Speeches January 2008
Monday 21 January 2008 at
Progress report of the bureau of the Assembly and the Standing
Committee
Mr KOX (
Observing
elections is one of the main tasks of the Parliamentary Assembly, and we should
never underestimate that. The task is not to criticise governments, parties and
politicians in public, but to improve democratic structures and democratic
rights of citizens in the whole of Europe and, if possible, even outside
We
have to say that both elections did not meet our criteria. As the report of Mr
Van den Brande said, they were free elections but not fair, and that is not
good enough. As Mr Mātyās Eörsi said, the performance of
As
I said, this Assembly’s duty is to observe elections and to come to
conclusions, and to make it clear that the conclusions reached on these two
elections is that they did not meet our criteria. As Mr Wilshire and Mr Hancock
said, the election of a President of this Assembly could use some improvement,
and free and fair elections would be the best solution – I am very much
in favour of that. But as long as the best solution is not possible, the second
best solution is, in effect, the best one. We reached a new agreement, signed
by the political leaders of five political groups, that all will be now equal,
and we have a new schedule. We could have had a Russian in the seat of the
presidency, but it is more important that we have now agreed that in future,
nationality can never be a reason not to have someone in the Chair of this
Assembly. It would be a shame if that happened once more.
Monday 21 January
2008 at 3 p.m
Address by Mr Fico, Prime Minister of
Mr KOX (
THE
PRESIDENT (Translation). – Thank you. I call you to reply, Prime
Minister.
Mr
FICO did not want to make any distinction between the different institutions of
the Council of Europe. Each played an irreplaceable role and this was why, in
meetings that very day, the
Furthermore,
the Assembly was playing a unique role in promoting and sustaining democracy
and the rule of law. In 1993 and 1994, the
Address by Mr Timmermans, Minister for European Affairs of the
Mrs STRIK (
According
to the United Nations, the current energy cuts will deepen the humanitarian
distress of the
Hamas
has won fair and free elections, whether we like it or not. Is the Dutch
Government prepared to involve Hamas as one of the relevant parties in the
peace process aimed at achieving a durable solution?
THE
PRESIDENT. – Thank you. I call Mr Timmermans.
Mr
TIMMERMANS. – Thank you for your question, Mrs Strik. The Dutch Foreign
Minister is in the region this week because this subject is very high on our
agenda. We fully support the declaration prepared by the EU presidency which
calls on all parties to exercise restraint in this escalating situation –
and we mean all parties, on all sides. We have not only seen what you have
talked about in
On
the second question that was raised, there is a clear precondition to be met before
we can start talking to Hamas. It has to stop using terrorism and to say so
clearly and to abide by that declaration. It has to refrain from its position
of saying that
Tuesday 22 January 2008 at
Developments as regards the future status of Kosovo
Mr LECOQ (
Ms KONEČNÁ (
The
solution of the status of Kosovo must be within the boundaries of international
law. We cannot impose agreements on a sovereign country. Kosovo is a part of
It
is startling that the proponents of separatism use and abuse the suggestion of
a renewal of violence and armed conflict in the Balkans region. That is sheer
blackmail, which cannot be tolerated in times in which we face the threat of
international terrorism. The reassurance that the separation of the
Paragraph
6 of the draft resolution, which says that “the potential for finding a
compromise has now been exhausted”, merely reiterates the opinion
presented by the European Council, and I find such a claim absolutely
unacceptable. It reflects the incompetence and reluctance of EU negotiators,
who were to mediate the agreement between Pristina and
Those
factors have led me to propose a resolution in my home parliament, which deals
with the integrity of Serbian territory. We in the Council of Europe should
refuse to act under pressure, and the final resolution should respect the two
following principles: first, that we have not exhausted all the possibilities
of finding a compromise; secondly, the principle stressed by the President of
the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, that the potential independence of the
province of Kosovo should be proceeded by the approval of all parties involved.
Tuesday 22 January 2008 at 3 p.m.
Statement by Mr Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of
Mr KOX (
THE
PRESIDENT (Translation). – Thank you, Mr Kox. You have the floor, Mr
Davis.
