STRASBOURG. “We will have bilateral discussions under the framework of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). We will talk about how far we have come in implementing the EC’s 12 recommendations,” ruling party MP Irakli Chikovani told the Georgian Public Broadcaster in Strasbourg.

I. Chikovani notes that the Georgian delegation will have several speakers at the Parliamentary Assembly this week.

“We will hold bilateral meetings with colleagues, including those from the Socialist Group, to coordinate our mutual interests. We will also discuss the country’s present state and our progress in implementing the EC’s recommendations. During the week, members of the Georgian delegation will address the Assembly,” Irakli Chikovani stated.

Within the PACE Spring Session, the member of the Parliamentary Delegation, Givi Mikanadze held a meeting with the representatives of the PACE Parliamentary Support Project.

CoE, funded by the EU, implements the project in Morocco facilitating the set-up of the Open Governance Council. The parties discussed the experience of the Georgian Parliament.

G. Mikanadze introduced the main directions concerning the cooperation of the Parliament with the civil society, Parliamentary openness, transparency and civic engagement.

The CoE representatives gave a positive assessment to the experience of the Georgian Parliament and expressed their will to reflect the successful practice of the Georgian Parliament in their survey, as well as to arrange the exchange visits for MPs. The parties agreed on further cooperation and exchange of additional information and organization of the visits.

The Summer Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) takes place on June 21-24 in Strasbourg. The Permanent Delegation members of Georgian Parliament Irakli Chikovani and Tamar Taliashvili are participating in the session.

The delegation members will join the debates and hold bilateral meetings with various delegations’ heads and PACE officials.

The Permanent Delegation of the Parliament of Georgia, led by the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Kakha Kuchava, will take part in the spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on April 19-22.

According to the press service of the Parliament, the main topics of discussion at the session will be the global pandemic and Covid-19 vaccination, the situation of ethnic minorities in Council of Europe member states, Council of Europe strategic priorities and current processes in the world.

Givi Mikanadze, a member of the Georgian parliamentary delegation, will address the Assembly regarding the legal status of ethnic minorities in Georgia and the steps taken by the state for their full integration.

On the occasion of the German Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Minister of State for Europe Michael Roth will participate in the spring session of PACE (19-22 April 2021) which will take place in a hybrid format.

The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, and the Secretary General of the organisation, Marija Pejčinović Burić, will also address PACE.

At this session, the Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, will present her 2020 annual report and the Assembly will award its Václav Havel Human Rights Prize.

There have been requests for urgent debates on "The arrest and detention of Alexei Navalny in January 2021" and "The functioning of democratic institutions in Turkey", as well as for current affairs debates on "Covid passports or certificates: protection of fundamental rights and legal implications", "Armenian prisoners of war and other captives", "Covid-19 vaccination certificates: how to protect public health and human rights?", and "Russian threat to the pursuit of peace in Europe".

Topics on the agenda include a debate on the Assembly's vision of the Council of Europe's strategic priorities and a joint debate on human rights violations and the need for electoral reform in Belarus.

The OECD's work on taxing the digital economy with the participation of its Secretary General Ángel Gurría, discrimination against people with chronic and long-term illnesses, post-monitoring dialogue with Montenegro, the preservation of national minorities and a European policy on diasporas will also be discussed.

Strasbourg, 15.04.2021 – On the occasion of the German Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Minister of State for Europe Michael Roth will participate in the spring session of PACE (19-22 April 2021) which will take place in a hybrid format, allowing members to participate remotely or attend in person in Strasbourg.

The President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, and the Secretary General of the organisation, Marija Pejčinović Burić, will also address PACE.

At this session, the Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, will present her 2020 annual report and the Assembly will award its Václav Havel Human Rights Prize.

There have been requests for urgent debates on "The arrest and detention of Alexei Navalny in January 2021" and on "The functioning of democratic institutions in Turkey".

Topics on the agenda include a debate on the Assembly's vision of the Council of Europe's strategic priorities and a joint debate on human rights violations and the need for electoral reform in Belarus.

The OECD's work on taxing the digital economy with the participation of its Secretary General Ángel Gurría, discrimination against persons dealing with chronic and long-term illnesses, post-monitoring dialogue with Montenegro, the preservation of national minorities and a European policy on diasporas will also be discussed.

The Assembly will decide its final agenda on the opening day of the session.

The Majority Leader, PACE Vice-President Irakli Kobakhidze met with the CoE Secretary General, Marija Pejčinović Burić to discuss the cooperation between Georgia and the Council of Europe.

The parties touched upon the political processes in Georgia and overviewed the scheduled legal changes.

