Gérard Larcher (left), Edouard Philippe (centre) François de Rugy (right) Armistice Day, 11 November 2017. Wikipedia
Council of Europe: Parliamentarians favor return of Russian delegation
The parliamentarians of the Assembly of the Council of Europe voted in favor of the return of the Russian delegation.
Published: June 25, 2019, 11:47 am
Russia has been deprived of a right to vote since 2014, after Crimea voted to join Russia in a referendum.
After nine hours of deliberation on the night of 24 to 25 June, parliamentarians from Council of Europe member states voted to allow the Russian delegation to participate again in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), an international organisation created in 1949 and now comprising 47 countries, including the 28 member countries of the EU.
To encourage a return of Russia, PACE has thus adopted a text allowing a country to present a delegation during the year and excluded the possibility of depriving the country of its main voting rights.
After the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, PACE sanctioned Moscow by depriving the Russian delegation of its voting rights in the parliamentary body of a non-binding institution whose purpose is “protect human rights and democracy”.
In response to the sanctions against Russia, Moscow then responded by a boycott, repeatedly threatening to leave the Council of Europe. The possibility that the Russians would be deprived of access to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR, legal arm of the Council of Europe), ended up “convincing the majority of countries that it was better with Russia, than without it, “AFP reported.
Ukraine, supported by the Baltic countries and the United Kingdom, believes that “the reopening of the door to the Russians is comparable to a first breach in the sanctions, imposed on Moscow for annexing Crimea”.
In the Council of Europe hemicycle in Strasbourg, 118 parliamentarians voted in favor of the text, 62 against it and ten abstained.
Even before the vote, Moscow had sent a delegation to Strasbourg, said the vice-speaker of the Russian Parliament, Piotr Tolstoy, as quoted by the agency Ria Novosti, anticipating in advance the resistance of “a healthy majority of ‘spirit’ to ‘the hysteria of a small minority'”.
This latest development comes in a context of several European countries expressing a willingness to cooperate with Russia. On June 24, the leaders of the French and Russian governments met in Le Havre, stressing that their respective countries had never brokenoff dialogue or cooperation, especially on economic issues.
Despite some differences between France and Russia, Edouard Philippe and Dmitry Medvedev both expressed their desire to continue to work together. “What we sometimes hear in France, is the idea that France and Russia should not talk to each other,” said French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, during a press conference with his Russian counterpart.
However, the head of the French government stressed that this “music” did not correspond to anything real. Even if certain differences remain between France and Russia on international issues such as Ukraine or Syria, this has not not affected the continuity of exchanges.
Edouard Philippe recalled that the economic relations between the two countries remained important, despite the economic sanctions taken by the European Union against Russia. The French Prime Minister said French companies were the first foreign companies to look towards Russia.
A strong presence of French business leaders were present to greet the Russian leader: “Thirty very large [French] companies, which represent millions of dollars, are involved in our market and we appreciate this involvement,” said Dmitry Medvedev, adding that 500 French companies are present in the country.
France is “one of the largest foreign investors in Russia and that we appreciate,” he said.
“I am convinced that there are still opportunities to improve these exchanges, including involving the business community,” said Dmitry Medvedev. He mentioned the fields of energy, nuclear and aeronautics, among others, in which cooperation is already particularly developed.
“This is not the end of our cooperation,” said Medvedev, referring in particular to the Ukrainian dossier, on which he praised French initiatives.
“We are both aware of the very high sensitivity” of the Iranian file, noted Edouard Philippe. And the French Prime Minister also acknowledged more generally, the importance of the Franco-Russian dialogue in international diplomacy: “We have the responsibility to maintain a frank dialogue […] to maintain international peace and security.”
All rights reserved. You have permission to quote freely from the articles provided that the source (www.freewestmedia.com) is given. Photos may not be used without our consent.
Consider donating to support our work
Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.
Keep your language polite. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in, for example, Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.
If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violations of any law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.
If your comments are subject to preview by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.
We reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.
