Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers

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Austria hands over chairmanship to Azerbaijan

Austria hands over chairmanship to Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan took over from Austria the Chairmanship of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers for a period of six months beginning on 14 May.

On 6 May in Vienna, at the end of the 124th session of the Committee of Ministers, the outgoing Chair, Sebastian Kurz, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Austria, gave an overview of his country's achievements during its chairmanship. Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, then presented the priorities of his country’s chairmanship.

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Back Austrian president urges caution on vote over PACE’s Russian delegation powers

Parliamentary Assembly

Just one day before the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly is to consider a report on the powers of its Russian delegation, Austrian President Heinz Fischer told assembled members that "dialogue is the only way" to deal with the conflict. "It is fairly easy to close doors, but once they are shut, it is far more difficult to open them again," he said.

Mr. Fischer said that he agrees with the assessment of the Council of Europe's constitutional law experts the Venice Commission that "actions taken by Russia have been and continue to be in breach of international law". He said that "further steps taken by Russia to destabilize Ukraine would be unacceptable".
 

But he also called on Council of Europe member states to take into consideration the "historical background" of the crisis, respecting concerns of "all countries" involved. "It should not be a matter of drawing this large and important country [Ukraine] into one camp or an opposing camp, either to the EU or to the Russian Federation," Mr. Fischer stressed.

The Austrian President praised the role of the Council of Europe as an essential multilateral institution that has proven to be an important basis for peace in Europe since the end of the Second World War, which – he noted – began almost 75 years ago. (more...)

See also:
Austria and the Council of Europe

Strasbourg 09/04/2014
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