Pace International Organization. Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

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The news that Russia was deprived of the right to vote in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) quickly spread across news agencies and became one of the most discussed in recent days. We decided to figure out what PACE is and what threatens us with the final exit from this organization, the likelihood of which some analysts say

In 1949, the leading states of Western Europe created the Council of Europe. At that time it was indeed a serious achievement of European diplomacy. Just think, a few years ago Britain, France, Italy, Germany and other states mercilessly destroyed each other in the Second World War, and then suddenly they made peace so much that they created something like a joint parliament, where deputies of the recently at war countries sit together and on equal terms they are deciding something. Despite the fact that this Council of Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly did not have real powers, the step from bombing to parliamentary discussions was enormous.

Gradually, other integration structures began to appear in Western Europe, where serious money was already circulating and real powers were available. Therefore, PACE could have been dissolved, but the Europeans found a new sphere of application for it. What did they do? After the collapse of the socialist camp, dozens of countries appeared in the East wanting to join the project of a united Europe, but taking them all at once into the real European Union was too expensive and dangerous. Therefore, all of them, right up to Turkey and Transcaucasia, were taken into the Council of Europe - so that they, too, could cling to the word “European”, and Old Europe would not have to pay anything for it.

Now the Council of Europe consists of several rather meaningless structures, the main of which are the Strasbourg Court of Human Rights and the Parliamentary Assembly, in which we were deprived of a voice. Deputies from the parliaments of all 47 participating countries sit in this assembly. The number of places is distributed proportionally to the population, but small countries, as usual, receive a bonus. For example, Russia has only 18 deputies in PACE, while Estonia, where the population is more than a hundred times smaller, has three. There are 318 deputies in total.

Deputies in PACE are elected so that they represent all factions of the national parliament. To better unite the ranks of Europeans, PACE, as well as the European Parliament, came up with supranational factions. LDPR deputy Slutsky, for example, for some reason is a member of the PACE socialist faction. And United Russia members, led by Pushkov, signed up for the faction of European Democrats, along with various Eurosceptics and Turkish Islamists. Four times a year they all come to Strasbourg to meet there.

There is no apparent benefit from these weekly meetings. After all, in fact, PACE has no real powers, and the participating countries have no real obligations to this organization. All they can do is observe elections, order investigations, discuss reports, make resolutions, recommendations and statements.

For example, PACE recommended that Kyrgyzstan not ban gay propaganda, called on Texas to abandon the death penalty, advised the Greeks to improve prison conditions, and expressed concern about the prison sentences given to two opposition activists in Azerbaijan. Naturally, the impact of all these measures on reality was limited to the appearance of the corresponding press releases on the PACE website.

Together with PACE, Russia can say goodbye to other structures of the Council of Europe, especially the Strasbourg Court of Human Rights. This institution is perceived by many in Russia as the only authority that can find unjust decisions of Russian courts. But this perception is explained by the fact that people do not particularly follow the decisions of this company.

The Strasbourg court is only called a court, but in reality it is just an organization that issues fines for those member countries of the Council of Europe that, in its opinion, violate human rights. There is no talk of any restoration of justice here. Otherwise, not only Russia, but almost everyone else would have left long ago.

For example, in 2011, the Strasbourg court ruled that the gay pride parade in Moscow cannot be banned and demanded that its organizers be paid 30 thousand euros in compensation. The Russian authorities paid compensation, but still no one allowed the gay pride parade.

There will obviously be some benefits from leaving PACE. The contribution for the maintenance of the structures of the Council of Europe, where there are 2.5 thousand officials alone, is calculated in proportion to the GDP of the participating country, so in Russia it is one of the largest - about 25 million euros per year.

Plus, we have to take 18 deputies to Strasbourg four times a year. It is clear that the money saved by the Russian budget is still unlikely to go to hospitals or kindergartens, but pointless parliamentary trips to France are also far from the most reasonable direction for government funding.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is one of the two main statutory bodies of the Council of Europe; an advisory body consisting of representatives of the parliaments of all member states. PACE is the oldest body of inter-parliamentary cooperation in Europe, having been founded on May 5, 1949. Since January 2014, the President of PACE is Member of the Luxembourg Parliament Anne Brasseur.

