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Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe | |
|---|---|
 Logo | |
| History | |
| Founded | 10 August 1949; 76 years ago (10 August 1949) |
| Leadership | |
President | |
Secretary General | |
| Seats | 306 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Palace of Europe,Strasbourg, France | |
| Website | |
| pace | |
TheParliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is theparliamentary arm of theCouncil of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
The Assembly is made up of 306 members drawn from the national parliaments of the Council of Europe's member states, and meets four times a year for week-long plenary sessions inStrasbourg.
It is one of the two statutory bodies of the Council of Europe, along with theCommittee of Ministers, the executive body representing governments, with which it holds an ongoing dialogue.[4] However, it is the Assembly which is usually regarded as the "motor" of the organisation, holding governments to account onhuman rights issues, pressing states to maintain democratic standards, proposing fresh ideas and generating the momentum for reform.
The Assembly held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, embodying at that time the hopes of many Europeans who, in theaftermath of World War II, saw European unity as the best way of preventing a return to the devastation of war, a "safety net" to prevent gross human rights violations such as the horrors ofthe Holocaust, and a democratic bulwark againsttyranny.
Among the Assembly's main achievements are:
Unlike theEuropean Parliament (an institution of theEuropean Union), the Assembly does not have the power to create binding laws. However, it speaks on behalf of 700 million Europeans and has the power to:
Important statutory functions of PACE are the election of the judges of theEuropean Court of Human Rights, from a list of three candidates submitted by governments, as well as the leading officials of the Council of Europe.
In general the Assembly meets four times per year inStrasbourg at thePalace of Europe for week-long plenary sessions. The nine permanent committees of the Assembly meet all year long to prepare reports and draft resolutions in their respective fields of expertise.
The Assembly sets its own agenda, but its debates and reports are primarily focused on theCouncil of Europe's three core statutory aims, defendinghuman rights, promotingdemocracy and upholding therule of law.
Judges of theEuropean Court of Human Rights are elected by PACE from a list of three candidates nominated by each member state which has ratified theEuropean Convention on Human Rights. A 20-member committee made up of parliamentarians with legal experience – meetingin camera – interviews all candidates for judge on the Court and assesses their CVs before making recommendations to the full Assembly, which elects one judge from each shortlist in a secret vote.[4] Judges are elected for a period of nine years and may not be re-elected.
Although the European Convention does not, in itself, require member states to present a multi-sex shortlist of potential appointees, in a 2004 resolution PACE decided that it "will not consider lists of candidates where the list does not include at least one candidate of each sex" unless there are exceptional circumstances.[5] As a result, around one-third of the current bench of46 judges are women, making the Court a leader among international courts on gender balance.
At its very first meeting, in the summer of 1949, the Parliamentary Assembly adopted the essential blueprint of what became theEuropean Convention on Human Rights, selecting which rights should be protected and defining the outline of the judicial mechanism to enforce them. Its detailed proposal, with some changes, was eventually adopted by theCouncil of Europe's ministerial body, and entered into force in 1953. Today, seventy years later, theEuropean Court of Human Rights – given shape and form during the Assembly'shistoric post-war debates – is regarded as a global standard-bearer for justice, protecting the rights of citizens in 46 European nations and beyond, and paving the way for the gradual convergence of human rights laws and practice across the continent. The Assembly continues to elect the judges of the Court.
The Assembly was at the origin of both theFlag of Europe, the twelve yellow stars on a blue background, and theAnthem of Europe, an arrangement ofLudwig van Beethoven'sOde to Joy. Having been proposed by the Assembly, both were adopted firstly by theCouncil of Europe, and - several years later - by theEuropean Union. Both are now known worldwide as symbols ofEurope.
Various proposals for a flag were submitted to the Council of Europe in the early 1950s[6] and on 25 September 1953 the Assembly officially adopted a version with fifteen stars,[7] which represented the number ofCouncil of Europe member states at the time. However "a difficulty arose" in the Council of Europe's ministerial body over the number of stars[8] afterWest Germany objected that one was for the Saarland region, which was then under French control and did not rejoin Germany until 1957. It would have agreed to fourteen stars, but this was in turn unacceptable to France. Two years later, after further consultations, the twelve-star version was unanimously approved by both bodies of the Council of Europe, with twelve being regarded as a symbol of perfection, and no longer related to the number of states in the organisation.[9] The institutions of the European Union began using the flag in 1986.
