SPEECH BY MR MEVLÜT ÇAVUŞOĞLU,

PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE, ON THE OCCASION OF THE 3^rd WORLD CONFERENCE OF SPEAKERS OF PARLIAMENT

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“Parliaments in a world of crisis: securing global democratic accountability for the common good3

(UNITED NATIONS, GENEVA, 19-21 JULY 2010)

Mr Chairman, Excellencies, dear colleagues,

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which I have the honour to chair, is the biggest parliamentary forum in Europe. It brings together elected representatives from the national parliaments of 47 European states, thus speaking on behalf of 800 mln Europeans.

Therefore, we have a major responsibility in ensuring democratic accountability at European level. In my very short speaking time, I shall outline a few examples of how we see this role:

Firstly, through our permanent activity:

      - we constantly monitor the state of democracy in our member states, in order to make sure that the values and principles of our organisation – democracy, human rights and the rule of law – are shared and upheld by all member states. A special procedure monitors the compliance of the most recent members with the commitments they undertook upon their accession;

      - we, as a parliamentary assembly, must be consulted about all international treaties drawn up at the Council of Europe;

      - drawing on the experience and concerns of our members, we are discussing all the major challenges facing our societies and urge European governments to take initiatives and report back;

- we have been very active in developing parliamentary dialogue and parliamentary diplomacy. This is particularly important in the field of conflict prevention and conflict peaceful solution.

A second example that I would like to give is our annual debate on the state of democracy in Europe.

This year’s debate, which we held last month, dealt, at a European level, with practically the same topic that we are discussing here today.

We reached the conclusion that, without putting into question representative democracy, democracy has also to be developed beyond representation, for instance by including some direct democratic elements in the decision-making process and enhancing participatory democracy at all levels.

The renewal of politics also requires the development of a new culture of civic and political responsibility. This means greater responsiveness and accountability, as well as transparency, on the part of those who govern, and on the part of civil society actors who participate in the political debate.

As far as the accountability and transparency of political parties are concerned, I would like to draw your attention to the code of good conduct in the field of political parties that the Council of Europe has recently adopted.

Furthermore, the Assembly has stressed that the right to participate in the conduct of public affairs, be it at local, regional, national or European levels, is a human right and a fundamental political freedom. We have therefore decided to pursue further reflection, in close consultation with the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission), as well as through open public debates, with a view to elaborating an Additional Protocol to the European Convention of Human Rights.

Finally, I would point out that the Parliamentary Assembly is also the pan-European forum for the Speakers of national parliaments. The latest European conference took place last month in Limassol. The topics that we discussed there are again very closely linked to our debates here: the rights and responsibilities of the opposition in a parliament as well as the role of national parliaments in the implementation of the principle of non-discrimination.

The conference brought a wealth of good practices in both fields and I would strongly encourage you to consult the conclusions which are available on the Assembly’s web site.

Mr Chairman, I would like to conclude by praising the excellent cooperation between the Parliamentary Assembly and the IPU, as well as the other international assemblies represented here.

Thank you for your attention.