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"Member States must fully implement Council of Europe standards"
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, addressing PACE today in the framework of Croatia’s Chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, underlined that all member States must unequivocally implement the Council’s shared standards. He expressed his support for ongoing measures...
Joint statement on the occasion of the “United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture”
"70 years on, torture is still widespread: more action needed to achieve a torture-free world for all"
Croatian Chairmanship plans put focus on fighting corruption
Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Marija Pejčinović Burić spelled out her country’s priorities for its six-month spell chairing the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers in a speech to the Parliamentary Assembly today. Presenting the work of the...
Liliane Maury Pasquier elected PACE President
Liliane Maury Pasquier (Switzerland, SOC) has been elected President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Succeeding Michele Nicoletti (Italy, SOC) – who resigned because he was not re-elected in Italy – she becomes PACE’s 32nd President and the second Swiss...
Is Russia making any progress in criminalising bribery and ensuring transparency of party funding? – GRECO’s assessment
The Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has published a new assessment of the implementation by Russia of its recommendations on incriminations and transparency of party funding. Twelve recommendations (as compared to 11 during the previous assessment) out of 21 have...
Summer Session: Croatian and Slovak Prime Ministers to address PACE
PACE is scheduled to elect its new President at its summer session in Strasbourg (25-29 June 2018). VIPs to address members include the Croatian and Slovak Prime Ministers as well as the Luxembourg Foreign Minister. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of...
Hungary: “Stop Soros” provision on illegal migration should be repealed as it seriously impairs legitimate NGO work, say Venice Commission legal experts
An opinion adopted today by the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission criticises a key provision on illegal migration of the so-called “Stop Soros” legislation that the Hungarian Parliament adopted this week. The new provision – Article 353A of the Criminal Code – introduces the offence of...
Poland: Council of Europe anti-corruption group criticises weakening independence of courts and judges
Following–up on preliminary findings of March 2018, the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has now re-assessed legislation passed in respect of Poland’s judiciary in 2017-18, including the new amendments to the laws on the National Council of the Judiciary, the Supreme...
Committee for the Prevention of Torture factsheet on transport of detainees
CPT delegations have periodically inspected vehicles intended for the transport of detainees, mainly by road and rail. They often found that conditions were substandard or that basic safety requirements were not being met. The Committee also detected practices which merited criticism (e.g....
Unrelenting rise in xenophobic populism, resentment, hate speech in Europe in 2017
Xenophobic populism and hate speech have continued to be on the rise in 2017, with high levels of migration and challenges of integration, religious extremism, terrorist attacks and the austerity-driven socio-economic climate observed all over Europe, says the annual report of the European...
