Progress report | Doc. 14016 Addendum I | 18 April 2016
Activities of the Assembly’s Bureau and Standing Committee (18 April 2016)
1. Decisions of the Bureau of 18 April 2016 requiring ratification by the Assembly
1.1. Ad hoc committee of the Bureau on the situation of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Greece
The Bureau decided to set up an ad hoc committee of the Bureau on the situation of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Greece.
1.2. Composition of committees
1.2.1. Composition of the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs
On the basis of a proposal by the EPP/CD Group, the Bureau nominated Mr Volodymyr Ariev (Ukraine) to replace Mr Serhiy Sobolev (Ukraine).
1.2.2. Composition of the Committee on the election of judges to the European Court of Human Rights
On the basis of proposals by the Socialist Group, the Bureau nominated Ms Marietta Karamanli (France) to replace Mr Michael McNamara (Ireland) and Mr Evangelos Venizelos (Greece) as members and Ms Ingrid Antičević Marinović (Croatia) as an alternate.
The Assembly is invited to ratify the above proposals made by the Bureau.
2. Other decisions of the Bureau
2.1. Second part-session of 2016 (18 to 22 April)
2.1.1. Requests for a current affairs debate
The Bureau considered the following requests for current affairs debate:
- “The recent and tragic escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict”, presented by Mr René Rouquet, Chairperson of the French Delegation, on behalf of his delegation;
- “The tragic escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and the other occupied territories of Azerbaijan”, presented by Mr Samad Seyidov, Chairperson of the Azerbaijani Delegation, on behalf of his delegation;
- “War crimes committed by Azerbaijan during the recent aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh”, presented by Ms Hermine Naghdalyan, Chairperson of the Armenian Delegation, on behalf of her delegation;
- “The case of the “Panama Papers” and the concern about fiscal, social justice and public trust in our democratic system” presented by Mr Michele Nicoletti, on behalf of the Socialist Group.
The Bureau decided to propose to the Assembly to hold a current affairs debate on The case of the “Panama Papers” and the concern about fiscal, social justice and public trust in our democratic system, on Monday 18 April in the afternoon, and designated Mr Stefan Schennach (Austria, SOC), as the first speaker.
2.1.2. Requests for debates under urgent procedure
The Bureau took note of the President’s decision to declare inadmissible the request for a debate under urgent procedure on The Savchenko case, tabled by 21 members of the Assembly as it concerns an issue which is already on the agenda of the part-session. It also invited the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons to prepare an addendum to the report on The humanitarian concerns with regard to people captured during the war in Ukraine (Rapporteur: Ms Nellija Kleinberga, Latvia, ALDE).
The Bureau decided to propose to the Assembly to hold a debate under urgent procedure on The situation of refugees and migrants under the EU-Turkey Agreement of 18 March 2016 on Wednesday 20 April in the afternoon, and referred the matter to the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons for report.
The Bureau decided to propose to the Assembly to hold a debate under urgent procedure on After the Brussels attacks, urgent need to address security failures and step up counter-terrorism co-operation on Thursday 21 April in the afternoon, and referred the matter to the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy for report.
2.1.3. Draft agenda
The Bureau updated the draft agenda. It also took note of a letter by the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons to show a PowerPoint presentation during the Assembly debate on The humanitarian concerns with regard to people during the war in Ukraine on Thursday 20 April 2016.
2.1.4. Election of a judge to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Slovenia
The Bureau took note of the report drawn up by the Committee on the election of judges following interviews with candidates for the post of judge to the Court in respect of Slovenia. This report had been already declassified by the Committee and submitted to the attention of all members of the Assembly (Doc. 14016 Addendum II).
2.2. Follow-up to Assembly’s Resolutions
2.2.1. Follow-up to the meeting of the Standing Committee (Paris, 4 March 2016)
The Bureau approved the proposal made by the Secretary General of the Assembly to ask the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs to draft guidelines on the implementation of paragraph 2.3.1 of Resolution 2102 (2016) on Modifications to the Assembly's Rules of Procedure.
2.3. Issues raised by committees
2.3.1. Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy
The Bureau authorised Mr Axel Fischer (Germany, EPP/CD) to carry out a fact-finding visit to Kazakhstan in May/June 2016, in the framework of the preparation of his report on The relations of the Council of Europe with Kazakhstan.
2.4. Meetings elsewhere than Strasbourg and Paris
The Bureau authorised the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights and the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs to meet in Rome, on 17-18 May 2016.