OSCE PA President addresses PACE Standing Committee, meets with COE leadership

COPENHAGEN, 7 March 2014 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ranko Krivokapic today addressed the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Paris, where he called for expanded co-operation between the Assemblies and participated in an exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine.

Krivokapic underscored the need for continued co-operation to maintain the quality of election-monitoring missions, an area in which the Assemblies have worked together successfully in the past:

“The integrity of our election-observation activities is vital and must be preserved. We expect our member countries to live up to the democratic pledges they make on paper, and we must always do the same,” he said.

The PA President also called for continued co-ordination between the Assemblies on promoting electoral reform, the development of independent judiciaries and free and vibrant media environments in Europe’s emerging democracies. He identified the rise of xenophobia and far-right parties, as well as threats to parliamentary oversight of governments in the name of combating terrorism, as issues of particular concern in some of Europe’s established democracies.

On Ukraine, Krivokapic said any plans to resolve the current situation “must begin with the full sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.”

Following his address, Krivokapic held bilateral meetings with PACE President Anne Brasseur and Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland.

The sides compared notes on their activities regarding the Ukraine crisis and discussed plans for co-operation on future election-monitoring missions, including Ukraine’s 25 May presidential election.

OSCE PA Secretary General Spencer Oliver and PA Vice-Presidents Alain Neri (France) and George Tsereteli (Georgia) accompanied President Krivokapic in Paris.
 

This is a press release issued by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. The views expressed in this press release do not necessarily reflect those of the OSCE Chairmanship, nor of all OSCE participating States.

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is comprised of 323 parliamentarians from 56 countries spanning, Europe, Central Asia and North America. The Assembly provides a forum for parliamentary diplomacy, monitors elections, and strengthens international cooperation to uphold commitments on political, security, economic, environmental and human rights issues.