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Democracy Here | Democracy Now - reaching out to young people, including in times of crisis
A campaign to revitalise democracy through youth participation Democracy Here | Democracy Now has been launched today at an event organised by the Council of Europe’s Youth Sector, with the support of the Italian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers. Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General...
As Venice Commission adopts opinions on key constitutional issues, it voices “firm condemnation” against Russian aggression
During its first plenary session of the year, held on 18 and 19 March, the Council of Europe's Venice Commission announced “firm condemnation” against Russian aggression and deplored “the loss of lives and the destruction in Ukraine”. The constitutional experts furthermore fully supported the...
Venice Commission plenary session underway
The first plenary session of the year for the Venice Commission is underway. Expected to be adopted, among other texts, are opinions on Armenian draft laws concerning amendments to the Judicial Code and the Law on the Constitutional Court; the drafting of a new Constitution in Chile; a draft law...
Committee of Ministers suspends relations with the Belarusian authorities
The Committee of Ministers has decided to suspend all relations with Belarus as a result of the country's active participation in the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. In its decision, the Committee of Ministers suspends the rights of Belarus to participate in all meetings and...
European governments must ensure Holocaust Remembrance and education to combat anti-semitism
Council of Europe Recommendation aims to prevent future crimes against humanity
Council of Europe calls on states to support quality journalism: new guidelines
The Council of Europe has adopted a Recommendation calling on its 46 member States to create a favourable environment for quality journalism to thrive and to play its essential role in democracy. The recommendation contains a set of legal, administrative and practical guidelines aimed at ensuring...
Human trafficking experts: States must urgently protect refugees fleeing Ukraine
The Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) has warned of the dangers of people fleeing the armed conflict in Ukraine falling victim to human trafficking and exploitation, amid the fastest-growing refugee flow in Europe since World War Two....
Congress 42nd Session: situation in Ukraine; local democracy in Germany, Luxembourg, Turkey and the UK; fake news, threats and violence against mayors in the current crises in Europe
The 42nd Session of the Congress will take place from 22-24 March. A debate on the situation in Ukraine will take place on Tuesday afternoon, March 22nd. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been invited to address the Congress by video conference and the Congress will adopt an...
The Russian Federation is excluded from the Council of Europe
In an extraordinary meeting this morning, the Committee of Ministers decided, in the context of the procedure launched under Article 8 of the Statute of the Council of Europe, that the Russian Federation ceases to be a member of the Council of Europe as from today, after 26 years of membership....
The Russian Federation can no longer be a member State of the Council of Europe, PACE says
The Russian Federation “committed grave violations of the Council of Europe Statute incompatible with the status of a member State, does not bear its undertakings before the Council of Europe and does not comply with the commitments before it”. Therefore, the Council of Europe Parliamentary...
Council of Europe leaders make joint statement on the exclusion of the Russian Federation from the Council of Europe
The Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Chair of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers, Luigi Di Maio, the President of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, Tiny Kox, and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović...
Congress President strongly condemns abduction of Mayors and pressure on local and regional authorities in Ukraine
The President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Leendert Verbeek, made the following statement regarding the war in Ukraine: “I strongly condemn the abduction of the mayors of Melitopol and Dniprorudne, Zaporizhya oblast and the pressure on local elected...
“Council of Europe has been at the forefront to ensure a prompt, cohesive and strong reaction”, says Della Vedova at PACE
“The Council of Europe, the depositary and guardian of the fundamental principles of coexistence, respect for human rights, the promotion of democracy and the rule of law, has been at the forefront to ensure a prompt, cohesive and strong reaction”, highlighted Italian Under-Secretary of Foreign...
Secretary General condemns the Russian Federation’s aggression, calls for solidarity with Ukraine
Addressing the extraordinary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić spoke about the organisation’s response to the ongoingRussian aggression in Ukraine. “Since the decision to suspend Russia’s representation was taken on 25...
Ukrainian Prime Minister demands that Russia be immediately ousted from the Council of Europe
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, addressing an extraordinary session of PACE by video-link, has demanded that the Russian Federation be immediately ousted from the Council of Europe. “The right to life is one of the key fundamental rights – and today, at the centre of Europe, this right is...
Psychological first aid for Ukrainian people
The Pompidou Group, together with leading European psycho-trauma experts, has developed recommendations on how people can better interact and communicate with persons who have experienced a crisis or difficult life event. The recommendations were developed at the request of the Ukrainian Ministry...
Italian Presidency: high-level event in Rome to promote equality and combat discrimination
The promotion of equality, the fight against discrimination and the protection of vulnerable groups are the focus of a high-level event of the Italian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers (Rome, March 17th European Parliament Liaison Office & online), in the framework of the 5th meeting of...
Council of Europe to discuss potential further measures against Russia
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers today decided to consult the Parliamentary Assembly on potential further use of Article 8 of the Organisation’s Statute (*) in response to the serious violations by the Russian Federation of its statutory obligations as a member State. The Committee...
Implementing ECHR judgments: latest decisions from the Committee of Ministers
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has published the case-by-case decisions taken by the Committee during its meeting from 8 to 9 March to supervise the implementation of judgments and decisions from the European Court of Human Rights. The Committee adopted 37 decisions concerning 19...
Anti-torture committee: police ill-treatment in Serbia remains a serious problem, but some progress observed in prisons
The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published a report (see also in Serbian) on its periodic visit to Serbia from 9 to 19 March 2021 together with the response from the authorities (see also in Serbian). While...
