Addresses by the Chairperson of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Denis Bećirović and France’s Europe and Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot are among highlights of the spring plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which takes place in Strasbourg on 20-24 April 2026.
Other highlights include debates on violence and hate speech against politicians, on protecting freedom of religion and belief in Europe and on the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances, with the participation of Antoinette Chahine, a human rights defender and former death-row prisoner, and Barbara Lochbihler, Commissioner at the International Commission against the Death Penalty.
There will be a joint debate on improving the implementation of the Istanbul Convention – the Council of Europe treaty aimed at preventing and combating violence against women – by building on lessons learnt, and on paving the way for a culture of consent, with the participation of Spain’s Equality Minister Ana Redondo.
There will also be a ceremony to award the 2026 Council of Europe Museum Prize to the Young V&A in London, the Victoria and Albert Museum’s branch for children, young people and families.
Mihai Popşoi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova, will present the work of the Committee of Ministers – the Council of Europe’s executive body – to the Assembly and take questions from members.
Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset will also hold his usual question time, and Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty will present his 2025 annual activity report.
Other debates on the agenda include tracking the proceeds of the crime denounced by Sergei Magnitsky, countering social dumping and labour exploitation, and the effective enforcement of copyright.
The Assembly will also discuss the procedure for electing judges to the European Court of Human Rights, and will debate its observation of the early elections to the Assembly of Kosovo*.
The Assembly adopts its final agenda on the first day of the session.
The agendas of committees meeting during session week can be found here, and a list of meetings of the Assembly’s networks, as well as other side-events and exhibitions, can be found here.
Session web page
The powers of the Parliamentary Assembly
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Practical information
Media accreditation: please fill in this accreditation form. More details here, or contact the Council of Europe Media Department via [email protected].
PACE website: the agenda, adopted texts, reports to be debated, voting results, speakers lists and the verbatim record of each sitting (in English, French, German and Italian) are available on the special session page. News items on all debates appear on the Assembly’s home page.
Social media: follow the Assembly’s official accounts via Bluesky, X, Facebook and LinkedIn (#PACEspring2026).
Livestream: the session is streamed live (in French, English, German and Italian). Each sitting is also streamed live via the Assembly’s YouTube channel in original languages, scrollable in mid-stream, with instant replay.
Video recording: sittings can be downloaded in full from the Multimedia page, while clips can be edited and downloaded via this online tool.
Photos: photos from session week can be downloaded from the Council of Europe media library or via the Assembly’s Flickr account.
* Throughout this text, all reference to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population, shall be understood in full compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.
