FOR THE ATTENTION OF MEMBERS OF THE POLITICAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Secretariat of the Assembly
Synopsis No. 2000/181
21 December 2000
The Political Affairs Committee, meeting in Riga on the 12 and 13 December 2000, under the Chairmanship of M.r Terry Davis (UK, SOC):
Held an exchange of views with:
- Mr Indulis BERZINŠ, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia, Chairman-in-Office of the Committee of Ministers
- Mr Pietro Ercole AGO, out-going Chairman of the Ministers’ Deputies
- Mr Guntars KRASTS, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Latvia
As regards:
- Conflict in the Chechen Republic – recent developments (Rapporteur: Lord Judd, United Kingdom, SOC): heard a statement by the Rapporteur on his visit to Moscow from 8 to 13 December 2000 together with Mr Bindig, Rapporteur to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, and confirmed the dates of his coming visit to the Chechen Republic and to Moscow from 13 to 18 January 2001;
- Rights of Minorities (Rapporteur for Opinion: Mr Gjellerod, Denmark, SOC): held an exchange of views based on a memorandum presented by the Rapporteur;
- Participation of immigrants and foreign residents in political life in Council of Europe member States: appointed Mrs Hoffmann (Germany, SOC), Rapporteur for Opinion;
- Drafting of a standard code of practice in electoral matters and establishment of a permanent European control body (Rapporteur: Mr Clerfayt, Belgium, LDR): held an exchange of views based on a preliminary draft report;
- The United Nations at the turn of the new century (Rapporteur: Mrs Severinsen, Denmark, LDR): held an exchange of views based on a memorandum on the visit of the Sub-Committee on Relations with Non-Member Countries to New York (19 – 20 October 2000), and asked the Rapporteur to prepare a memorandum based on the issue of a possible regional organisation status of the Council of Europe under the terms of Article 8 of the United Nations Charter;
- Threat posed to democracy by extremist parties and movements in Europe (Rapporteur: Mr Gjellerod, Denmark, SOC): heard a statement by the Rapporteur on his visit to Vienna from 30 to 31 October 2000, and authorised his coming visits to Budapest and to Bucarest;
- Positive experiences of autonomous regions in Europe (Rapporteur: Mr Gross, Switzerland, SOC): heard a statement by the Rapporteur based on his study visits to the Ĺland Islands and the South Tyrol region, and invited him to prepare a draft report for the next meeting;
- Visit of the Sub-Committee on the Middle East: was informed on the Sub-Committee’s decision to postpone its visit to the Middle East to a later date;
- Composition of its sub-committees: proceeded to nominate the following:
· Sub-Committee on the Middle East: Mrs Stepova (Czech Republic, SOC), alternate;
· Sub-Committee on Relations with Non-Member Countries: Mr Brunetti (Italy, GUE), alternate;
- decided to hold its forthcoming meetings as follows:
Plenary Committee:
. Strasbourg, 20 January 2001, and during the 1st part-session of the Assembly (22-26 January 2001)
Sub-Committee on Relations with Non-Member Countries:
. Strasbourg : during the 1st part-session of the Assembly (22-26 January 2001)
. Japan : 5-10 February 2001
The Sub-Committee on the Middle East of the Political Affairs Committee, meeting on 12 December 2000 in Riga, under the Chairmanship of Mr Adamczyk (Poland, EPP/CD):
- held an exchange of views on the opportunity to visit Israel and the Territories under the control of the Palestinian National Authority following the recent political developments in the region, decided to postpone its visit to a later date and expressed its wish to limit the participation for this visit to members of the Sub-Committee;
- Strasbourg : during the 1st part-session of the Assembly (22-26 January 2001).
Bariş Perin, Marja Ruotanen, Petr Sich