japaridze, Chairperson of the delegation of Georgia
- Mr Philippe Mahoux, Chairperson of the delegation of Belgium
- Mr René Rouquet, President of the delegation of France
Strasbourg (6 October 2014)
- Mr Michael Georg Link,
Director, OSCE ODIHR
Tübingen, Germany (6 October 2014)
- Prof. Bernd Engler,
Rector of the University Tübingen
- Mr Michael Theurer, MEP
Turin (17-18 October 2014)
- Mr Giuliano Poletti,
Minister for Labour and social politics, Italy
- Mr Piero Fassino, Mayor of Turin
- Mr Michael Farrugia, Minister for Family and Social security,
Malta
- Mr Faruk Çelik, Minister for Labour and social security,
Turkey
- Ms Laura Boldrini, President of the Chamber of Deputies,
Italy,
Madrid (29-31 October 2014)
- Ms Francesca Friz-Prguda,
Representative of the HCR in Spain
- Mr José Manuel García-Margallo, Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Spain
- Mr Jesús María Posada Moreno, President of the Congress
of Deputies, Spain
- Mr Pío García-Escudero, President of the Senate
- Mr Rafael Catalá, Minister of Justice, Spain
- Mr Jorge Fernandez Diaz, Minister of Interior, Spain
Strasbourg (3 November 2014)
- Mr Bozo Ljubic, President,
Chamber of Representatives, Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Mr Yves Leterme, former prime Minister of Belgium, General
Secretary of IDEA
Moscow (13 November 2014)
- Mr Sergey Narychkin,
President of the State Duma of the Russian Federation
- Members of the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary
Assembly
2. Meetings with Council of Europe personalities
and organs (in chronological order)
- Mr Thorbjørn Jagland,
Secretary General
- M. Jean-Claude Frécon, President, Congress
- M. Zoltan Taubner, Director, Directorate of external relations
- M. Christos Giakoumopoulos, Special Representative of
the Secretary General for Ukraine
3. Meetings with the diplomatic community
(in chronological order)
- Mr Jari Vilen, Ambassador,
Head of the delegation of the European Union to the Council of Europe
- Ms Michèle Eisenbarth, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary,
Permanent Representative of Luxembourg
- Mr Mohammed Arrouchi, General Consul of Morocco
- Mr Markus Börlin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary,
Permanent Representative of Switzerland
- Ms Amy Westling, Consul General, United States of America
- Mr Emin Eyyubov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary,
Permanent Representative of Azerbaïdjan
- Mr Luis Javier Gil Catalina, Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Spain
- Monseigneur Paulo Rudelli, Special Envoy and Permanent
Representative of the Holy See
- Ms Theodora Constantinidou, Ambassador, Permanent Representative
of Cyprus
- Mr Armen Papikyan, Ambassador, Permanent Representative
of Armenia
- Mr Dirk Van Eeckhout, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary,
Permanent Representative of Belgium
- Mr Julius Georg Luy, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary,
Permanent Representative of Germany
4. Contact with the media between 29 September
and 17 November 2014
MEDIA
|
TYPE
|
COUNTRY
|
Radio France RFI
|
Radio
|
France
|
Ria Novosti
|
Press agency
|
Russia
|
Voice of America, Russian
service
|
Multimedia
|
Russia
|
Agence Europe, ANSA,
EFE, Azer Press, Itar Tass, Radio-TV Pologne, NTV Turquie, Uradovyy
Kuryer, Europea Pravda Ukraine
|
Meeting with local journalists
|
various
|
Véronique Leblanc, La
Libre Belgique (correspondant in Strasbourg),
Sophie
Lejoly, Agency Belga,
Philippe Regnier, Le Soir,
Willem
Staes, MO* Magazine
|
Meeting with Belgian
journalists
|
Belgium
|
Fuad Gouloubeyli, Azer
press
|
Press agency
|
Azerbaijan
|
Davit Sargsyan international
news reporter and analytic programme producer
|
Public Television Company
|
Armenia
|
Various Russian media
(press stand up at the Russian Duma)
|
Printed and electronic
|
Russia
|
Appendix 2 – Activities between 17 November and 10 December
2014
(open)
1. Bilateral meetings (in chronological
order)
Belgium (17-18 November 2014)
- Mr Didier Reynders,
Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs of Belgium, President
of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
- Ms Christine Defraigne, President of the Senate
- Mr Siegfried Bracke, President of the Chamber of Representatives
- Ms Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European
Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President
of the Commission
- Mr Martin Schulz, President, European Parliament
- Mr Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood
Policy
- Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission
Strasbourg (24-25 November 2014)
- His Holiness Pope Francis
- Mr Tedo Japaridze, President of the Georgian delegation
to the PACE
Strasbourg (1-2 December 2014)
- M. Xavier Bettel, Prime
Minister, Luxembourg
- Prof. Jean-Jacques Eledjam, President of the French Red
Cross
- M. Peter Maurer, President, International Red Cross
Paris (8-10 December 2014)
- Mr Claude Bartolone,
President of the Assemblée nationale
- Mr René Rouquet, President of the French delegation to
the PACE
- Ms Christiane Taubira, Justice Minister
- Members of the Committee on European Affairs of the Assemblée
