The work of the second part of the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) began today in Strasbourg. MEP Mr. Nicos Tornaritis, head of the Cypriot delegation to the Assembly, participated in a debate on the strengthening of strategic cooperation between the Council of Europe (CoE) and the European Union (EU).
Mr. Tornaritis noted that both the experience of the management of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine demonstrate the importance of further shielding Europe from external and internal challenges and the need for cooperation within and beyond European borders. Unity, solidarity and enhanced cooperation, Mr. Tornaritis underlined, are the driving force of the CoE and the EU to address common challenges more effectively. At the same time, the Cypriot MEP pointed out, duplication of resources and actions should be avoided and there should be a better distribution of competences in common areas of action of the two organisations. Tornaritis noted that the accession of the EU to the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter of the CoE is necessary for the purposes of legal uniformity throughout the territory of the European area and the establishment of an additional level of protection of human rights for European citizens. Regardless of what the development will be, said Mr. Tornaritis, the accession of the EU to other individual Conventions of the CoE, such as the Istanbul Convention, would add value to the respective policies of the EU.
The achievement of peace, security and stability in Europe requires expanded cooperation and constant coordination between the two organisations, so that the whole of Europe can benefit from a single regulatory framework that truly improves the quality of life of European citizens, he concluded.
(NΓ/ΣΧ)
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