Moldova to Report to PACE This Week on Honoring Its Commitments

Moldova will present a report on implementation of its commitments as a Council of Europe member during the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The meeting will be held in Strasbourg, between January 23and 27, 2023. The delegation of the Moldovan Parliament includes Ion Groza, head of the national delegation to PACE, Mihail Popsoi, vice-president of Parliament, and Natalia Davidovici, noi.md reports. The report was drawn up by co-rapporteurs Pierre-Alain Fridez (Switzerland) and Inese Libina-Egnere (Latvia) within the Committee for Honouring the Obligations and Commitments of Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee). The members of the national delegation, Ion Groza and Mihail Popsoi, will intervene in the debate on this document. The agenda of the PACE winter session also includes the urgent debate on the legal and human rights aspects of the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. The recent tensions between Pristina and Belgrade will also be discussed. PACE will also address the environmental impact of armed conflict, as well as the ethical, cultural and educational challenges of contact tracing applications. Building the Council of Europe’s Open Academic Networks (OCEAN) will also be examined. Another pressing topic on the session’s agenda is conflict-related sexual violence. Deputy Natalia Davidovici will speak on this issue. In her speech, she will refer to the Istanbul Convention, the role and responsibility of men and boys in stopping gender-based violence against women and girls, identifying solutions for marital captivity. During the winter session, a new president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and PACE vice presidents will be elected. Among the officials invited to address the MEPs at the plenary session are Prime Minister of Iceland Katrin Jakobsdottir and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.