nationale
- Mr Harlem Désir, State Secretary for European Affairs,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development
- Mr Jacques Toubon, Rights defender
- Ms Elisabeth Guigou, President of the Committee on Foreign
Affairs of the Assemblée nationale
- Members of the Committee of European Affairs of the Senate
- Mr Gérard Larcher, President of the Senate
2. Meetings with Council of Europe personalities
and organs (in chronological order)
- Mr Thorbjørn Jagland,
Secretary General
- Mr Nils Muižnieks, Commissioner for Human Rights
- Mr Jean-Christophe Bas, Director, Directorate of Democratic
Citizenship and Participation, DGII Directorate General of Democracy
- Ambassador Torbjørn Froysnes, Head of the Liaison Office
of the Council of Europe with the European Union in Brussels
3. Meetings with the diplomatic community
(in chronological order)
- Mr Mykola Tochytskyi,
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative
of Ukraine
- Mr Erdogan Şerif Işcan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary,
Permanent Representative of Turkey
- Mr Luis Javier Gil Catalina, Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Spain
- Mr Rudolf Lennkh, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary,
Permanent Representative of Austria
- Ms Houria Yousfi, Consul General of Algeria
- Mr Santiago Oñate Laborde, Permanent Observer of Mexico
- Mr Paul Dühr, Ambassador of Luxembourg in France
4. Contact with the media between 17 November
and 10 December 2014 (in chronological order)
MEDIA
|
TYPE
|
PAYS
|
Interview with Ms Anne-Bénédicte
Hoffner, Service religions of the newspaper La Croix
|
Newspaper
|
France
|
ANSA - Samantha Agro
|
Internet
|
Italy
|
PIRAYA FILMS AS
Andrei
Nekrasov, Programme Director
|
Film on connection with
Human rights, geopolitics in the West's relations with Russia
|
Norway
|
Appendix 3 – Activities between 10 December 2014 and 25
January 2015
(open)
1. Bilateral meetings (in chronological
order)
Berlin (12-14 January 2015)
- Mr Thomas Oppermann,
Chair of the SPD
- Mr Volker Kauder, Chair of the CDU/CSU
- Dr. Gregor Gysi, Chair of Die Linke
- Ms Claudia Roth, Vice-President of the Bundestag
- Mr Joachim Gauck, Federal President
- Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Minister for Foreign Affairs
- Dr Mercedes Hillen, Director “Überleben”, Berlin Centre
for the Treatment of Torture Victims
- Prof. Dr. Beate Rudolf, Director, German Institute of
Human Rights
- Dr. Norbert Lammert, President of the Bundestag and joint
commemoration ceremony
- Mr Gunther Krichbaum, Chair of the European Affairs Committee
of the Bundestag
- Dr Anton Hofreiter, Co-Chair of Die Grünen
- Mr Heiko Maas, Minister of Justice
- Mr Georges Santer, Ambassador of Luxembourg
- Dr Wolfgang Schäuble, Minister of Finance
- Members of the Human Rights Committee of the Bundestag
- Mr Axel Fischer, Chairperson, and the members of the German
delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly
Kyiv (16-17 January 2015)
- Mr Arseniy Yatseniuk,
Prime Minister of Ukraine
- Mr Pavlo Klimkin, Minister for Foreign Affairs
- Mr Volodymyr Groysman, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada
of Ukraine
- Representatives of political groups:
- Mr Ihor Kononenko, First Deputy
Chairman of the Petro Poroshenko Block fraction
- Mr Andrii Teteruk, First deputy Chairman of the Popular
Front fraction
- Mr Oleh Bereziuk, Chairman of the “Samopomich” (Self-Help)
fraction
- Mr Oleh Lyashko, Chairman of the Radical Party fraction
- Ms Yuliya Tymoshenko, Chairman of the Batkivschyna fraction
- Mr Yuriy Boyko, Chairman of Opposition Block fraction
- Mr Igor Yeremeev, Chairman of the Will of the People fraction
- Mr Vitaliy Khomutknyik, Chairman of the Economic Development
fraction
- Mr Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine
- Members of the Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary
Assembly
Strasbourg (25 January 2015)
- Members of the Russian
delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly
2. Meetings with Council of Europe personalities
and organs
- Ms Mireille Paulus,
Secretary of the Committee of Ministers
3. Meetings with the diplomatic community
(in chronological order)
- Mr Emin Eyyubov, Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan
- Mr Julius Georg Luy, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary,
Permanent Representative of Germany
- Mr Mykola Tochytskyi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary,
Permanent Representative of Ukraine
- Mr Peter Gunning, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary,
Permanent Representative of Ireland
- Mr Ihor Dolhov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
of Ukraine to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg
- M. Mark Entin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
of the Russian Federation in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg
4. Contact with the media between 10 December
2014 and 25 January 2015 (in chronological order)
MEDIA
|
TYPE
|
PAYS
|
Parliamentary channel
LCP
|
TV
|
France
|
Parliamentary channel
RADA
|
TV
|
Ukraine
|
Interview with Newspaper
JOURNAL
|
Written press
|
Luxembourg
|