ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
June 20, 2005 Monday

PACE summer session begins work with approving agenda

By Yuri Ulyanovsky

STRASBOURG

The summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe (PACE) began at the Palace of Europe in Strasbourg on Monday
with voting for the session agenda.

The PACE session agenda includes the assessment of the fulfilment of
Russia’s obligations to the Council of Europe and issues related to
the operation of mass media when covering terror acts.

Among other main items on the session agenda are the discussion of
the current situation in Kosovo, debates on the functioning of
democratic institutions in Azerbaijan and on the constitutional
reform progress in Armenia.

The Assembly will also consider issues outside the framework of 46
member-states of the Council of Europe. In view of recent
developments, the parliamentarians will discuss the situation in
Central Asia and the Middle East.

As the “urgent debates” item the PACE will discuss further steps
aimed at the fulfilment of decisions of the third summit of the
Council of Europe held in Warsaw in May. Secretary General of the
Council of Europe Terry Davis will speak on this issue.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and President of the
European bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Jean Lemierre
will take the floor at the PACE summer session. Lemierre will
participate in the discussion of issues related to the EBRD
contribution in the development of countries of Central and Eastern
Europe.