AS/Per (2020) PV 06 20 November 2020 Standing Committee Minutes of the meeting held by videoconference on: Monday 12 October 2020 from 14:30 to 18:00 Tuesday 13 October 2020 from 09:30 to 13:00 and from 14:30 to 18:00 Thursday 22 October 2020 from 09:30 to 13:00 and from 14:30 to 18:00 Friday 23 October 2020 from 09:30 to 13:00 F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex | table.office@Council of Europe.int | Tel: + 33 3 88 41 35 07 AS/Per (2020) PV 06 1. OPENING OF THE MEETING BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY Mr Rik Daems, President of the Parliamentary Assembly, opened the meeting on 12 October 2020 at 14:30. 2. EXCHANGE OF VIEWS WITH MR MILTIADIS VARVITSIOTIS, ALTERNATE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF GREECE, CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE Mr Varvitsiotis mentioned the relief felt after the meeting of the Turkish and Greek Foreign Ministers in Bratislava as they decided on the immediate beginning of preliminary talks. Mr Varvitsiotis stated that the announcement of new surveys on the Greek continental shelf at just six and a half miles from Greek shores escalated the situation in the region. This, together with opening of the Varosha seafront, were two signs that occurred during the past few days and violated international law and all relevant UN Security Council resolutions. These actions contravened the latest conclusions of the European Council, which reaffirmed its commitment to a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem within the UN framework in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions 550 and 7089. Turkey had to be called on to cease all illegal actions by which it was systematically undermined the peace and security in the region and to come back to the table of negotiations for a fruitful solution. The joint statement was issued on Belarus calling for Belarus authorities to release all detained protesters immediately and underlining that legitimacy could not come from repression, but from an electoral process that was free, fair and based on the rule of law. Regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the agreement on the ceasefire was welcomed. Commitment to the peaceful resolution of the conflict together with the OSCE Minsk Group implication was also reiterated. On the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Varvitsiotis explained that epidemiological data was being followed while the original position on the protection of human life and public health was reaffirmed as a top priority regardless of the consequences for economic activity. The uninterrupted activities of institutions in member States should also contribute to contain the negative effects on society, social cohesion, the economy and employment. Violence against women and domestic violence was also highlighted as it surfaced in a more pressing manner than before. He regretted that seven member States expressed their will to withdraw from the Convention of the Council of Europe. In the past few weeks, work was intensified on the Athens Declaration on the protection of rule of law and human rights in times of pandemic. There was a fruitful discussion going on in the Committee of Ministers, and the last draft of the Declaration was, a very inclusive document addressing the key issues that should be tackled. A final note was made on issues concerning migration, an issue that the Parliamentary Assembly was very focused on and aware of. It was important to condemn the instrumentalisation of refugees for political reasons. He also noted that after the fire at the Moria refugee camp in Lesbos, a new camp capable of hosting more than 1 000 people, and better organised than the prior one, was put up in only one week. Facilities still did not match those of the prior camp, and they were still being built. Tents would be gradually substituted for more permanent structures such as containers or other buildings to help migrants live in better conditions. Ms Marra raised the issue of the Moria refugee camp by mentioning that Greece and other southern countries were affected by the Dublin Treaty’s inequality of treatment. She noted that the refugee camp did not have dignified living conditions as NGOs and the Council of Europe claimed. Given the difficulties and time requirements for the relocation and the importance of respecting human rights, were concrete decisions for the relocation of these people elsewhere in the European Union being taken? Mr Maire asked whether the institutional dynamic between the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly would be strengthened. As to the budget, given the current annual surplus and the lack of digital solutions for the hemicycle, he asked if there would be an indication by the Greek Presidency of a quicker transition towards digital systems. Mr Varvitsiotis mentioned that relocation was an important tool within the proposals that the European Commission presented recently and that were being reviewed. He mentioned that a comprehensive immigration system was needed, and a new policy needed to be put together despite some European countries not believing in relocation schemes and not willing to participate in them. Burden sharing schemes were being examined as a step forward for the European Union to finally come up with a comprehensive policy to comply both with the ideals of protection of human life and the protection of borders. Although this would be a heated debate in the coming years, all parties need to work together in the search of common grounds. The Commission’s proposals were also referred to as being in the correct direction. 2 AS/Per (2020) PV 06 Everyone knew the difficult times the Council of Europe went through regarding budget. The Committee of Ministers adopted the programming budget for the next two-year period 2020-21 last November. The overall budgetary envelope was based on zero real growth, which limited the horizon of the institution, and the Council of Europe had to stand by what the Committee of Ministers had already done: to invite the Secretary General to consider and prepare in consultation with member States, a four-year strategic framework reflecting the priorities of the Council of Europe and its long term mission. In order to deal with that, the Covid-19 constraints on economies had to be kept in mind. Mr Varvitsiotis was not excessively optimistic and compelled payments to the organisation to be maintained and prompt. Mr Kox expressed recognition for the Minister hard work in the preparation of the Athens ministerial conference and inquired whether it would be a good idea for them to also invite their President of the Assembly and rapporteurs to make the interaction between the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly visible. Mr Howell recalled the Minister speaking on the impact of the Covid-19 and on the topic of Belarus, but expressed that Europe was much more than that. He inquired whether there was something left of what he set out in the beginning of his agenda for Europe that he was still willing to achieve. Mr Igityan congratulated the Minister on his very clear speech and what could be done from the Parliamentary Assembly and the Committee of Ministers to stop the negative role of Turkey in many regions. Mr Seyidov thanked the Minister for his good presentation and inquired about the tragedy occurred the day before where one of the biggest cities of Azerbaijan, Ganja, received a missile attack from Armenia destroying large parts of the city. Mr Seyidov described it as a genocide and a humanitarian crime carried out after the signing of the peaceful ceasefire agreement with Armenia under the auspices of Russia and asked for the Minister’s opinion on such a crime that caused the death of 10 women and children and over 50 wounded. Mr Varvisiotis responded that if the Athens meeting finally took place the Parliamentary Assembly would definitely be represented by the President. The Minister regarded the agenda as being very big and raised his regret on the number of events that were managed to put together due to the effects of dealing with Covid- 19 in all its political, economic and social dimensions, which turned into the main issue on agendas during the past six months. There was an attempt to highlight the impact and response to the pandemic in a comprehensive manner. Regarding the Turkish issue, he recalled that he was standing before members as the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. He reminded that the Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Dendias, stated in the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union that for Greece, Turkey was always involved in all problematic situations in the region. In Nagorno-Karabakh, Syria, Iraq, Cyprus and the south-eastern Mediterranean, Turkey was always problematically involved, but he preferred leaving these mentioned points aside from the current discussion. Regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh situation, he acknowledged the heat of the conflict, conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims of all the assaults occurred the last few weeks, and issued a call for the immediate effect of the agreed ceasefire. Additional belligerent actions could not be tolerated. The ceasefire should be the number one priority followed by the return to the negotiating table under the OESCE Minsk Group. The President thanked the Minister. 3. EXCHANGE OF VIEWS WITH MR ÁNGEL GURRÍA, SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE OECD The President welcomed Mr Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD. Mr Angel Gurría was honoured to be invited to the enlarged meeting of the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. He thanked Georgios Katrougkalos, the rapporteur of this year’s report on the OECD work on taxation of the digital economy, which would soon be debated.