The day before, 148 PACE members voted in favor of depriving this right until April, 64 against. Among those who came out in support of the Russian parliamentarians was the representative of Serbia, Alexandra Djurovic.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe upheld all sanctions against the Russian delegation introduced in response to the annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. The issue of powers will be considered again in April, but the Russians have already announced that they are leaving PACE before the end of 2015.
At the session on Wednesday evening, PACE did not even return the right to vote to the Russian delegation, as proposed in the original draft resolution.

“We are leaving PACE before the end of this year,” said the head of the Russian delegation, Alexei Pushkov, leaving the meeting room. The Russian delegation refused to participate in the work of PACE for almost the entire last year, from the moment it was deprived of its powers.
In addition to stopping contacts with PACE, Russia is threatening to leave the Council of Europe as a whole if sanctions in PACE are not lifted.
“The issue of Russia’s participation in the Council of Europe will be considered at the end of 2015, depending on the political situation that will be created,” Interfax quotes Pushkov.
In addition to deprivation of the right to vote, sanctions against Russia in PACE include a ban on participation in various delegations and representations of the Assembly and organizations under it, in election observation missions, as well as a ban on appointing Russians as rapporteurs on issues considered by PACE.

In the PACE resolution adopted on Wednesday, a separate paragraph is dedicated to the Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko. PACE demands that Russia immediately - within 24 hours - release Savchenko and hand her over to Ukraine or a third party.

When voting began on amendments to the resolution, one of the Russian delegates was indignant that his voting machine was not working.
“I am far from suggesting that this was done intentionally...” - the delegate began to habitually talk about the “anti-Russian conspiracy,” but he was immediately reminded that this was done deliberately: the Russian delegation is generally deprived of the right to vote, which is the issue being discussed .

I have a question. Why do we need this organization at all? At a minimum, we must stop paying for our membership in PACE.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe deprived Russia of its voting rights in this organization until April 2015. In response, the head of the Russian delegation announced Russia's withdrawal from PACE. What will this mean for our country?

During the voting on the resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, 160 PACE deputies voted to deprive the Russian delegation of voting rights until April 2015. Only 42 were against it, and another 11 abstained. The PACE decision will be valid until April 2015, after which it may return to the issue of the powers of the Russian delegation, “if Russia demonstrates significant progress in terms of fulfilling the requirements of the resolution.”

In addition to the opportunity to vote on resolutions and decisions of the parliamentary assembly, Russia lost the right to be an observer at elections in European countries, and its delegates will not be able to serve as PACE rapporteurs. According to the head of the Russian delegation, Alexei Pushkov, if Russia is not given back its voting rights by the end of 2015, the question of leaving the Council of Europe and all its structures will be raised. Immediately after the announcement of the voting results, the entire Russian delegation stood up and left the PACE meeting room.

“In view of the fact that PACE deprived the Russian Federation of the right to vote and participate in the governing bodies of the organization, there is no need to talk about any contacts in the organization. We informed our colleagues, the leadership of PACE, the leadership of political groups that if fundamental rights are taken away from Russia, then the Russian delegation will suspend its participation until the end of 2015 at a minimum,” Pushkov said.

Experts believe that withdrawal from the Parliamentary Assembly does not have any significant real consequences for Russia. The fact is that PACE, although it is one of the main structures of the Council of Europe along with the European Court of Human Rights, in reality has very meager powers. Most of its activities come down to monitoring the level of democracy in a particular country, respect for human rights, and issuing resolutions and decisions based on the reports of delegates. However, participating countries are not obliged to follow these documents. In other words, the activities of PACE are primarily advisory in nature. In addition, Russia with its 18 delegates (there are 318 in total in the Parliamentary Assembly) still could not really influence the decisions taken by PACE.

