The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) met for the second time in 2025 in Strasbourg from April 7 to 11. Urgent debates on the situation in Georgia, the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul, and the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine were added to the agenda. Current affairs debates addressed the immediate end of the humanitarian blockade of Gaza and protests in the Western Balkans and Central Europe.
Other debates concerned foreign interference: a threat to democratic security in Europe; the cessation of collective expulsions of foreigners; respect for the rule of law and combating corruption within the Council of Europe; and amendments to various provisions of the Assemblys rules of procedure. In a special ceremony, the 2025 Council of Europe Museum Prize was awarded to Euskararen Etxea, the Basque Language House in Bilbao, Spain.
Three Senators participated in this second part-session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe: Tekke Panman (acting delegation leader) and Elly van Wijk (both BBB), and Saskia Kluit (GroenLinks-PvdA). The delegation also met with Tanja Gonggrijp, Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe, and her team.
PACE tightens its own rules on ethics and anti-corruption
During this session, the assembly approved a report on tackling corruption and changes to its own rules to improve the ethical culture within the Assembly. The rules had already been tightened after the corruption scandal surrounding Azerbaijan in 2017, but the parliamentarians felt that more needed to be done.
The adjustments to the rules included a more robust procedure for members to declare interests - including stricter penalties for failing to do so and better checks on the declarations - as well as stricter oversight of members holding responsible positions within the Assembly. These rules will take effect from January 2026.
Saskia Kluit referred in her contribution to the Senate, where integrity is regularly debated: We do not have pronounced corruption cases, but we do have integrity issues. And if you do not address those, it is a mold that undermines the foundations of our democratic system. She believes this also applies to PACE: We can only achieve the values we pursue if we also apply them to ourselves.
Draft Convention on Environmental Protection
On April 10, the Assembly debated the Draft Convention of the Council of Europe for the protection of the environment through criminal law. Tekke Panman expressed support for the report on behalf of the European Peoples Party faction. He wanted to emphasize two points of concern. First, the ambition level, referring to the Council of Europe treaties and the international agreements that already exist, such as the Paris Agreement, to which EU member states are bound.
Panman: These frameworks already emphasize the importance of a healthy and sustainable environment. Secondly, he believed that potential downsides must be considered: Every treaty we adopt inevitably brings challenges in terms of interpretation and implementation. Finally, he noted that the treaty provides clarity and reflects shared responsibility to protect the environment alongside economic activities that ensure our basic needs, such as food production.
Saskia Kluit, who as chair of the PACE Social Affairs Committee spoke last, stated that the report was unanimously adopted in the committee: This is an important step forward. The current instruments are not enough. Criminal law is necessary to better protect the future of our youth. We will send a strong signal to governments across Europe, as represented in the Committee of Ministers, that we are united in defending the environment and taking it seriously enough that it also becomes part of criminal law.
Current Affairs Debate on Gaza
In the current affairs debate on immediately ending the humanitarian blockade of Gaza and restoring the ceasefire, Saskia Kluit spoke on behalf of the Socialist, Democrats, and Greens faction. She referred to the report on the humanitarian situation in Gaza that was adopted in January during the first part-session of PACE and noted that the situation is an even greater disaster than before: The damage to our protective system of international humanitarian law has been maximally tested by what is happening in Gaza.
For four weeks there has been a complete blockade, putting two million people at risk of starvation. Medical supplies will run out in two to three weeks, humanitarian organizations told during a hearing organized by Kluit earlier in the week. This threatens to create a situation where people will have to be treated or operated on without anesthesia.
The violence against aid workers and the mass grave of aid workers were called a sad low point by Kluit. She also mentioned the ongoing attacks on the press and press freedom by Israel as unacceptable violations of international law. In addition to the renewed call for an immediate ceasefire and resumption of aid transports, she again called for the immediate release of hostages.
Miscellaneous
On April 9, Elly van Wijk and Saskia Kluit participated in the Women@PACE meeting on structural gender-based violence. Special guest was H.R.H. the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. Tanja Gonggrijp, Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe and chair of the Committee of the Parties to the Istanbul Convention, and Chékéba Hachemi, chair of the Afghanistan Libre and co-founder of Stand Speak Rise Up! also spoke.
In addition, Van Wijk and Panman spoke with a delegation of the Belarusian Democratic Forces and Kluit with the cooperating Russian opposition, including Vladimir Kara-Murza. Kara-Murza is a former political prisoner and winner of the Václav Havel Prize. Panman attended the celebration of Lithuanias thirty years of membership in the Council of Europe on April 10, and Kluit spoke during Rebuilding Gaza for Gazans, a side event organized by the Turkish delegation.