Mr
DAVIS. – I can tell the Assembly what I am doing. Whenever I visit member
countries, I always have meetings with senior people in government: sometimes,
the president, sometimes the prime minister or the foreign minister, it depends
on their constitution. Whenever such people come here, I have a meeting with
them. I was delighted to hear what the Prime Minister of Hungary, and the Prime
Minister and the Foreign Minister of Slovakia have had to say during the past
two days. I listened to their remarks with great interest, and I followed that
up in meetings that I had with them subsequently. I gave them a few ideas and
hints on the way in which they and their ambassadors could help, not only their
ambassadors here, but elsewhere, especially their ambassadors in
You
first of all asked for my suggestions based on my experience as a member of parliament
for 28 years with 12 years’ service in this Assembly. I respectfully
encourage you to do what I think you, Mr Kox, are already doing – as do a
number of other members of the Assembly – which is to raise issues in
your own parliament that involve the Council of Europe. For example, I have
been thrilled by the number of people from all parties in the
From
time to time, Members of Parliament and some members of the Assembly, perhaps
because they know me, send me information about the questions they have asked
or speeches they have made in the
Developments as regards the future status of Kosovo (resumed debate)
Mrs NAROCHNITSKAYA (
What
is Kosovo to
Our
colleague, Mr Milo, introduced himself as a former Foreign Minister of Albania
and he quoted Sir Edward Grey, the British Foreign Minister at the beginning of
the 20th century, whose works I know, as an historian, very well. I also know
well almost all the books of the patriarch of British Balkan studies,
Seton-Watson and the modern Oxford Slavist, Robert Burns. Our distinguished
colleague misinterpreted the quotation, because Sir Edward Grey said that in
the protocol of
Kosovo
was considered by everybody to be the cradle of Serbian statehood. It was Old
Serbia – Das Alte Serbien – on Austro-Hungarian maps for centuries.
Kosovo is the only plain, flat land in the Balkans where the tanks can go
directly to
I
beg members of the Assembly to think twice before agreeing this Anglo-Saxon
suggestion for immediate secession and the proclamation of Kosovan
independence, because it is a Pandora’s box. The Kosovar Albanian type of
international terrorism is the most dangerous, because it is terrorism aimed at
changing borders, and that endangers Europe, not the
GLOBAL WARMING
Mr SIGFÚSSON (
I
welcome what the report says about global warming, especially the critical
remarks made about the
It
is obvious to everyone living in the Arctic area, as I do, how global warming
is changing our nature year by year. In
The
report rightly highlights the work of the Arctic Council and frequently
mentions the good bilateral co-operation between
All
of Europe should take responsibility for what is happening in the
Mr LOTMAN (
Alan
Meale has produced a good report and even if there are some minor improvements
– and this applies to any other paper – that could be made, these
are not really important. Personally, I would put the reduction of emissions
first and adaptation to climate change second, but given the simple truth that
we will have to do both, this is a secondary matter. The report is almost too
good to be true and I am strongly opposed to the only amendment that has been
tabled because I do not believe that nuclear energy can be clean and
sustainable. The possibility of decreasing emission by radical improvements in
energy efficiency is much more cost-efficient.
Instead
of looking at the possibility of making the text even better, it is even more
important to think of how we can translate this report into action. The EU is
making significant commitments already, but more has to be done. How can we
urge EU countries to do more? How can we influence non-EU members of the
Council of Europe, including oil giants such as
The
Council of Europe has no powers to back its recommendations by force. It does
not even have the power to exert economic pressure against those who do not
want to stop polluting our atmosphere with greenhouse gases. However, we have
the power of the word, and that is an important power. If the words remain
inside parliamentary documents adopted here, few people will ever read them and
they will be of little effect. What can be done? The Council of Europe has a
good track record of campaigning for human rights. I think of the campaign
against domestic violence or that against trafficking of human beings. That is
one of the ways in which the Council of Europe’s texts have been put into
practice. The right to a normal environment is one of the human rights so let
us launch a campaign for this, too.
A
major campaign needs to be launched to reduce the wasting of energy resources,
as that is the most cost-efficient way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It
is well known that investments in energy saving are freeing up more so-called
“negawatts” than investments in the energy sector of the same
amount of money generate megawatts.
Let
us make a start by doing our small bit. The Council of Europe could greatly
improve the energy efficiency of its buildings, and it should promote that as
an example. Very few other public bodies would be able to resist that approach.
Of course, modern society has to generate energy, so we must also launch a
campaign for sustainable energy production.
Let
me again stress that this is a good and timely paper, and I call on this
Assembly to act to make its content real.
Wednesday 23 January 2008 at
United Nations Security Council and European Union blacklists
Mrs POSTOICO (
She
agreed with the rapporteur that the system of blacklists represented a threat
to fundamental human rights. The debate that day was an important opportunity
to examine and discuss the report and to focus on the shortcomings of
blacklists, especially in relation to their abuse of fundamental human rights.
She hoped that looking at the problems of blacklists at Assembly level would in
fact help to resolve them.
Blacklists
were outside the normal judicial process: there was no mechanism for judicial
review or control and she wanted a much more transparent system for individuals
to lodge complaints about sanctions imposed by the European Union or by the United
Nations.
