Addresses by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule, and Italian Justice Minister Paola Severino (to be confirmed) are among highlights of the 2013 Winter Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), taking place in Strasbourg from 21 to 25 January.
Other highlights include debates on the honouring of obligations and commitments by Azerbaijan and the follow-up to the issue of political prisoners in this country, the situation in Kosovo,* the state of media freedom in Europe and the humanitarian situation in the conflict- and war-affected areas of Georgia and Russia.
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland will address the parliamentarians, and Andorran Foreign Minister Gilbert Saboya Sunye will present the Communication of the Committee of Ministers to the Assembly.
Also on the agenda: the forthcoming Council of Europe convention to combat trafficking in organs, tissues and cells of human origin; ensuring the viability of the Strasbourg Court, focusing on structural deficiencies in States Parties; and post-monitoring dialogue with Bulgaria.
On Wednesday 23 January the session will discuss two reports concerning Azerbaijan:
The honouring of obligations and commitments by Azerbaijan , and The follow-up to the issue of political prisoners in Azerbaijan. -02D-
Politics
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President of the Council of the European Union Antonio Costa called the head of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.
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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan published a set of proposals on his Facebook page aimed at establishing long-term peace in the region. Among them, he suggested that Azerbaijan should abandon mutual claims against Armenia, including in international courts. Other proposals include: refraining from using belligerent rhetoric, continuing the demarcation of borders, signing a peace agreement that is 90% ready, mutually implementing arms control, creating a joint mechanism to investigate violations of the ceasefire regime, and dissolving the OSCE Minsk Group.
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The United States announced a new and final military aid package to Ukraine under President Joe Biden’s administration. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stated in Germany that the total amount of assistance will be $500 million.
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Baku is expected to see the construction of 10 new metro stations. President Ilham Aliyev discussed this during a meeting with journalists on January 7. The head of state noted that locations for the new metro stations have been selected, and investments will start being made this year.
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