Following a historic two-year presidency of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe held by former President Tiny Kox (UEL, The Netherlands) the turn went to the EPP/CD group.
Proud to have delivered its first time ever PACE President in 2022, the UEL has firmly supported his successor Theodoros Rousopoulos (New Democracy, Greece) for the post of PACE President in line with the existing rotation agreement between the Assembly’s political groups.
The new PACE President is stepping into the shoes of his predecessor, Mr Kox, who managed under his leadership to let the Parliamentary Assembly play a decisive role in the process of expelling the Russian Federation when it started a war of aggression against Ukraine, to bridge the differences and allow all voices to be heard and to improve the cooperation between the Parliamentary Assembly and the Committee of Ministers. Prior to his PACE Presidency, Tiny Kox repeatedly called for a summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe to recommit to the values and principles of the Council of Europe. The fourth Council of Europe summit has been finally held in Reykjavik on 16-17 May 2023. At the helm of PACE, Ex-President Tiny Kox had organised the Parliamentary dimension of the summit in Reykjavik, during which, among others, the Vigdís Prize for Women’s Empowerment had been launched on 15 May 2023. The prize pays tribute to former Icelandic President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, the first woman in the world to be elected as a Head of State and aims to reward outstanding initiatives which promote the empowerment of women in all their diversity.
During the January part-session, a call for candidates has been launched. The Award Ceremony in the Council of Europe will take place on 24 June 2024 in the framework of the third part session in PACE.