Russia Crackdown, Ukraine Aid on PACE Agenda
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will begin its Spring Session in Strasbourg on April 15th.
Moldova's Deputy Prime Minister, Mihai Popșoi, will be in attendance and is scheduled to deliver a speech.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration in Chișinău confirmed that the Deputy Prime Minister will also meet with Theodoros Rousopoulos, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe; and Claire Bazy-Malaurie, President of the Venice Commission.
The PACE spring session agenda features a key debate and vote on a draft opinion regarding Kosovo's application for membership of the Council of Europe.
Additional session highlights include a joint debate on "The death of Alexei Navalny and the need to counter Vladimir Putin's totalitarian regime and his war against democracy" and "the arbitrary detention of Vladimir Kara-Murza and the systematic persecution of anti-war protesters in Russia and Belarus."
The Assembly will also discuss support for the reconstruction of Ukraine, including a proposal to use frozen Russian state assets. Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, will participate.
An urgent debate has been requested on the draft "Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law." Participants will also consider the Council of Europe's role in preventing a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
About the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is the "deliberative" statutory body, composed of representatives of the national parliaments of member states, the number of members of each parliament's delegation varying according to the size of the territory, population and budgetary contribution of the state concerned. The Parliamentary Assembly is composed of 306 parliamentarians from the 46 member states.
The Assembly debates and adopts recommendations and provides guidance to the Committee of Ministers, national governments and parliaments, provides a democratic forum for debate and monitors elections in member states.
The RM delegation to PACE is composed of 5 titular members and 5 substitute members, who represent proportionally all the parliamentary parties in the country.
The Republic of Moldova has been a member of the Council of Europe since 1995.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