Propositions for an anthem for Europe began almost as soon as theCouncil of Europe was created in 1949.[10] "Ode to Joy" had been suggested in the 1920s by the great pioneer of European unity,Count Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi, and in a 1955letter to the Council of Europe he proposed it again. However it was not until the early 1970s that the question was taken up by the Assembly's Committee on Regional Planning and Local Authorities. The parliamentarians saw an anthem as the next logical step, after the creation of the European flag in 1955 and Europe Day in 1964, to "spread the European idea" and - afterinitial discussion of a possible Europe-wide competition - the committee decided that a piece of music without words would overcome the problem of multiple languages in Europe. The committeeagreed Beethoven was "justly regarded as one of the great European geniuses", and that his tune "had universal value". In a resolution adopted on 8 July 1971,[11] the Assembly formally proposed "Ode to Joy" as the European anthem. The proposal found favour with the Council of Europe'sCommittee of Ministers, which formally adopted the anthem in 1972. It was subsequently taken up by the EU in 1985.[12]
In 1973 Swedish PACE member Astrid Bergegren first put forward a motion inviting member states to abolish the death penalty.[13] Momentum built in the following years, and by 1980 the Assembly was calling on Europe's parliaments to abolish it,[14] and insisting that the "right to life" included in theEuropean Convention on Human Rights implied a ban on state killing.[15] In 1989 the Assembly took the decision to make ending executions a condition of Council of Europe membership - just before a wave of central and eastern European nations joined the organisation. Today, the death penalty has been abolished in law in all 46 member states in peacetime, though some continue to allow it in time of war. Though rare calls are occasionally heard for its reintroduction,[16] abolition continent-wide is now regarded as a major achievement of the Council of Europe as a whole, and it now joins others in pressing for abolition worldwide.
Over the decades, the Assembly has been at the forefront of supporting democratic change in successive waves of European nations at key moments in their history, negotiating their entry into the Council of Europe "club of democracies" (as the Assembly has a veto on any new member joining the organisation, it has used this power to negotiate with applicant countries the conditions on which they join). In the 1950s it led the way in embracing recently defeated Germany, in the 1960s it took a strong stand during the Greek crisis, and in the 1970s it welcomed post-Franco Spain and Portugal into the democratic fold. Above all, it played a key role after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, creating a path towards membership for former Communist countries with its "Special Guest status", paving the way for the historic reconciliation of European nations under one roof.
In two reports for the Assembly in 2006 and 2007, Swiss Senator and former ProsecutorDick Marty revealed convincing evidence[17] that terror suspects were being transported to, held and tortured in CIA-run "secret prisons" on European soil. The evidence in his first report[18] in 2006 – gathered with the help of investigative journalists and plane-spotters among others – suggested that a number of Council of Europe member states had permitted CIA "rendition flights" across their airspace, enabling the secret transfer of terror suspects without any legal rights. In a second report[19] in 2007, Marty showed how two member states – Poland and Romania – had allowed "secret prisons" to be established on their territory, where torture took place. His main conclusions – subsequently confirmed in a series of rulings by theEuropean Court of Human Rights, as well as a comprehensive US Senate report – threw the first real light on a dark chapter in US and European history in the aftermath of the11 September attacks, kicked off a series of national probes, and helped to make torture on European soil less likely.
In April 2014, after the Russian parliament's backing for the annexation of Crimea andRusso-Ukrainian War, the Assembly decided to suspend the Russian delegation's voting rights as well as the right of Russian members to be represented in the Assembly's leading bodies and to participate in election observation missions. However, the Russian delegation remained members of the Assembly. The sanction applied throughout the remainder of the 2014 session and was renewed for a full year in January 2015, lapsing in January 2016. The sanction applied only to Russian parliamentarians in PACE, the Council of Europe's parliamentary body, and Russia continued to be a full member of the organisation as a whole.
In response, the Russian parliamentary delegation suspended its co-operation with PACE in June 2014, and in January 2016 – despite the lapsing of the sanctions – the Russian parliament decided not to submit its delegation's credentials for ratification, effectively leaving its seats empty. It did so again in January 2017, January 2018 and January 2019.