The only thing that can cause concern is the possible withdrawal of Russia from the Council of Europe, since this would immediately remove it from the jurisdiction of the European Convention on Human Rights, and would also block the opportunity for Russians to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. According to the most gloomy (and so far unconfirmed) forecasts, this could return the death penalty to Russia (it is now prohibited precisely because of the ratification of the convention on the territory of the country), and also deprive those citizens who are dissatisfied with Russian justice from the opportunity to seek justice on the side. However, these fears are often exaggerated: the death penalty is in effect in many countries of the world, primarily in a number of US states (which PACE even obliged to abolish it), and as for justice, the Russians who applied for it to the Strasbourg court did not always she was found. The fact is that the ECHR, like the PACE, also does not have significant power; it does not have the right to change the existing legislation in a particular country or make changes to the court verdicts of these countries. The only thing this court can do is award fines.

As for PACE itself, it will, of course, survive the absence of Russia (Russian delegates were already deprived of their voting rights for a year in 2000, due to the war in Chechnya), but it will still have to face a couple of troubles. Firstly, this is a material factor: after all, Russia paid one of the largest contributions for participation in the parliamentary assembly - about 25 million euros, with the budget of the assembly itself being 400 million. The contribution for 2015 has already been made by the Ministry of Finance, but if Russia is not given back its rights, next year PACE will lose this money. Secondly, this is an opportunity, albeit nominally, to monitor the situation in Russia, interact with its leadership and representatives, enter into dialogue and debate with them. Now, with Russia's withdrawal from this organization, PACE has lost this opportunity for minimal control.

Nowadays, the whole world is divided into certain zones, in which various bodies function, helping to establish relations between countries and providing them with their support. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) belongs to this group. It is one of the main bodies, consisting of many member states, and also providing advisory services. It significantly influences the life of modern society and regulates international relations.

Founding period

PACE was founded in 1949 and has been successfully operating within Europe since then. This is one of the oldest bodies of interparliamentary cooperation. Unfortunately, not many people know why this organization was created, and people are often interested in information about PACE: what it is and what it does. In fact, it is a well-established body that has been in operation for over sixty years and elects its own president. At the beginning of 2014, Anne Brasseur, a member of the Luxembourg parliament, became the head of the advisory body.

PACE structure

I would like to note that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) annually elects a new chairman. As for the operating procedure, this position passes from one political faction to another every three years. In addition, deputy chairmen are elected by the participants. Basically, their number does not exceed twenty people.

There are five political groups in the Assembly: socialist, European democrats, alliance of liberals and democrats, and united European left.

PACE also has special commissions, which are formed depending on the area of ​​activity. All members of the organization are united into a single Bureau of the Assembly. It is the leading link that solves serious problems and controls the activities of the statutory body of the Council of Europe.

PACE activities

Answering the question “PACE - what is it?”, one can note that the organization primarily cares about the interests of political parties that exist directly in the member states. Secondly, the body is concerned about fruitful and positive relations between the parliamentary structures of different countries that are members of the Council of Europe.

The parliaments of the states that are part of the organization appoint PACE members. One country may have two or more members of the advisory body. Thus, the five largest states are represented by eighteen members. Among them should be representatives of all political parties in the country. In addition, PACE, an organization with enormous influence, emphasizes a balanced number of male and female participants. In total, the advisory body has 318 members, each of whom has a deputy.

It is impossible not to mention that the Assembly decides by considering and discussing them at sessions. The flaws and shortcomings in international politics that are relevant today are also studied.

The further full-fledged work of many ministries and bodies depends on the results of PACE’s activities. As a member of the organization, member states can influence their governments. This mainly manifests itself in the form of recommendations that participants send to their country on behalf of PACE.

PACE participants

PACE, which, we recall, is the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, includes representatives from 47 countries. Among them, Russia, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland and Ireland are considered the most influential. But, besides this, you can find Italy, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine and other countries here.

There is an event that participants or their deputies cannot miss - the PACE session. Observers (representatives of parliaments of countries that are not members of the organization) must be present at such a meeting. As a rule, they come from Canada, Mexico or Israel. These people ensure the integrity of the session.

Authority of the organization

When asking the question “PACE - what is it?”, of course, you should also find out what the organization does and what powers it has. Thus, deputies prepare special reports, on the basis of which the Assembly adopts various kinds of recommendations and resolutions. One of the most important powers of PACE is the selection of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, as well as his deputy. In addition, the organization accepts opinions on new candidacies of member states. PACE has taken upon itself the responsibility of electing executors for it. It should be noted that the conclusions on draft conventions developed in the CE are also adopted by PACE.

