Strasbourg, 26/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - A year ago, following the annexation of the Crimea, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) suspended the voting rights of the Russian delegation, as well as its participation in the work of the different statutory bodies and election follow-up. Russian parliamentarians subsequently left for Moscow and have not taken their seats at Strasbourg since these events.
It was thought that they would take their seats at the assembly at the opening of the 2016 session when the powers of each national delegation are re-examined. This did not prove to be the case. On 18 January, a letter addressed by the Presidents of the two houses of the Russian Parliament informed Anne Brasseur, the president of PACE, that the powers of their delegation would be the subject of a request “later on”.
This effectively excludes the Russian delegation from the work of PACE until January 2017. Another examination of powers is not allowed under this regulation until this date but it is still possible for Russia to present a new delegation following the general elections planned for 18 September next. It would be requested, however, to define the composition of this delegation in an extremely short timeframe, given that the PACE autumn session begins on 10 October.
Speaking during her final press conference as PACE president, on Monday morning, Anne Brasseur deplored this blockage and said that this was “very political news… We have a divergence of views with Moscow but it is only through dialogue that we will be able to resolve them. Ultimately, it appears that any kind of dialogue is impossible and I regret this”. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)