Secretary General 21/08/2012 Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland welcomes French meeting on Roma Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland Strasbourg, 21.08.2012 – “Wednesday’s meeting announced by the French government on Roma is a welcome step towards finding long-lasting solutions.   “The Council of Europe has consistently stressed the need to go beyond short-term measures. Simply moving Roma families around within or between states merely worsens their conditions.   “Only comprehensive policies that ensure fair treatment and proper access to human rights will turn the situation around. This means focused and consistent efforts in areas such...

Parliamentary Assembly 21/08/2012 PACE concerned about financial actions against Georgian Dream coalition Parliamentary Assembly Strasbourg, 21.08.2012 - The co-rapporteurs for Georgia of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Michael Aastrup Jensen (Denmark, ALDE) and Boriss Cilevičs (Latvia, SOC) today expressed their concern about the reports that the Georgian authorities have seized the bank accounts of the Georgian Dream opposition coalition, thereby undermining its participation in the election campaign for the parliamentary elections that will take place on 1 October 2012.   “The excessive and disproportionate fines levied by the State Audit...

Secretary General 17/08/2012 Jagland: Pussy Riot’s sentence harsh afp Strasbourg, 17/08/12 – Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland today expressed his profound disappointment at the verdict delivered by Moscow Khamovnichesky District Court against the Pussy Riot group (Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samusevich).   “Today three young women were condemned to a prison term of two years away from their children. Many would argue that the Pussy Riot group should have chosen a more appropriate place in which to express their opinions. Of course, freedom of expression, which includes the right to express dissenting...

Parliamentary Assembly 17/08/2012 Assembly rapporteurs welcome release of former Ukrainien Defence Minister Ivashchenko Strasbourg, 16.08.2012 – The co-rapporteurs for Ukraine of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Mailis Reps (Estonia, ALDE) and Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin (Sweden, EPP/CD) welcomed the release on Tuesday of Valeriy Ivaschenko, who was acting Defence Minister in the cabinet of former Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko. At the same time, they expressed their hope that his release would soon be followed by that of Juriy Lutsenko and Yulia Timoshenko whose ongoing detention is of concern to the Assembly. "Mr Ivashchenko’s release...

Group of States against Corruption 13/08/2012 GRECO calls for improved anti-bribery legislation and a more transparent political funding in Russia Strasbourg, 13.08.2012 – The Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption ( GRECO ) today called for the Russian Federation to increase its efforts to combat bribery and to achieve greater transparency in the sphere of political party and election campaign financing. In its report ( theme I / theme II ), GRECO warned that the existing legislation pertaining to political finances was overly complex, subject to frequent amendments and created the potential for divergent interpretation and application. The Group was...

Secretary General 10/08/2012 Texas execution: Death is not justice Strasbourg, 10/08/2012 - Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland today issued the following statement: "Use of the death penalty is abhorrent in all circumstances, particularly when applied to children, the elderly or people with mental illness. Such was the case of Marvin Wilson, executed by the Texas authorities this past Tuesday, in spite of a psychological examination that measured his intelligence quotient at just 61 - well within the threshhold of mental retardation. I condemn this execution, and am disappointed that the United States' Supreme Court did not intervene to stop it, despite...

Secretary General 10/08/2012 Belarus must return to dialogue       Strasbourg, 10.08.2012 - "President Lukashenko's decision last Friday to expel Sweden's ambassador to Belarus over his support for democracy and human rights in the country will not help to end Belarus' isolation from the rest of Europe. Moreover, the latest decision of the Belarus authorities to terminate the activities of Sweden's diplomats in Belarus will only disadvantage the people of Belarus, particularly students and the business community, whose contacts with European colleagues will become more difficult. Such a situation unfortunately shows the continued disregard of the authorities...

Venice Commission 09/08/2012 Council of Europe’s Venice Commission to issue opinion on Romania’s constitutional situation in October As the Council of Europe's advisory body on constitutional matters, the Venice Commission will publish an official opinion in October on constitutional principles and the rule of law in Romania. This opinion is being prepared in response to requests submitted last month by the Prime Minister of Romania and by the Council of Europe’s Secretary General.   In the latest development this week, in response to complaints from the Romanian constitutional court about attempts to intimidate judges, including through death threats, Venice Commission...

Anti-torture committee 09/08/2012 Anti-torture committee report on Netherlands issued today The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) today published the report on its most recent visit to the Netherlands. Among other positive news, it welcomed the trend towards a decrease in the prison population, which is in contrast to the situation in many other European countries – although it also noted that the number of female prisoners currently represents a large percentage of the prison population in the country. Recommendations and comments also were made on management of detained persons on...

Secretary General 08/08/2012 Secretary General condemns use of death penalty Thorbjørn Jagland Strasbourg, 08.08.2012 - Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland today condemned the executions of two death row inmates in Japan last week: “I urge Japan, as an observer State of the Council of Europe, to cease executions and join the growing number of countries that oppose the death penalty. Death is not justice,” Jagland said.   Japan and the Council of Europe

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities 03/08/2012 The Congress launches a new web platform for the European Local Democracy Week Congress President Keith Whitmore Strasbourg, 02.08.2012 - The European Local Democracy Week (ELDW) kicks off every year during the week of the 15 October, and is co - ordinated by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. The 2012 edition will take place from 15 to 21 October and will focus on “Human rights make for more inclusive communities”.   Local and regional authorities of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe are invited to take part and to organize events in their community, in order to...