In turn, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe provides PACE with a report on its activities and undertakes to implement the body’s recommendations or provide responses to them.

"Dedication"

At one of the sessions, PACE participants consider possible applicants for joining the organization. After a decision is made to join the statutory body of a certain state, the government of the country is notified with a corresponding notification. After some time, the PACE Chairman and all its participants check how the member state fulfills its obligations. For this purpose, a Monitoring Commission functions specifically; it monitors the situation as a whole and annually submits a full report on the work done to all participants in the organization.

The PACE Assembly, in turn, reviews the reports and makes decisions about the future of the member state. It can have only two options: the participating country remains part of the organization or leaves it.

Work of the organization

Exactly four times a year, PACE sessions are held (the acronym stands for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe). The organization works for a whole week at this time. In addition to these important meetings, there are so-called mini-sessions, at which serious or urgent problems are also discussed, decisions are made and recommendations are given.

There are times when no meetings are scheduled, but a session must be called. They can be held twice a year and are called “Standing Commissions”. They can make decisions and act on behalf of the Assembly. These kinds of sessions are held in different countries, by invitation. The main meetings are organized at the headquarters of the Council of Europe - Strasbourg. Commissions may hold sessions several times a year. Mostly they take place in Paris.

You can prepare a resolution or adopt recommendations as follows: a member of the Assembly has the right to collect the required number of signatures and submit his developed proposal, which will be considered for a certain period of time. If the Bureau agrees that a report is necessary and this idea should be developed further, then the matter becomes the responsibility of the relevant Commission. Her responsibilities include appointing a responsible person who will collect information related to the report over a period of several months or years. After all the necessary steps, the deputy organizes a hearing at which the final version is presented. As a result of a positive decision by the Commission, the report is submitted to the Plenary Session. Various additions and developments may be attached to the information. After the report is presented to the commission members, a vote takes place, the outcome of which decides the future fate of the idea presented by the participant.

A PACE meeting requires more than two-thirds votes to make a final decision. Thus, each participant can organize an “urgent debate” at which his proposals will be presented in the form of a report.

Statuses of PACE participants

Member states are considered full participants in the Assembly. But besides this, people with the status of “observer” and “special guest” can attend PACE sessions. The first group has already been mentioned earlier, these are representatives of Canada, Israel and Mexico. The second is special guests who can be invited by the chairman of the organization or participants. Unfortunately, in 1997, for reasons unknown to Belarus, this status was suspended. In 2010, the country's government tried to restore the right to be invited to a PACE meeting, but it remained undisclosed. However, nothing has changed - Belarus has not renewed its status.

PACE as an organization began to exist on May 5, 1949. Since then, the statutory body has tried to make its activities as efficient as possible. For example, since 1989, the Assembly has directed many of its efforts to combat the global crisis and resolve various problems of European countries. In addition, all meetings are based on the developments, research, travel and missions of PACE participants.

It is worth noting that the Assembly has made a lot of efforts to ensure that the Council of Europe strengthens its political role. PACE pays a significant role to conferences and colloquia that are open to the eradication of violence, drugs, immigration, and intolerance. The organization tries to improve the environment and improve and make the media fair.

Discussion of important issues

By asking himself: “PACE - what is it?”, each person becomes more enlightened in matters that relate to European and international events. At each session of the organization, current problems of modern society are discussed. Also at the meeting, much attention is paid to upcoming European and international events. Representatives of various bodies take part in discussions on this topic.

The Assembly is particularly active in areas related to the protection of human rights. She is responsible for a variety of resolutions that relate to issues of crime, the organization of effective and fair justice, the fight against AIDS, the eradication of child trafficking and drug addiction, and other things. The Assembly also approved provisions on lesbians and homosexuals, exploitation of people under the age of sixteen, sects and religious beliefs.

PACE today

Quite recently, one of the most powerful and largest participants in the Assembly - Russia - refused some contracts that significantly affected the activities of PACE. Thus, the Russian Federation showed that to some extent it is suspending and terminating cooperation with the organization, although it is not very beneficial for it. The Chairman of the Assembly took the first step and contacted the government of the state, since, in her opinion, PACE cannot do without such a powerful participant as Russia. If the Russian Federation refuses, the organization will be reformatted and transition to a new level of international cooperation.

