Newsroom
Banning display of Russian army symbols in Republic of Moldova is “legitimate” says Venice Commission, among other opinions
Opinions published by the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission include one on banning, in the Republic of Moldova, the display of symbols used by Russia’s army during its aggression against Ukraine. The legal and constitutional experts determined that a measure adopted by the Moldovan Parliament...
17th Conference of Ministers for Sport in Antalya (Türkiye): focus on Sport for All and Rethinking Sport
Sport for All and Rethinking Sport were the two central themes of the 17th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport (26 October) in Antalya (Türkiye), organised by the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) in co-operation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the...
Congress to hold a debate with Kyiv Mayor Klitschko and Ukrainian Minister Chernyshov
At the opening of the 43rd Session, the members of Congress adopted the final agenda of the session and confirmed the holding of a debate today at 2 pm CET on the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine with the participation (online) of Oleksiy Chernyshov, Minister of Community and Territorial...
Montenegro must strengthen public trust in preventing and fighting corruption at the top executive level and in the police
In a new report evaluating the effectiveness of the framework in place in Montenegro to prevent corruption amongst members of the government and other top executive functions and in the police, the Council of Europe's Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) calls for strong political measures...
Human Trafficking: Simulation of Victim’s Referral Process for Better Protection
The first large-scale regional simulation exercise to be organised by the Council of Europe in the framework of its joint programmes with the European Union and in partnership with the Government of Malta is taking place from 23-29 October in Valletta, Malta. It represents a unique approach to...
Dublin conference on “Human Rights in a Time of Change”
A conference held in Dublin under the auspices of the Irish Presidency of the Committee of Ministers has discussed “Human Rights in a Time of Change: Perspeectives from Ireland and from Strasbourg”. Speakers included the Chief Justice of Ireland, Donal O’Donnell, the Irish Minister for Children,...
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities: 43rd Session
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe will hold its 43rd Session from 25-27 October. The Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine; the application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark and Sweden, the observation...
Venice Commission plenary
The European Commission for Democracy through Law, better known as the Venice Commission is meeting on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 October for its third plenary session of the year, during which it is expected to adopt opinions on Andorra, Bulgaria, the Republic of Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine as...
New agreement between Council of Europe and UN Alliance of Civilizations
The Council of Europe and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations have signed a memorandum of understanding by which they commit to enhance their co-operation and develop joint activities in fields of common interest, such as the fight against all forms of intolerance and hate speech,...
Human trafficking experts urge Belgium to improve access to legal aid and compensation for victims
The Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) has urged Belgium to improve trafficking victims’ access to legal aid and to guarantee their effective access to compensation. These are among the main proposals for action included in GRETA’s latest...
Secretary General: standards must be strengthened to tackle legal threats and lawsuits aimed at limiting freedom of expression
Speaking at the opening of the first European Anti-SLAPP Conference on 20 October, Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić said that the use of legal threats and lawsuits to limit freedom of expression, usually referred to a strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), mostly...
North-South Prize: focus on safeguarding human rights in times of crisis
The 2021 North-South Prize has been awarded to the Covax Mechanism, major actor of global solidarity in the context of the Covid-19 health crisis, contributing to the protection of public health and the building of a more equitable world; and to Zarifa Ghafari, former Mayor of Maidan Shahr,...
ECHR launches online knowledge-sharing platform
Senior figures from the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights launched a new knowledge-sharing platform for the Court on Tuesday 18 October. The online tool, known as ECHR-KS, gives legal professionals, academics and the general public easy access to comprehensive and...
Anti-torture Committee on Bulgaria: inter-prisoner violence, health issues, poor material conditions, staff shortages
In its new report on its visit to Bulgaria in October 2021, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) welcomes rare occurrences of ill-treatment by staff, reduction of prison population and certain improvements in living conditions. However, it regrets the absence of...
European Anti-Trafficking Day: States must urgently tackle human trafficking for labour exploitation
Ahead of the European Anti-Trafficking Day (18 October) the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) has stressed the urgency of tackling the growing menace of trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation. Helga Gayer, President of GRETA,...
Russia’s so-called referendums in Ukraine ‘null and void’, says PACE
PACE has strongly condemned the attempted annexation of Ukrainian regions by Russia, describing the so-called referendums in these regions as “an affront to international law” and “null and void, with no legal or political effects”. The Assembly was debating a report by Emanuelis Zingeris...
The role of prosecutors in the protection of the environment
On 4 October 2022, the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors (CCPE) adopted its Opinion No. 17 (2022) on the role of prosecutors in environmental protection. The CCPE takes into account that the environmental crimes and related infringements increasingly become a source of global concern,...
Volodymyr Zelenskyy tells PACE: ‘Never yet in history was united Europe as strong as it is today’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) that dialogue between Europeans has had historically important results. “We see actions that have made Europe unprecedentedly stronger. Never yet in history was united Europe as strong as it is...
Secretary General underlines importance of a 4th Council of Europe Summit
In her dialogue with members of the Parliamentary Assembly, Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić underlined the strong support of the High Level Reflection Group for a fourth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe. The Summit would be an occasion for all Member...
Ireland’s Europe minister calls for Council of Europe summit in Reykjavik
Ireland’s Minister of State for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, has given his backing to a fourth summit of Council of Europe Heads of State and Government to take place in Reykjavik as part of Iceland’s forthcoming presidency of the organisation’s Committee of Ministers. Addressing the...
