The National Assembly will host a siting of the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The sitting will be opened by PACE President Anne Brasseur on November 27, 2015 at 9.00 a.m. in “Musala” Hall of Hilton Sofia Hotel. The parliamentarians will be welcomed by the National Assembly President Tsetska Tsacheva.
The sitting is taking place in the framework of the Bulgarian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, assumed on November 10, 2015.
The Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe acts on behalf of the Assembly between plenary sessions. It comprises the President and Vice-Presidents of the Assembly, the chairpersons of political groups, the heads of national delegations and the chairpersons of committees.
About 60 parliamentarians from the Council of Europe member states will take part in the Standing Committee sitting in Sofia.
The Minister of Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov will present to the parliamentarians the priorities of the Bulgarian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The participants in the meeting will discuss the topics of protection of the values and principles of the Council of Europe and the fight against international terrorism.
It is expected that the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly will adopt a draft declaration reaffirming the principles of European unity and cooperation and respect for international law initiated by the head of the National Assembly delegation to PACE Dzhema Grozdanova. The motion for adopting a declaration on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, tabled by Dzhema Grozdanova in Strasbourg on 29 September 2015, is supported by all leaders of political factions in PACE, by the Chairperson of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy and by the Leaders of the German and Hungarian delegations to PACE.
The agenda of PACE Standing Committee sitting also includes presentation of reports on the monitoring of the parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as the presidential elections in Belarus.
Member of Parliament Valery Zhablyanov will brief the parliamentarians on a Draft Council of Europe Convention on an integrated safety, security and service approach at football matches and other sports events.
“Access to justice and the Internet: potential and challenge” is the topic on which Spanish MP Jordi Xucla will report. The parliamentarians Andreas Gross (Switzerland) and Stefan Schennach (Austria) will talk before the participants in the sitting on “The fate of critically ill detainees in Europe”. Among the other topics to be discussed at the forum are “Chinese migration to Europe: challenges and opportunities” and “Promotion of good practices in combating violence against women”.