The President of Austria, Heinz Fischer, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and the Prime Ministers of Georgia, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, and Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu, are among leading personalities due to address the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) during its spring session on April 18-22.

The delegates will discuss situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Current affairs debate: “The recent and tragic escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict” is scheduled for the first day of the session. 

The refugee and migrant crisis in Europe will be on the agenda, with debates on a stronger European response to the Syrian refugee crisis, the human rights of refugees and migrants in the Western Balkans and the new challenge posed by forced migration.

Other items on the agenda include debates on assessing the impact of measures to improve women’s political representation (with the participation of Elena Boschi, Italian Minister for Constitutional Reforms and Relations with Parliament), preventing the radicalisation of children, humanitarian concerns with regard to people captured during the war in Ukraine, the handling of international public health emergencies, and the fight against antisemitism in Europe. There has also been a request for an urgent debate on “The Savchenko case”.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Daniel Mitov, will address the Assembly in his capacity as Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muiznieks, will present his annual activity report 2015. The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, will answer questions from parliamentarians.

The Assembly will also be evaluating the partnership for democracy in respect of the Palestinian National Council.

The Assembly will decide its final agenda on the opening day of the session.