Demanded yesterday by all the political groups of the Council of Europe, the public hearing of Pedro Agramunt from Spain, the president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), was held at 1pm in the hemicycle on Tuesday 25 April.
Accompanied by two other parliamentarians, Alain Destexhe from Belgium and Jordi Xuclà from Spain, Agramunt had to explain the circumstances of his visit to Syria, during which the three parliamentarians met President Bashar al-Assad on 20 and 21 March (see EUROPE 11773).
Particularly challenged due to the fact he is president of PACE, Agramunt repeated what he had said to the hemicycle the previous day at the opening of the session: he went to Syria as a Spanish senator, but his presence was manipulated by Russian media in order to involve PACE. He is therefore reduced to "making his excuses" for his naivety.
In his view, the size the affair has taken on within PACE is making a "show" that "is doing the assembly more harm than good". He is sure that some parliamentarians who are opposed to his policy of dialogue – especially with Russia, whose delegation has been boycotting the assembly since the sanctions taken after the annexation of Crimea – want him to lose. "I would like to state that I am sure that my replies will not be much use as some of you have already adopted your position", he said in the introduction to his speech.
Agramunt said he would make an announcement to the Presidential Committee which is meeting on Thursday evening and to the PACE Bureau that is planned on Friday morning. Some envisage his resignation.
The visit of the King of Spain on Thursday is still taking place. It was well-known how essential it was for Agramunt to sit at the formal sitting but this Tuesday he did not in any case take his place again after he had to leave it on Monday morning in a climate of great hostility. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)