Today, the UEL group has elected Mr George Loucaides (AKEL – Left-New Forces, Cyprus) as its Co-President to replace outgoing Co-President Mr Andrej Hunko (BSW, Germany).
Mr George Loucaides has been a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe since January 2012 when he also joined the Committee on political affairs and democracy. He has contributed extensively to key reports and committee opinions addressing critical issues of democracy, governance, and reconciliation. Notable works in the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy include the 2024 Committee Opinion on reparation and reconciliation processes to overcome past conflicts and build a just and peaceful future, and the 2022 report evaluating the partnership for democracy concerning the Parliament of Jordan. Mr Loucaides has also been involved in assessing member states’ commitments, such as Malta’s adherence to Council of Europe obligations, and has provided insights and recommendations on the political transition in Tunisia. Furthermore, as member and former Vice-chairman of the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs, Mr Loucaides contributed to the financial oversight of the Council of Europe, with reports on the budget and priorities and the Parliamentary Assembly’s expenditures for 2018-2019.
Mr George Loucaides has been UEL’s bureau member since 2017 in his capacity as the group’s Treasurer. He has held the position of Vice-President of the Assembly between 2017 and 2018, Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on the Middle East and the Arab World from 2019 to 2021 and is currently the Vice-Chair of the Sub-Committee on External relations as well as rapporteur on Shaping the Parliamentary Assembly’s relations with the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Mr George Loucaides is AKEL’s parliamentary representative and member of the political bureau. He is Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on the Environment and a member of the Foreign Affairs and European Affairs Parliamentary Committee.