Terrorism
was a global threat and combating it was a necessity for all states. But states
had to combat terrorism without turning away from their basic principles: human
rights always had to be protected. Not to do so was very dangerous and could
destroy the whole system of fundamental human rights for which the Council of
Europe had worked so hard. Joint efforts had to be taken by all governments to
prevent this from happening. If a state set up a blacklist process, it was
essential for that process to include a right of appeal for any individual put
on the list. As well as having access to a judicial process to remove
themselves from the list, those found to have been wrongly included on a
blacklist had to be eligible for compensation.
Mr KOX (
This
is a day of hope – hope that a large majority will adopt the analysis,
conclusions and recommendations of our rapporteur. This is also a day of hope
in respect of Iranian resistance, for example. This matter has featured on the
list for a long time for unjust reasons, without the possibility of its getting
off the list. Furthermore, this is a day of hope for the individuals – we
do not always know them – who are subject to the circumstances we are
trying to deal with.
I
ask all my colleagues to take this report back home. In the Dutch Senate, we
said, “Listen. You have to discuss this report. It is important and you
paid for it, because you pay for the Council of Europe.” Please,
colleagues, not only vote in favour of this report, but take it home to your
national assemblies and continue your work on it there. Everybody realises that
this is only the beginning and that far more things remain to be done.
Address by Mr Bamir
Topi, President of
Mr KOX (
THE
PRESIDENT. – Thank you. Mr Topi, you have the floor.
Mr TOPI appreciated
the role of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and its respect
for diverse opinions. On the question of independence for Kosovo, he said that
Wednesday 23 January 2008 at 3 p.m.
External relations of the Parliamentary Assembly
Mr LECOQ (
The
European Union had links with the World Bank and the International Monetary
Fund, both of which were considering the resources of the countries in the
region. The people of these countries had been victims of unacceptable European
colonialism. The Assembly had to foster appropriate conditions to enable these
colonised peoples to re-establish their histories.
With
regard to migration, the report recognised migration to
Mr KOX (
I
also agree that there should be an improved parliamentary dimension in our
co-operation with observer states.
We
share many common values with our observer states, but we should not be silent
about the fact that we do not share all our values. For example, some of our
observer states do not share our views on the death penalty, the Geneva
Convention, some of the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, the
concept of a unilateral war, the illegal occupation of neighbouring areas, the
oppression of citizens, human rights above all else, and the norms of
democracy. I agree with many of the ideas put forward by the Legal Affairs and
Human Rights Committee to improve David Wilshire’s report, especially on
such issues as the death penalty, the war on terrorism, and respect for human
rights and democracy. I am looking forward to our debate in June on human rights
and democracy. It would be great if all observer states could be involved.
I
agree with David Wilshire that it is wise not to have new candidates yet. We
should clean up our act first, and when we have resolved the issues in the
report we can discuss whether to have new observer states. We endorse the
report, and we also endorse many of the improvements made by the Legal Affairs
and Human Rights Committee. I hope the Assembly agrees. We like to have
parliamentarians from observer states, but we should not be silent on matters
that really count to the Council of Europe and the Assembly.
Procedural guidelines on the rights and responsibilities of the
opposition in a democratic parliament
Mr KESKIN (
He
questioned what part political parties played in this process: without
political parties, there would no functioning democracy. Democratic structures
were in turn vital to political parties. There was a need to address democracy
within the structures of political parties. He questioned whether there was
proper control of members of political parties. If a political party was too
authoritarian, then the party would take decisions, leaving individuals with
little freedom of expression. These fundamental issues had to be addressed.
Thursday 24 January 2008 at
Disappearance of newborn babies for illegal adoption in Europe
Mr MARMAZOV (
The
explanatory memorandum made serious allegations about the
The
report had concentrated on just four countries but the issues which it raised
were pan-European. Issues related to illegal adoption were as important. The
report did not, for example, deal with the issue of harvesting organs from
new-born babies: this was something that was happening in some of the
world’s most developed nations. He was also concerned that the report
went beyond its remit to some extent.
The need to preserve
the European sport model
Mr ELZINGA (
In
our countries, almost everyone – as I now understand, this is thanks to
the European sport model – can participate in any sport of his or her
choosing. However, in many other countries, that is not the case. Workers who
have to work under difficult conditions for between 60 and 80 hours a week to
earn a minimum wage usually lack the energy actively to participate in any
sport, although one could argue that their jobs are a top sport.
Under
the European sport model, top sport is under risk of commercial exploitation.
Commercial interests, the influx of enormous amounts of money and EU
laissez-faire policies are a threat to fair competition. The reputation of team
sports is threatened by money-pocketing middlemen. We read about that in the
report and, like Mr Platini, I could not agree more.