On 25 June 2019, after an eight-hour debate which ended in the small hours, the Assembly voted to change its rules,[20] to make clear that its members should always have the right "to vote, to speak and to be represented", acceding to a key Russian demand and paving the way for the return of a Russian parliamentary delegation. Within hours the Russian parliament had presented the credentials of a new delegation,[21] which – despite being challenged – were approved without any sanction by a vote of 116 in favour, 62 against and 15 abstentions.[22][23] As a result, the Russian delegation which includedPyotr Olegovich Tolstoy as its head, returned to PACE with its full rights after a gap of five years. In response, the Ukrainian delegation protested before the Assembly, and announced Ukraine would leave the institution. Ukraine returned to PACE in January 2020.[24]
On 25 February 2022 - the day after Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 - Russia's membership in the Council of Europe was suspended by the Council of Europe's ministerial body, having consulted the Assembly earlier on the same day. Suspension does not have the same legal status as full expulsion.
On 15 March, following an all-day debate at an Extraordinary Session, the Parliamentary Assembly adopted a resolution calling on theCouncil of Europe's ministerial body to go further and to "immediately" expel Russia from the Council because of its aggression against Ukraine. It is the first time in its history that the Assembly has made such a call.
As the debate was drawing to a close, the Russian authorities submitted a formal letter announcing that it was withdrawing from the Council; however, as the expulsion procedure had already begun, this was no longer legally possible. The Assembly's debate continued and - in a unanimous vote of 216 in favour, 0 against and 3 abstentions - the Assembly called for Russia's full expulsion.[25] The following day, 16 March, at an extraordinary meeting, theCommittee of Ministers of the Council of Europe acceded to the Assembly's request, and decided that Russia should cease to be a member from that same day, after 26 years as a member state.
In the months since, the Assembly has on several occasions debated the consequences of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, including the legal consequences, and the practical support it can give to Ukraine. In October 2022, for example, it adopted a resolution declaring the Russian regime a "terrorist" one,[26] while in January 2023 it unanimously demanded the setting up of an international criminal tribunal in The Hague to prosecute Russian and Belarusian political and military leaders who "planned, prepared, initiated or executed" the war. In June 2023, as theInternational Olympic Committee signalled it was considering allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to take part in the Paris 2024 Olympics as "neutral individuals", the Assembly urged the continuation of a total ban.
The European Parliament has had criticism over its prodigality and for being too complacent with conflicts of interest.[27][28][29] Its refusal to become full member of theGRECO like all its member states is also a matter of criticism.[28] In 2013,The New York Times reported that "some council members, notably Central Asian states and Russia, have tried to influence the organisation's parliamentary assembly with lavish gifts and trips".[30] According to the report, said member states also hire lobbyists to fend off criticism of their human rights records.[31]
PACE members have been implicated in corruption scandals relating to the Qatari and Azerbaijani governments. Qatargate is an ongoing scandal, involving allegations that PACE officials, lobbyists and their families have been influenced by the governments ofQatar,Morocco andMauritania, engaging in corruption, money laundering, and organized crime.[32]
Multiple PACE officials have been implicated in amoney-laundering scheme organized by the Azerbaijani government.[33][34][35] In exchange for (A) whiteashing Azerbaijan's poor human rights record and (B) lobbying for Azerbaijan in theNagorno-Karabakh conflict, European politicians were paid off andreceived lavish gifts and paid trips.[36][37][38][39][40] In 2018, an independent investigation found "strong suspicions of corruptive conduct involving members of the Assembly" and named a multiple members as having breached the Assembly's Code of Conduct.[41][35] Following a series of hearings, it sanctioned many of the members or former members mentioned in the Investigative Body's report, either by depriving them of certain rights,[42] or by excluding them from the Assembly's premises for life.[43] Following theflight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians in 2023, PACE adopted a motion which stated that "it regrets the fact that Members of the European Parliament have accepted and failed to declare trips to Azerbaijan, visits to the Nagorno-Karabakh region and luxury hotel stays that were organised and paid for by Azerbaijani officials."[44]
In October 2013, following amotion by theCommittee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development a year prior, the Assembly passed a resolution and an accompanying recommendation on children's right to physical integrity.[45][46][47] These documents argued that while PACE had addressed forms of child abuse such as sexual violence and domestic violence, it was also necessary to address what they called "non-medically justified violations of children's physical integrity which may have a long-lasting impact on their lives". They called for a ban on the most harmful practices, such as female genital mutilation, while also calling for increased dialogue on other procedures they viewed as harmful, such as infant male circumcision, intersex medical interventions, and body piercings.