Europe
NOAA Predicts Zero Sunspots for Almost the Whole 2030s
CLIMATEThe United States' government scientific organization, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), predicts zero sunspots from 2031 to 2040. This is an extreme situation that has not occurred in as long as humanity has been counting sunspots, and it leads us into uncharted territory in terms of our solar system. However, this prediction aligns with the warnings of the world-renowned solar researcher Valentina Zharkova for many years, who indicated in 2019 various signs of this catastrophic phenomenon, including the extreme hailstorms we have seen in Europe and the world this summer. The forecast and various observations this year give cause for very significant concern. In this unique analysis, Free West Media explains why.
European Nationalist Parties Forge Cooperation Ahead of EU Elections
EUROPEAN ELECTIONSOn Saturday, August 26, representatives of six European nationalist parties gathered in Budapest. The meeting was initiated by the Hungarian party Mi Hazánk and took place in the national parliament. Representatives of the parties signed a joint declaration that not only reaffirms the parties' friendship but also their unity on a range of complex political issues. A surprisingly clear and radical manifesto was established. The hope is that this cooperation will lead to success in the EU elections and eventually result in the formation of a group in the European Parliament. For Swedish nationalism, this meeting marks a success as Sweden, for the first time, has a party represented in a leading nationalist cooperation in Europe. Free West Media was present at this historic event.
Turkey Believes Sweden Hasn’t Done Enough
Sweden will have to wait a bit longer for NATO membership, according to Turkey's Justice Minister Jilmaz Tunc. First, Sweden must extradite the "terrorists" Turkey wants and stop the desecration of the Quran.
Swedish Weapon Takes Down Russia’s Best Attack Helicopter
The Russian attack helicopter Ka-52 is considered one of the world's best and has struck fear in Ukraine, where it has hunted down tanks and other armored vehicles, often beyond the range of many light anti-aircraft systems. However, it has met its match in the Swedish air defense missile system RBS 70, which has quickly led to significant losses for the Russian helicopter forces.
Strong Confidence in German AfD
Alternative for Germany (AfD) held a party conference on July 29-30 to select candidates for the upcoming EU election next year. EU Parliament member Maximilian Krah, belonging to the party's more radical, ethnonationalist faction, was appointed as the top candidate. The party's two spokespersons delivered powerful speeches criticizing the EU's failed migration policy and trade sanctions that isolate Europe and Germany from the rest of the world. They argued that it's time for the EU to return a significant portion of its power to national parliaments. However, they have dropped the demand for Germany to exit the EU.
The Establishment Wants to Ban Germany’s Second Largest Party – for the Sake of Democracy
The rising popularity of AfD has raised strong concerns within the establishment. Despite lies and demonization in the media and isolation from the overall political establishment, the party continues to grow. Certain representatives of the party are accused of becoming increasingly "extreme," and in an unusual move, the influential weekly newspaper Der Spiegel demanded that AfD be "banned."
Dutch FvD break through the media blockade
What is happening in the Netherlands? It is often difficult to follow events in other countries, especially when distorted by system media. We give Forum for Democracy (FvD) the opportunity to speak out on the political situation in the Netherlands and the staunch resistance they face in trying to save the country.
The Ursula von der Leyen Affair
After a criminal complaint in Belgium against the President of the European Commission, the so-called SMS-case, now takes a new turn. The judge responsible for the investigation will likely gain access to the secret messages exchanged between Ursula von der Leyen and Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, at least if they haven't been deleted.
Publisher of Unique Literature Worldwide Blocked by International Distributor
Arktos has distinguished itself by publishing groundbreaking philosophers and social critics. Now, the publisher's international distributor has abruptly terminated the cooperation, and more than 400 already printed titles cannot reach their audience. There is strong evidence that the distributor has been under pressure, something that has also happened in Sweden. We have spoken with Arktos founder Daniel Friberg about the ongoing struggle for freedom of speech in a shrinking cultural corridor.
Care prompts bishops to criticize transgender ideology
The Catholic bishops of the Scandinavian countries presented an open five-page letter criticizing transgender ideology on March 21, just before Easter. The document primarily expresses care and advice and was read aloud in Catholic churches in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland. Cardinal Anders Arborelius, Bishop of Stockholm, is one of the signatories of the document.