Parliamentary Assembly 30/07/2012 PACE President calls on all players in Romanian politics to overcome their differences Jean-Claude Mignon Strasbourg, 30.07.2012 – The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Jean-Claude Mignon, today made the following statement after the referendum on dismissal of the President of Romania: "I note the results of the referendum. I now call on all players in Romanian politics to overcome their differences and agree to work together to meet the major challenges which lie ahead of Romania in the coming weeks and months, showing the mutual respect without which democracy would be just a set of formal rules. I...

Commissioner for Human Rights 24/07/2012 Anti-Muslim prejudice hinders integration Nils Muižnieks Strasbourg, 24/7/2012 - Muslims in Europe want to interact with other Europeans and participate as full and equal members of society, but regularly face various forms of prejudice, discrimination and violence that reinforce their social exclusion. This is the conclusion of recent research by various international organisations and NGOs. Unfortunately, commentators on the Arab Spring missed the historic opportunity to deconstruct harmful stereotypes about the alleged incompatibility of Islam and democracy, instead exaggerating the risk of migration to Europe, says Nils Muižnieks, Council of...

Parliamentary Assembly 20/07/2012 Romania: PACE calls on political forces to ensure that institutions function democratically Jean-Claude Mignon Strasbourg, 19.07.2012 – At the end of a fact-finding visit to Romania on 18 and 19 July 2012, a delegation consisting of the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Jean-Claude Mignon, together with Andreas Gross, Chairperson of the Socialist Group, and Anne Brasseur, Chairperson of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), today issued the following statement: “We are concerned at the haste with which profound political changes affecting the functioning of institutions in Romania...

Secretary General 19/07/2012 Secretary General condemns terrorist attack in Bulgaria Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland Strasbourg, 19/07/12 - Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland today strongly condemned the terrorist attack against Israeli tourists in the Bulgarian city of Burgas.   He extended his profound sympathies to the families and loved-ones of the victims and indeed to all those who suffered injuries in the attack. "Terrorism is murder with a pretext. It is a scourge of our time. History will always condemn it.", Jagland said. And he welcomed the expressed determination of the Bulgarian authorities to bring to justice those responsible for this...

MONEYVAL 17/07/2012 Council of Europe report calls on the Holy See to strengthen supervisory regime Strasbourg, 18.07.2012 – The Council of Europe’s Committee of experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) today published its first evaluation report of the Holy See (including Vatican City State) . The report is an evaluation of the implementation of international and European standards to combat money laundering and terrorist financing at the time of the November 2011 on-site visit, but takes into account developments up to 25 January 2012   The report assesses levels of compliance with the FATF 40+9...

Parliamentary Assembly 16/07/2012 Assembly delegation headed by President Jean-Claude Mignon visits Romania Jean-Claude Mignon Strasbourg, 13.07.2012 – A Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) delegation made up of its President, Jean-Claude Mignon, and two representatives of the Assembly’s political groups will make a fact-finding visit to Bucharest on 18 and 19 July 2012.   The first day of the visit the delegation will meet with the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Valeriu Ştefan Zgonea, and the President a.i. of the Senate, Petru Filip, as well as with the Prime Minister, Victor Ponta. It will also meet the members of the Romanian delegation to the...

Parliamentary Assembly 13/07/2012 FIFA kickbacks: Joseph Blatter has questions to answer, says Assembly rapporteur Strasbourg, 13.07.2012 – Reacting to the publication of Swiss court documents yesterday, François Rochebloine (France, EPP/CD), author of a recent report for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on good governance and ethics in sport, has made the following statement:   "At last, under pressure from the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly and others, FIFA has made public the details of a shocking scandal at the heart of world football: millions of Swiss Francs rightfully belonging to the sport went into the pockets of...

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities 12/07/2012 Rabat: Congress delegation meets members of Moroccan Parliament Moroccan Parliament Strasbourg, 12 July 2012 - At the invitation of the Moroccan Parliament, a Congress delegation carried out a visit, on 11 July 2012, in Rabat (Morocco) and held an exchange of views with members of both Chambers of the Moroccan Parliament. These discussions centered on the project of advanced regionalisation in Morocco and on the draft law which will reorganise Moroccan territories and which constitutes a major issue on the national agenda. In this context, the delegation also met with Karim Chellah, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mohammed...

Parliamentary Assembly 12/07/2012 "Deaths in the Mediterranean Sea: will they ever end?" Strasbourg, 11.07.2012 – “Yet again, a dinghy with 55 people on board drifted for 15 days on the Mediterranean. This time, only one person survived. When will this ever end?,” today asked Tineke Strik (Netherlands, SOC), rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on “Lives lost in the Mediterranean Sea: who is responsible?”. She expressed her great sadness and anger over the deaths of another 54 boat people fleeing Libya towards Italy.   “It is still not safe in Libya and the boats will continue to arrive. Europe...