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe by majority vote until April. In response, the head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Alexei Pushkov, said that Russia would leave PACE before the end of the year.

What is PACE and when did it appear?

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (abbreviated PACE) was approved in 1949 and until 1974 was called the Consultative Assembly.

PACE is one of the three main bodies and the oldest international parliamentary institution.

The Parliamentary Assembly represents the interests of the main political parties existing in the member states of the organization. The Assembly considers issues related to the problems of modern society and various aspects of international politics.

Why is PACE needed?

Although PACE does not have the ability to pass laws, the Assembly conducts a constant dialogue with the government, the national parliament of the participating countries, and other international and public organizations. Also draws attention to the main problems of modern society and strives to improve the lives of Europeans. To achieve this, the organization takes the following measures:

1. Demands action from 47 heads of state to resolve various issues. PACE is a kind of “engine” of various ideas, strategies and lays the foundation for many areas of activity of the Council of Europe.
2. Conducts investigations and identifies violations of human rights.
3. Asks the presidents and prime ministers of participating countries any questions about problems existing in their countries. Politicians must give a public response. Thus, the Assembly calls for the government to be held accountable for its actions to society.
4. Act as an observer at elections and negotiate in case of conflict situations.
5. Dictates the conditions for states to join the Council of Europe.
6. Promotes the adoption of national laws of participating countries by discussing bills.

Which countries are included in PACE?

Austria, Azerbaijan, Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Great Britain, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Georgia, Denmark, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia (since 1996), Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine, Finland, France, Croatia, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden , Estonia. The Vatican, Israel, Canada, and Mexico also have observer status.

How is the composition of PACE formed?

The PACE Parliament consists of 636 deputies (318 representatives and 318 their deputies). Countries appoint their own parliamentarians.

The five largest states - Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Russia and France - are represented in PACE by 18 members, the minimum representation is 2 members per state. The national delegation must include representatives of all political parties represented in parliament and meet the requirement of balanced representation of men and women. For example, from Russia there are 18 parliamentarians sitting in PACE - deputies of United Russia, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Liberal Democratic Party and A Just Russia.

How does PACE work?

The Assembly holds plenary sessions four times a year. Sessions last one week each.

In addition, twice a year there are sessions of the “Standing Commission”, or “mini-sessions”, in which members of the Bureau and heads of national delegations participate. The Standing Committee has the right to adopt resolutions and recommendations on behalf of the Assembly. Plenary sessions are held at the headquarters of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, sessions of the standing commission are usually held in other countries at their invitation.

1) A PACE member collects the required number of signatures from other members in order to submit a proposal to develop a report.

2) If the Bureau of the Assembly agrees that such a report is necessary, it entrusts its development to one or more commissions.

3) The commission appoints a rapporteur who prepares a report over the course of 1-2 years, regularly reporting to the commission on the progress of the work.

4) As part of the preparation of the report, the deputy can make a number of study tours and organize hearings.

5) The final version of the report, together with the draft resolution and/or recommendation, is adopted by the relevant commission, after which it is submitted to the PACE plenary session or to the session of the Standing Commission.

6) During the session, written amendments to draft resolutions may be submitted, each of which is subject to voting.

7) At the plenary session, the speaker presents his report, after which debates are held (on a pre-prepared list of speakers) and voting on all proposed amendments and on the resolution and/or recommendation as a whole.

8) A resolution requires a simple majority to pass; a recommendation requires a two-thirds majority. Only the votes of members who took part in the voting are taken into account.

What factions are there in PACE?

PACE members are united in the following party groups (factions):

• European People's Party Faction
• Socialist faction
• European Democratic Faction
• Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
• United European Left Faction
• Independent MPs

The Council of Europe (CoE) is an international organization promoting cooperation between all European countries in the fields of law, democratic development and cultural interaction. The Council of Europe includes 47 states. Unlike the European Union, the Council of Europe cannot issue binding laws.

The most prominent bodies of the Council of Europe are the European Court of Human Rights, which operates under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and the Commission of the European Pharmacopoeia.