The Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), meeting in Strasbourg today, resolved that it has no confidence in Pedro Agramunt as President of the Assembly.
It further resolved that Mr Agramunt is not authorised to undertake any official visits, attend any meetings or make any public statements on behalf of the Assembly in his capacity as President.
“The President chose not to attend the Bureau today, and has not presented a letter of resignation. As a result, and in the context of the current Rules of Procedure under which the President cannot be compelled to resign, the Bureau felt it necessary to take these steps,” said Sir Roger Gale (United Kingdom, EC), Senior Vice-President of the Assembly, chairing the Bureau meeting.
“The standards and principles of the Parliamentary Assembly are more important than any individual member, and the integrity of our Assembly must be upheld,” he added.
* The Bureau is responsible for the co-ordination of the activities of the Assembly and of its committees. It assists the President in his or her functions and guides the Assembly’s external relations. It takes decisions on the organisation of part-sessions and plenary sittings. It consists of the President, the twenty Vice-Presidents of the Assembly, the heads of the political groups and the chairpersons of the Assembly’s general committees.
