On Friday, 6 September, an international meeting organised by the delegation of Latvia to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will take place to decide upon further action of countries following the PACE decision to restore the voting rights of Russia in the organisation.

“Restoring the voting rights of Russia in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has undermined the credibility of the Council of Europe and other international measures. We have called together parliamentarians representing the countries which are against the restoration of voting rights to Russia with the aim to agree on a common position and further steps before the next session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,” said Inese Lībiņa‑Egnere, Chairperson of the Latvian delegation to the PACE.

A press conference is going to be held before the meeting on Friday at 9:00 to inform the media representatives about the issue.

Parliamentarians from Lithuania, Estonia, Georgia, Ukraine, Poland, the UK, Sweden and Denmark are to attend the meeting.

The voting rights of the Russian delegation were suspended in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and the unlawful warfare in East Ukraine in 2014.

In reaction to the restoration of voting rights, on 8 July the Saeima supported the draft decision “On further action by Latvia at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe”. The decision tasks the delegation of the Saeima to the PACE to engage in consultations with the parliamentary delegations and their members representing the countries that voted against the restoration of voting rights to the Russian Federation with the aim to agree on a common position before the fourth session of 2019, and decide on further action at the PACE.

PACE is a statutory body of the Council of Europe focusing on the protection of human rights, pluralist democracy and the rule of law, promotion of the understanding and development of European cultural identity and diversity and seeking solutions to the problems facing European society, as well as strengthening democratic stability in Europe by supporting political, legislative and constitutional reforms.

Saeima Press Service