Parliamentary Assembly session: 24 – 28 June 2002

...Friday 28 June...
		Countries in the catchment area for the Baltic Sea, which includes thirteen Council of Europe member states, should do more to combat pollution from the 85 million people living and working on its shores and the ships passing through it, according to the Assembly. Report
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…Thursday 27 June… Arafat should seek Council of Europe help to reform Palestinian Authority The Parliamentary Assembly has called for ''serious reforms'' of the Palestinian Authority to guarantee a democratic, viable and peaceful state − and said it should seek the Organisation’s help with revising the Palestinian constitution and laws, and building ''democratic, efficient and accountable'' institutions. If such reforms were carried out, the Assembly said, it was ready to consider granting Observer status to the Palestinian Legislative Council − a status already held by the Israeli Knesset.
______________________________________________ Live broadcast of the session TVMag - Daily overview of main points on the agenda Press conferences ______________________________________________
Session’s highlights… The session's highlights include debates on the future of co-operation between European institutions, on the EBRD, the IMF and the World Bank as well as on international abduction of children and the situation of refugees in Yugoslavia and the Caucasus (see Order of business). Tuesday 25 June - Current affairs debate on human rights in the Kaliningrad region (more) Wednesday 26 June - Debate and vote on International abduction of children by one of the parents (more) Thursday, 27 June - 10 am :Urgent debate on the Middle East (more) - 3 pm: Situation of Maghrebi women (more) Friday 28 June - Reducing environmental risks by destroying chemical weapons (Doc. 9472) - State of the environment of the Baltic Sea (Doc. 9470) ______________________________________________
Order of business _________ Photos The session in pictures Visit of Jean-Claude Juncker Visit of Her Majesty the Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands Visit of President Boris Trajkovski _________ Press releases _________ Adopted texts _________ Verbatim reports _________ List of documents _________ Committee meetings _________ Parliamentary Assembly Website _________ Exhibitions during the session General information The CoE in brief The Netherlands and the CoE Luxembourg and the CoE Poland and the CoE “The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” and the CoE Spain and the CoE Armenia and the CoE Azerbaijan and the CoE Georgia and the CoE _________						Boris Trajkovski: ''The Council of Europe is indispensable for European integration'' Speaking before the Assembly, Boris Traijkovski, President of ''the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia'', expressed his appreciation for the Council of Europe’s support which helped to defuse the conflict in his country. Video recorded statement ___________________
					Debate on the Middle East: Palestinians and Israelis reiterate their conditions for peace Adressing the Parliamentary Assembly at the beginning of an urgent debate on the situation in the Middle East, Ziad Abu Zayyad, representing the Palestinian Legislative Council, said that Palestinians demand reforms but are prevented
					from carrying them out because of the destruction as a result of military incursions and occupation by Israel .“Without the withdrawal of Israeli troops we will not be able to prepare any elections and cannot go for negotiations”, he said. ___________________
							Israeli parliamentarian Eliezer Sandberg, representing the Knesset, underlined that Israel is a democracy in a position of war that needs to minimize damages and prevent attacks. (more) Video recorded statements Ziad Abu Zayyad Eliezer Sandberg ___________________
			Maud Frouke de Boer-Buquicchio elected Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe On 26 June 2002, the Parliamentary Assembly elected Maud Frouke de Boer-Buquicchio Deputy Secretary General of the Organisation, by 147 votes out of the 237 votes cast. Elected for a five-year term of office, Ms de Boer-Buquicchio will take up her duties on 1 September 2002. Biography ___________________
			Peter Schieder on the EU Summit : ''Our welfare cannot be protected by walls'' Full speech Press conference by Assembly President Peter Schieder Recorded press conference ___________________
	Jean-Claude Juncker speaks in favour of a 3rd Council of Europe Summit before the end of 2003 Summary of the statement and Video recorded statement Questions-Answers before the Assembly Press release ___________________
	Debate on the Future of co-operation between European institutions René van der Linden, Rapporteur of the Political Affairs Committee. Report ___________________
	Jean Lemierre: ''EBRD investments strengthen democratic development'' Summary of the statement Reply to the debate Video recorded statement ___________________
	The Council is “Europe’s quiet strength” Her Majesty the Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands stated that “the Council operates as the conscience of Europe” by developing the criteria for the rule of law throughout Europe. Video recorded statement ___________________
Lydie Polfer tells Assembly that the Council of Europe and the EU are natural institutional partners In her presentation of the activities of the Committee of Ministers, Lydie Polfer stressed the importance of creating or enhancing synergies with institutions such as the EU, OSCE and UN. She recalled that her Chairmanship gave priority to fighting terrorism. Questions and answers before the Assembly ___________________
''No political will to investigate my husband’s death'', claims Miroslava Gongadze The widow of journalist Gyorgy Gongadze, who was murdered three years ago, told a press conference that there was no political will in Ukraine to conduct a proper investigation into her husband’s death. ___________________
Interviews Giving smoking a bad name - by the Belgian socialist Francis Poty on ''Fighting active and passive smoking''. ______________________________________________ ''Abducted children are treated like objects'' - by Michael Hancock, Rapporteur of the Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee Letter of the association ''SOS Enlèvements Internationaux d'Enfants'' to Peter Schieder ______________________________________________ ''We must make sure that Lukashenka has got the message properly'' - by Wolfgang Behrendt, German parliamentarian (SPD) ______________________________________________
Speeches Boris Trajkovski, President of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” Ziad Abu Zayyad, Minister for Jerusalem Affairs, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council [27.06.2002] Eliezer Sandberg, Observer from Israel [27.06.2002] Jean-Claude Juncker, Prime Minister, Secretary of State, Finance Minister of Luxembourg [26.06.2002] Jean Lemierre, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development [25.06.2002] Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands [25.06.2002] Lydie Polfer, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Luxembourg and Chairman of the Committee of Ministers [25.06.2002] Peter Schieder, Parliamentary Assembly President [24.06.2002] ______________________________________________ Biographies Eliezer Sandberg, Observer from Israel Ziad Abu Zayyad, Minister for Jerusalem Affairs, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council Walter Schwimmer, Council of Europe Secretary General Peter Schieder, Parliamentary Assembly President Lydie Polfer, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Luxembourg and Chairman of the Committee of Ministers Jean-Claude Juncker, Prime Minister, Secretary of State, Finance Minister of Luxembourg Jean Lemierre, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands Boris Trajkovski, President of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” ______________________________________________ Personalities Visits Programmes Boris Trajkovski, President of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” Jean-Claude Juncker, Prime Minister, Secretary of State, Finance Minister of Luxembourg (French only) Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands