Council of Europe

STRASBOURG - The head of the Serbian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Biljana Pantic Pilja said on Tuesday evening the body had made a "disgraceful decision" by adopting a recommendation to grant CoE membership to the so-called Kosovo, trampling all norms of international law.

In a recent gathering organized by the European Liberal Forum, ALDE, and the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria, outgoing Deputy Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mariya Gabriel, underscored Sofia's commitment to the European Union membership of Western Balkan countries.

ALDE co-chair Ilhan Kyuchyuk emphasized Bulgaria's imperative for full membership in the Schengen Area during Monday's EU Meets the Balkans Forum in Sofia.

Kyuchyuk asserted that Bulgaria rejects a "quasi-state" status and demands full integration into the Schengen Zone, highlighting the country's potential contributions to EU integration and its added value within the union.

The Council of Europe's anti-corruption body GRECO had criticized Greece's refusal to allow peers to be involved in the process of appointing senior judges and prosecutors.

BELGRADE - Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said on Monday a conclusion by the Council of Europe money laundering watchdog MONEYVAL that Serbia had made progress on development of an anti-money laundering and terror financing system confirmed the country was on the right track.

The conclusion is included in the latest MONEYVAL report, published earlier in the day.

New Democracy MP Theodoros Roussopoulos has been elected as the president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

Roussopoulos is the 35th PACE president since 1949 and the first Greek national to hold this office. Presidents serve a one-year term, which may be renewed once. 

BELGRADE - The Serbian government said on Friday Serbia's success in fulfilment of recommendations issued by the Council of Europe's anti-corruption watchdog GRECO was a result of engagement on strengthening rule of law and ensuring judicial independence following the adoption of constitutional amendments, a set of judicial and other laws and bylaws and procedures.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) highlighted dire conditions at Korydallos Psychiatric Hospital for prisoners in a report issued on Thursday after an ad hoc visit last November. 

Greece has a legal obligation to conduct effective investigations into the Pylos shipwreck, which resulted in the deaths of more than 80 people with many hundreds still missing, Europe's top human rights watchdog has said.

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou will travel to Reykjavík, Iceland, on May 16-17 to attend the Council of Europe's Summit of Heads of State & Government (CoE Reykjavík Summit), he office said.