“The Secretary General congratulated Irakli Kobakhidze with the chairmanship of the party. She is well informed about the political processes in Georgia and hoped that the next session will be attended by our Delegation in full composition, including the opposition MPs as at the PACE session so in the Parliament of Georgia. We discussed all the issues we intend to undertake and she expressed her strong support. Mme. Burić is informed about our plans, including our intention to submit the application for the EU membership in 2024. She is as well aware of the legal changes adopted in summer, which were widely hailed. She also approved the scheduled legal changes aiming at further improvement of the electoral system and achievement of the agreement in this regard”, - the Head of the Delegation, Kakha Kutchava noted.

“I am glad that I was approved as the Vice-President of PACE with the second term”, - the Majority Leader, member of the Parliamentary delegation to PACE, Irakli Kobakhidze stated.

His first meeting on this position was held with the PACE President, Rik Daems.

The parties dwelt on the cooperation between the Parliament of Georgia and the PACE and touched upon the developments in Georgia and the priorities of Georgian authorities.

“It was an important bilateral meeting with the PACE President. We discussed our cooperation prospects between our Delegation and the PACE”, - I. Kobakhidze noted.

Strasbourg, 24.01.2021 - The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will hold its 2021 winter plenary session from January 25 to 28 in a hybrid manner, allowing members to participate remotely or attend in person in Strasbourg.

The Assembly will debate the ethical, legal and practical considerations of COVID-19 vaccines. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will address parliamentarians in the debate.

There have been requests for three urgent debates on:

- "The arrest and detention of Alexei Navalny in January 2021"
- "The worsening situation in Belarus"
- "Freedom of expression (Article 10 of the ECHR) under threat by 'Big Tech' Companies".

Three current affairs debate requests have also been submitted under the titles:

- "Prohibition of Russian and other national minorities languages in Ukraine"
- “Unjustifiable delay in repatriation of the Armenian prisoners of war and other captives by Azerbaijani authorities as violation of the European International Human Rights Standards”
- “The actual human rights situation in temporary occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol during Covid-19 pandemics”.

Other topics on the agenda include ethnic profiling in Europe, restrictions on NGO activities in Council of Europe member States, and discrimination against persons dealing with chronic and long-term illnesses.

During the session, the Assembly will elect the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the Secretary General of the Assembly and the judges to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Greece and Switzerland. These elections will be held by individual electronic voting.

The European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders will address the members of the Assembly and answer their questions, as will the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany, Heiko Maas (within the framework of the German presidency of the Committee of Ministers) and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić (who will present her communication).

Debates will also be held on the independence of judges in Poland and in the Republic of Moldova (with the participation of Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, former Federal Minister of Justice of Germany), and on the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. Debates on the progress of the Assembly’s monitoring procedure and on post-monitoring dialogue with Montenegro are foreseen.

A report on parliamentary elections in Georgia will also be discussed. Lastly, the Assembly will determine its position on the modification of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure – follow-up to Resolution 2319 (2020) on the complementary joint procedure between the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly in response to a serious violation by a member State of its statutory obligations.

Georgian Foreign Minister Davit Zalkaliani will deliver a speech at the Winter Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg today.

Within the framework of Georgia’s Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Davit Zalkaliani will discuss Georgia’s activity report and presents the priorities of the Georgian Presidency. Georgian FM will also answer the questions from Assembly members.

On January 30, the Georgian Foreign Minister will attand the OSCE Permanent Council meeting in Vienna.

The President of Georgia will also leave for Strasbourg. On January 28, Salome Zurabishvili will address Assembly members and will speak about the ongoing developments in Georgia and the human rights situation in the occupied territories of Georgia.

At its winter session in Strasbourg (27-31 January 2020), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will elect its new President. Only one candidature has been received.

The Presidents of Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, as well as the Georgian Foreign Minister and President of the Committee of Ministers and the newly-elected Secretary General of the Council of Europe, will address PACE and answer questions.

The draft resolution was submitted to the PACE session in Strasbourg, concerning the current state in sundry CoE states in terms of freedom of media. The draft provides that Georgia achieved significant progress in media pluralism and freedom of media terms. Inclusion of the hereof issue to the draft resolution by the Georgian Delegation was supported by many partner states.
As the head of the Parliamentary Delegation, the First Deputy Chairperson, Ms. Tamar Chugoshvili stated, the change offered by the Georgian Delegation has not been fully considered. “The change we offered was partially shared, providing that in media terms, legislation of Georgia provides the best milieu for media to freely exist, hold activity and create pluralistic environment. The reporter agreed to this part. The resolution also provides that the ongoing court dispute entails questions in the international or local civil society that we naturally know. We know that the dispute entails significant turmoil. Thus, it would be preferable to as soon as possible make the decision and eliminate the doubts. These positive estimations and opinions are reflected in the resolution and it is what matters. I consider that the reporter could deeper search the essence of the issue and give better estimation to media context in Georgia. However, it is our task to provide the society and PACE members with full information and we serve for this task”.
The PACE set up the platform in 2015 studying freedom of media in CoE member states and namely the facts of assaults on journalists. It is the first time that the resolution provides positive record regarding Georgia.