Newsroom
Violence against women: Thorbjørn Jagland welcomes EU decision to sign the Istanbul Convention
The Secretary General of the 47-nation Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, has warmly welcomed today’s decisions by the EU Council that the European Union as a whole should sign up to the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on violence against women and domestic violence. “Violence against...
Combating Anti-Semitic Hate Speech
On the 10th of May an open seminar on combating Anti-Semitic Hate speech was held in Strasbourg at the European Youth Centre under the No Hate Speech Movement of the Council of Europe. During this session representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, campaign partners,...
Tonga joins the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime
The Kingdom of Tonga has today acceded to the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime to become the 55th Party to this treaty which allows for effective international co-operation on cybercrime and electronic evidence. “Tonga’s accession to the Budapest Convention is further evidence of the global...
Eurimages films out in strength at Cannes
The 70th edition of the Cannes Film Festival now includes no less than 12 films supported by Eurimages, five of which are selected in official competition: NELYUBOV (LOVELESS) by Andrey Zvyagintsev (RU, FR, DE, BE); A GENTLE CREATURE by Sergei Loznitsa (FR, DE, NL, LT); HAPPY END by Michael...
Protection of national minority rights inconsistent in Austria, say Council of Europe experts
An opinion published today by the Council of Europe’s Advisory Committee to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) says that little has changed since 2012. Although bilingualism has become more accepted and equal access to education for minority language...
Statement of the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers on the Occasion of the Day of Europe
In 1964, the Committee of Ministers took the decision to celebrate the Day of Europe, that is the establishment of the Council of Europe, on May 5th. The Council of Europe was created in the aftermath of the Second World War, in the context of a new European structure, contemplated to bring...
Combatting illicit trafficking and destruction of cultural property: Council of Europe adopts new convention
The Council of Europe today adopted a new criminal law convention to prevent and combat the illicit trafficking and destruction of cultural property, in the framework of the Organisation’s action to fight terrorism and organised crime. The Convention on Offences relating to Cultural Property,...
Youth Peace Camp 2017
Some 70 young people from conflict-affected regions are taking part in a Youth Peace Camp event from 30 April to 7 May; they come from Kosovo*; Ukraine (especially from border regions and Luhansk and Donetsk), and from the South Caucasus. In the framework of the Cypriot Chairmanship of the...
Public service broadcasting under threat in Europe
“Well-funded and strong public service media are a good indicator that a democracy is healthy – this is the result of a study published last year by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).” says Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, in his latest Human Rights Comment...
PACE Bureau declares ‘no confidence’ in Pedro Agramunt as President
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...
Parliamentary Assembly calls on Hungary to stop work on NGO funding and university laws
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has called on Hungary to suspend the parliamentary debate on the draft law on the “Transparency of Organisations receiving Foreign Funding” and the implementation of the Act amending the National Higher Education Act, pending the opinion...
His Majesty the King of Spain: "Europe remains an inspiring project"
“In the globalised world of the 21st century, Europe must remain the standard-bearer for freedom and integration. If we stay true to these values, Europe as a civilisation zone will continue to be a source of inspiration for other regions throughout the planet. However, if we give up these...
Prokopios Pavlopoulos: representative democracy, the most effective system in protecting human rights
Representative democracy is a system of governance that is the most effective in protecting human rights, said Prokopios Pavlopoulos, President of the Hellenic Republic, addressing the Parliamentary Assembly. The organisation of representative democracy is linked to the institutional checks and...
PACE commends CPT on its ‘outstanding work’ and makes proposals for reinforcing its impact
PACE today congratulated the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) for its “outstanding work” over the past 25 years, which has led to significant improvements in the States Parties. The parliamentarians also emphasised that notable progress has been made in terms of “improving...
A critical turning point, not business as usual, for human rights in Europe
“2016 will likely be remembered as a critical turning point for human rights in Europe” said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muižnieks today while presenting his annual activity report for 2016. “We will either see it as a low point from which European countries,...
Parliamentary Assembly creates independent external investigation body to look into allegations of corruption
The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) today ratified the terms of reference of an independent external investigation body to carry out a detailed independent inquiry into the allegations of “corruption and fostering of interests” made against certain PACE members or former members....
Secretary General Jagland says PACE must be seen to act with “One hundred per cent integrity”
Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland replied to questions from PACE members in a question and answer session during the Assembly’s Spring part-session. During this exchange, parliamentarians asked Mr Jagland what he could do concerning allegations of corruption inside the PACE....
Parliamentary Assembly reopens monitoring procedure in respect of Turkey
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) decided today to reopen the monitoring procedure in respect of Turkey until “serious concerns” about respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law “are addressed in a satisfactory manner”. The resolution adopted calls on the...
Ioannis Kasoulides: the Committee of Ministers and the Assembly must continue to concert their efforts
“It is important that the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly, as well as the Secretary General, continue to concert their efforts to face up to the numerous challenges confronting Europe today,” said Ioannis Kasoulides, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Cyprus and Chair of the...
Secretary General meets Hungarian Justice Minister
Hungarian Minister of Justice László Trócsányi today attended the swearing-in of Péter Paczolay, the new Hungarian judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. After the ceremony, Mr Trócsányi met with Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland. They discussed current...