Who
would not agree with the rapporteur that it is about time that the Dutch top
soccer club
From
Commercial
interests may spoil the Olympics. The Beijing Olympics could well become the
most profitable games ever. A profit of more than €200 million is
expected on sales of the official mascot alone. Unfortunately, the workers
making all the souvenirs with the official Olympic logo do not see much of
that. Some of them earn no more than half the official minimum wage. They work
under conditions that pose health and safety risks and work excessive overtime
on top of their already very long working day. I would not call that fair play.
Could the rapporteur please tell us how many days one of those Chinese workers
must work to earn enough to buy one ticket to any Olympic event?
In
my working life, I am a trade union activist, and I organise international
trade union solidarity events. I work closely with global union federations in
the Play Fair 2008 campaign. The Play Fair group urges the International
Olympic Committee to act, because up till now the IOC has not done much to
prevent this exploitation and abuse of workers on behalf of the Olympics. A
solution can be sustainable only if workers themselves are at the heart of any
effort to improve their working conditions. Therefore, they need to represent
their own interests freely through freedom of association and collective
bargaining. Those trade union rights, as well as other social, economic and
human rights, are part of the core business of the Assembly. Although I do not
believe that sport, or even the European sport model, is the core business of
the Council of Europe, I think that it is a missed opportunity that the report
does not call on the governments of member states to urge the IOC to take far
greater responsibility.
I
call on my fellow parliamentarians actively to participate in the international
Play Fair campaign.
Thursday 24 January 2008 at 3 p.m.
Address by Mr Mikheil Saakashvili, President of
Mr KOX (
THE
PRESIDENT (Translation). – Thank you. Would you like to reply, Mr
Saakashvili?
Mr
SAAKASHVILI. – I think that the applause this time was pretty loud, and I
am grateful. When I came here the first time, I had nothing to show but
promises. When I came the second time, I had huge peace plans, which
unfortunately still have not been achieved.
Show
me any other country that lost 70% of its export market but still has 12%
growth. Show me any other country that was behind
These
are all results. We are getting higher per capital investment than any other
eastern European country. Four years ago, when I came here for the first time,
I was told that I was your personal hero. I would rather be the hero of those
people who now get $4 200 per capita, rather than $600. That is much more
important for me. I would rather be the hero of those people who have benefited
from a 100% decrease in poverty, of those people who had zero trust in the
institutions and who now can see results of the change. I would rather be the
hero of those young people who, in the last few years, have got into university
on their merits when before they would only do so through bribery or via
special acquaintances. We have overcome corruption that was there. I would
rather be the hero of those people who have found justice when they were in a
system that had no place for justice for individual citizens and that was
instead ruled immorally and corruptly for many years and was basically part of
this post-Communist nomenclature.
Basically,
These
are the challenges and the more that we do with them, the more there is that
needs to be done. That is how it is in a normal democracy. The more you do for
your people, the less is the tendency for them to vote for you on the next
occasion. That is normalcy. It is something that we have to face. I am more
than happy to rejoice in this normalcy in my second term. My legacy after the
next four years would be to leave behind a
Honouring of obligations and commitments by Georgia, Document 11502
rev.
Mr
KOX (
I
thank the rapporteurs for the report. I think that they will agree that it
would have been great if we could have saluted the Georgian authorities with
great enthusiasm for the successful honouring of their obligations and
commitments with regard to Georgian membership of the Council of Europe.
Unfortunately, that is not the case, as we all know. It is the opinion of my
group that there are reasons to be seriously worried about recent developments
in that member state. I propose to discuss those developments openly, because
it is in the interests of all, and first and foremost in the interests of
Georgian citizens, that we help
I
shall describe our main worries. First, the way in which the presidential
elections were organised was “worse than expected”, in the words of
our rapporteur. Secondly, the level of poverty in
Fortunately,
there is also good news. First,
However,
I return to the bad news to ask for some explanations from the rapporteurs. On
the presidential elections, the rapporteurs have told us about the violent
dispersal of peaceful demonstrations, the silencing of the media and the
decision to declare a state of emergency for part of the election period. All
those events seriously conflict with the Council of Europe’s values.
There are also still many doubts about the elections themselves.
Do
the rapporteurs agree with my group that there should be a prompt and proper
investigation into allegations of electoral violations?
Secondly,
the level of poverty in
Thirdly,
it is important to note that we are still speaking about frozen conflicts.
President Saakashvili kept his promise not to use violence to solve those
frozen conflicts, but solutions must nevertheless be examined and developed. Do
the rapporteurs see any serious progress in that field?
Now,
some questions about the good news. So far,