While none of the above documents called for an outright ban on male circumcision, they did call for the procedure to be regulated and debated, and an accompanying report referred to the practice as a "human rights violation".[48] This condemnation received criticism from religious groups and figures, such asShimon Peres, the president ofIsrael at the time, as well as theAnti-Defamation League, which argued that circumcision was an accepted medical procedure and that the resolution interfered with religious freedom and was anti-Semitic.[49][50][51] In response to these criticisms, Liliane Maury Pasquier of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development wrote an op-ed inThe Washington Post arguing that medical evidence against circumcision was presented in the Assembly's hearings and that the child's right to physical integrity overrode the parents' right to religious freedom.[52] This op-ed was further criticized by the Anti-Defamation League.[53]
In 2015, PACE passed a resolution on religious freedom and tolerance that referenced its previous resolution on circumcision and reiterated its view that the procedure should only be performed under appropriate medical conditions.[54] Though some outlets reported that PACE had retracted its anti-circumcision stance,[55] PACE clarified that it had neither cancelled nor replaced the old resolution and that they had never called for infant circumcision to be banned in the first place.[56]
Although the Council of Europe is a human rights watchdog and a guardian against discrimination, it is widely regarded as becoming increasingly divided on moral issues because its membership includes mainly Muslim countries (Turkey and Azerbaijan) as well as Eastern European countries, among them Russia, where social conservatism is strong.[57] In 2007, this became evident when the Parliamentary Assembly voted on a report compiled byAnne Brasseur of theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party on the rise of Christiancreationism, bolstered by right-wing and populist parties in Eastern Europe.[57]
In 2018, an online archive of all speeches made to the Parliamentary Assembly by heads of state or government since its creation in 1949 appeared on the Assembly's website, the fruit of the two-year project entitled "Voices of Europe".[58] At the time of its launch, the archive comprised 263 speeches delivered over a 70-year period by some 216 Presidents, Prime Ministers, monarchs and religious leaders from 45 countries, but it continues to expand, as new speeches are added every few months.
Some very early speeches by individuals considered to be "founding figures" of the European institutions, even if they were not heads of state or government at the time, are also included (such as those byWinston Churchill andRobert Schuman). Addresses by eight monarchs appear in the list (such as KingJuan Carlos I of Spain, KingAlbert II of Belgium and Grand DukeHenri of Luxembourg) as well as the speeches given by religious figures (such asPope John Paul II) and several leaders from countries in the Middle East and North Africa (such asShimon Peres,Yasser Arafat,Hosni Mubarak,Léopold Sédar Senghor or KingHussein of Jordan).
The full text of the speeches is given in both English and French,[59] regardless of the original language used. The archive is searchable by country, by name, and chronologically.
The official languages of the Council of Europe areEnglish andFrench, but the Assembly also usesGerman andItalian as working languages.[60] Each parliamentarian has separate earphones and a desk on which they are able to select the language which they would like to listen to. When foreign guests wish to address the Assembly in languages other than its working languages, they are invited to bring their own interpreters.
The Assembly has a total of 612 members in total – 306 principal members and 306 substitutes[61] – who are appointed or elected by the parliaments of eachmember state. Delegations must reflect the balance in the national parliament, so contain members of both ruling parties and oppositions. The population of each country determines its number of representatives and number of votes. This is in contrast to theCommittee of Ministers, the Council of Europe's executive body, where each country has one vote. While not full members, the parliaments ofKyrgyzstan,Jordan,Morocco andPalestine hold "Partner for Democracy" status with the Assembly – which allows their delegations to take part in the Assembly's work, but without the right to vote – and there are also observer delegates from theCanadian,Israeli andMexican parliaments.
The costs of participation in the Assembly – mainly travel and accommodation expenses – are borne by the national parliament of the delegation concerned. The few members who are appointed as rapporteurs, when they are carrying out work for the Assembly, have their costs covered by the Council of Europe.
