There has been what can only be as a perfidious development today in PACE (The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe). First you have to understand what PACE and the Council of Europe (CoE) is so here's a brief refresher: The Council of Europe is not the EU. It started in 1949 and claims today still to promote "Human rights, democracy and the rule of law" as well as "freedom of expression and of the media, freedom of assembly, equality, and the protection of minorities." (https://www.coe.int/en/web/about-us/values). Under it's auspices the most important institution is the European Court of Human Rights - not to be confused with the International Court that sits in the Hague. PACE is this august bodies Parliamentary adjunct, it also has Commissioners etc which act as supposed 'executives' and board - cabinet type affair that proposes things to be to the Parliamentary Assembly. The Parliamentary Assembly - who meet in session about twice a year for a few days are essentially delegates from every European country who are already MPs in their home country. Thus while Nadyia Savchenko was elected to the Ukrainian Rada while she was in prison in Muscovy still she was named in 2014 as a Ukrainian delegate to PACE. So much for what it is. All EU members are members of PACE and the COE but 20 or so members of the COE are not EU or variants of members.
Muscovy was deprived of it's voting right by this Council following it's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. Though nothing has changed in Crimea or in the Donbass (except more dead and injured troops and civilians) PACE yesterday voted by 118 to 62 to welcome Muscovy back into the COE.
The debate - such that was permitted - you can view here: https://vodmanager.coe.int/coe/webca...019-06-24-2/en I note Roger Gale, who was once the MP of the neighbouring constituency in England from where I lived, giving a robust no speech.
As you can imagine the Poles, Ukrainians, Romanians, Baltics, Fins and even Bulgarians rejected this proposal. Of the so called 'Western Europeans' only the British stood up for the values that the Council claims to promote. Both the French and the Germans vote in favour in re-admitting Muscovy.
One of the reasons of this vote is that after Muscovy was deprived of it's voting rights in 2014 it withdrew from the CoE and has not been paying it's annual membership fee. The debt stands at around 33m euros today... inflation since the time of Christ and Judas.
My personal feelings would be too explicit to pronounce in public and besides they do not really matter. This is had the immediate consequence though of Ukraine and Poland withdrawing their delegates and Ambassadors "for consultations". The longer term though may bode deeper implications. For example bearing in mind that both France and Germany voted in favour of this "surrender" (as the Ukrainian Ambassador called it) why on earth should Ukraine trust them any them further in the 'Normandy Format' talks regarding the non existent 'Minsk Agreements'? Zelensky says he was on the phone trying to persuade Macron and Merkel to say no... nevertheless they have surrendered. I cannot see any new Foreign Minister, or Zelensky, accepting 'Normandy format' talks again. How that breaks down if we reject this format is anyone's guess. One thing is for sure though; by 'surrendering' without a single concession PACE has encouraged further aggression.
On the bright side it may serve as spur for greater Central European cooperation and alignment - despite the currently insane Polish Government intent on Dmovskian hyperbole and 'dwama'. The future of Europe lies not in the perfidious Western capitals of Paris, Berlin, Madrid and Rome but in those countries that understand from long experience the threat which menaces not only Europe but our friends and relatives across the Atlantic.
Muscovy was deprived of it's voting right by this Council following it's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. Though nothing has changed in Crimea or in the Donbass (except more dead and injured troops and civilians) PACE yesterday voted by 118 to 62 to welcome Muscovy back into the COE.
The debate - such that was permitted - you can view here: https://vodmanager.coe.int/coe/webca...019-06-24-2/en I note Roger Gale, who was once the MP of the neighbouring constituency in England from where I lived, giving a robust no speech.
As you can imagine the Poles, Ukrainians, Romanians, Baltics, Fins and even Bulgarians rejected this proposal. Of the so called 'Western Europeans' only the British stood up for the values that the Council claims to promote. Both the French and the Germans vote in favour in re-admitting Muscovy.
One of the reasons of this vote is that after Muscovy was deprived of it's voting rights in 2014 it withdrew from the CoE and has not been paying it's annual membership fee. The debt stands at around 33m euros today... inflation since the time of Christ and Judas.
My personal feelings would be too explicit to pronounce in public and besides they do not really matter. This is had the immediate consequence though of Ukraine and Poland withdrawing their delegates and Ambassadors "for consultations". The longer term though may bode deeper implications. For example bearing in mind that both France and Germany voted in favour of this "surrender" (as the Ukrainian Ambassador called it) why on earth should Ukraine trust them any them further in the 'Normandy Format' talks regarding the non existent 'Minsk Agreements'? Zelensky says he was on the phone trying to persuade Macron and Merkel to say no... nevertheless they have surrendered. I cannot see any new Foreign Minister, or Zelensky, accepting 'Normandy format' talks again. How that breaks down if we reject this format is anyone's guess. One thing is for sure though; by 'surrendering' without a single concession PACE has encouraged further aggression.
On the bright side it may serve as spur for greater Central European cooperation and alignment - despite the currently insane Polish Government intent on Dmovskian hyperbole and 'dwama'. The future of Europe lies not in the perfidious Western capitals of Paris, Berlin, Madrid and Rome but in those countries that understand from long experience the threat which menaces not only Europe but our friends and relatives across the Atlantic.
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