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Council of Europe decides against debate on Poland

PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk 25.01.2016 13:45
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Monday decided not to hold a debate on the state of democracy in Poland.
Council of Europe. Photo: Flickr.com/David
Council of Europe. Photo: Flickr.com/David

Groupings including Christian Democrats, socialists and liberals had demanded an urgent debate and a vote on a resolution regarding how democratic institutions are functioning in Poland.

Ninety-eight parliamentary assembly members voted for a debate, 89 were against and 14 did not vote. The motion to hold a debate needed a two-thirds majority to be passed.

The decision was taken in Strasbourg during the winter session of the parliamentary assembly, which meets several times a year and groups 318 MPs from the parliaments of 47 Council of Europe member countries.

The parliamentary assembly is part of the Council of Europe, an international organisation which aims to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law, and which is a separate body from the EU.

Earlier this month, the head of the Council of Europe, Thorbjoern Jagland, appealed to Polish President Andrzej Duda not to sign a new law on the media before holding talks with Council of Europe experts on press freedom.

Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło fended off concerns that her new government has eroded democracy in Poland in a European Parliament debate last week. (pk)

Source: IAR, PAP

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