Some notable former members of PACE include:
| Delegation | Seats | Accession |
|---|---|---|
 Albania | 4 | 1995 |
 Andorra | 2 | 1994 |
 Armenia | 4 | 2001 |
 Austria | 6 | 1956 |
 Azerbaijan | 6 | 2001 |
 Belgium | 7 | 1949 |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina | 5 | 2002 |
 Bulgaria | 6 | 1992 |
 Croatia | 5 | 1996 |
 Cyprus | 3 | 1961–1964, 1984 |
 Czech Republic | 7 | 1991[a] |
 Denmark | 5 | 1949 |
 Estonia | 3 | 1993 |
 Finland | 5 | 1989 |
 France | 18 | 1949 |
 Germany | 18 | 1951 |
 Greece | 7 | 1949–1969, 1974[b] |
 Hungary | 7 | 1990 |
 Iceland | 3 | 1959 |
 Ireland | 4 | 1949 |
 Italy | 18 | 1949 |
 Latvia | 3 | 1995 |
 Liechtenstein | 2 | 1978 |
 Lithuania | 4 | 1993 |
 Luxembourg | 3 | 1949 |
 Malta | 3 | 1965 |
 Moldova | 5 | 1995 |
 Monaco | 2 | 2004 |
 Montenegro | 3 | 2007[c] |
 Netherlands | 7 | 1949 |
 North Macedonia | 3 | 1995 |
 Norway | 5 | 1949 |
 Poland | 12 | 1991 |
 Portugal | 7 | 1976 |
 Romania | 10 | 1993 |
 San Marino | 2 | 1988 |
 Serbia | 7 | 2003 |
 Slovakia | 5 | 1993[d] |
 Slovenia | 3 | 1993 |
 Spain | 12 | 1977 |
 Sweden | 6 | 1949 |
 Switzerland | 6 | 1963 |
 Turkey | 18 | 1949 |
 Ukraine | 12 | 1995 |
 United Kingdom | 18 | 1949 |
The special guest status of theNational Assembly of Belarus was suspended on 13 January 1997.
TheRussian Federation ceased to be a member of the Council of Europe on 16 March 2022.[66]
In January 2024, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe resolved to not ratify the credentials of the Azerbaijani delegation, thereby preventing the Azerbaijani delegates from participating in the work of the Assembly.[67]
On 30 January 2025, Georgia’s delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has announced the immediate cessation of its participation in the assembly, after the plenary voted to impose strict conditions for the ratification of the delegation’s credentials.[68]
Parliaments with Partner for Democracy status, pledge to work towards certain basic values of the Council of Europe, and agree to occasional assessments of their progress. In return, they are able to send delegations to take part in the work of the Assembly and its committees, but without the right to vote.
| Delegation | Seats | Population | Population per member | Year Partner for Democracy status granted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jordan | 3 | 10,954,200 | 3,651,400 | 2016[69] |
 Kyrgyzstan | 3 | 6,586,600 | 1,097,767 | 2014[70] |
 Morocco | 6 | 36,261,700 | 6,043,617 | 2011 |
 Palestine | 3 | 5,227,193[71] | 1,742,398 | 2011[72] |
| Delegation | Seats | Population | Population per member | Year observer status granted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Canada | 6 | 35,151,728[73] | 5,858,621 | 1996[74] |
 Israel | 3 | 9,350,580[75] | 3,116,860 | 1957[76] |
 Mexico | 6 | 126,014,024[77] | 21,002,337 | 1999 |
TheAssembly of Kosovo has been invited to designate a delegation to take part in the work of the Assembly and its committees as observers without the right to vote. On 24 April 2023, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe approved Kosovo's application for membership, allowing the application to progress to the Parliamentary Assembly.[78][79] On 16 April 2024, the Parliamentary Assembly voted in favour of Kosovo's membership, with 131 votes in favour, 29 against, and 11 abstentions.[80]
| Delegation | Seats | Population | Population per member | Year invited |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kosovo | 3[81] | 1,806,279[82] | 602,093 | 2016[83] |
Two representatives of theTurkish Cypriot community have been invited to participate in the deliberations of the assembly as observers without the right to vote.
| Participants | Seats | Population | Population per member | Year invited |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Turkish Cypriot Community[84] | 2 | 382,836[85] | 191,418 | 2004[86][87][88][89] |
The Assembly has six political groups.[90]
37 159 86 136 115 42 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Group | Chairman | Seats |
| Socialists, Democrats and Greens Group (SOC) | Frank Schwabe (Germany) | 159 / 575 |
| Group of the European People's Party (EPP/CD) | Pablo Hispán (Spain) | 136 / 575 |
| European Conservatives, Patriots & Affiliates (ECPA) | Zsolt Németh (Hungary) | 115 / 575 |
| Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) | Iulian Bulai (Romania) | 86 / 575 |
| Group of the Unified European Left (UEL) | Laura Castel (Spain) Andrej Hunko (Germany) | 37 / 575 |
| Members not belonging to a Political Group (NR) | 42 / 575 | |
The Presidents of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe have been:
In January 2021, the Assembly electedDespina Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis as Secretary General of the Assembly, serving a five-year term beginning in March 2021.
She heads an 80-strong multi-national secretariat based in Strasbourg, and is the first woman to hold the post since the Assembly's creation in 1949, as well as the first person of Greek nationality.
