16.4.2009

WELCOME BY MR LLUĺS MARIA DE PUIG,

PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

TO TARJA HALONEN, PRESIDENT OF FINLAND

(Strasbourg, Tuesday 28 April 2009, 12 noon, Chamber)

Welcome back to the Parliamentary Assembly, President Halonen: it is a great pleasure to have you among us and I hope you that you always feel at home here, in this Hemicycle.

You joined our Parliamentary Assembly when the East and the West of Europe were slowly coming together. We cherish your personal commitment in assisting this process. Our Assembly's Monitoring Committee was created at your initiative, as a result of the Order 488 (1993) that is still referred to as the Halonen order.

You also worked very hard to help ensure real equality between women and men. As you once underlined, not only minorities, but also majorities sometimes fail to obtain equal rights: that is still too often the case of women who represent 52% of the population of Europe.

I should recall that you addressed our Parliamentary Assembly on several occasions as Minister of Foreign Affairs and as President of Finland. You have always showed high esteem for the action led by the Council of Europe while urging this Organisation to be more ambitious. Your advice and support are most valuable. The core values that the Council of Europe stands for - democracy, human rights, the rule of law, as well as social cohesion and equal opportunities for all - have guided your work in this Assembly, in the Government and the Presidency of your country. We all admire your consistency and perseverance.

President Halonen, we look forward to listening to you.