September 5 constitutional referendum on PACE agenda

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) this week will examine the report on the constitutional plebiscite held in Moldova on September 5, 2010, which was compiled by the PACE corapporteur for Moldova Egidijus Vareikis, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting a communiqué from the Moldovan Parliament. Egidijus Vareikis headed a delegation composed of 17 PACE observers who had been in Moldova on a working visit during September 3-6. A Moldovan parliamentary delegation led by MP Ana Gutu is taking part in the autumn session of the PACE that is held in Strasbourg between October 4 and 8. The delegation also consists of MPs Stella Jantuan, Valeriu Ghiletski, and Grigore Petrenko. The session’s agenda includes a series of reports and resolutions on the procedure for selecting candidates for posts in the European Court of Human Rights, functioning of the democratic institutions in Ukraine, guaranteeing of the sick and disabled children’s right to education, measures aimed at protecting children deprived of parental care, the fight against extremism, etc. There will be held a debate on the expulsion of Roma ethnics from European countries. A number of political figures are set to deliver speeches at the PACE’s winter session, including Foreign Minister of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Antonio Milososki, Prime Minister of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Nikola Gruevski, Feral Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany Guido Westerwelle, Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Angel Gurria, and EBRD Vice President Jan Fischer.