PACE Set to Debate Motion for Dismissal of Its President at October Session

Baku / 30.06.17 / Turan: The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe issued on Friday a petition for the removal of Pedro Agramunt from the post of chairman.

As reported in the PACE official report, 158 members of the Assembly representing the five political groups and 36 national delegations signed under the proposal to remove the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Pedro Agramunt. Now this document will be put to the vote at the autumn session of the Assembly, which will be held on October 9-13.

In accordance with the changes previously introduced in the PACE regulation, "until the final decision on the motion is taken, the President ceases to chair the meetings of the Assembly," the document says. Agramunt himself is informed about what is happening, PACE reports.

Under new regulations, he was sent a proposal for his removal from office with the signatures of parliamentarians.

Earlier, Agramunt was expelled from the PACE political group European People's Party.

Agramunt did not attend the June session of the PACE on June 26-30. Before that, in April the PACE Bureau removed him from the duties of the PACE head because he did not attend the meeting and did not provide explanations on the trip to Syria and the meeting with Bashar Assad on the initiative of the State Duma deputies. Agramunt also became a figment of the scandal surrounding the "caviar diplomacy" in PACE.

As a co-rapporteur of the Monitoring Committee, and then the PACE President, Agramunt gave smoothed assessments of the human rights situation in Azerbaijan and counteracted the measures taken by the assembly to release political prisoners in the country. -06D--