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Europe and migration will be one of the central themes of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) Summer plenary session to be opened in Strasbourg today.

According to the official release of the organization, four reports will be debated on Wednesday 28 June, focusing on the humanitarian and political response to the migration crisis, the human rights implications of the European response to transit migration, migration as an opportunity for European development and the integration of refugees in times of critical pressure.

Speakers in the debates will include Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland, Mayor of Athens Giorgos Kaminis, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks, and the Swedish Minister for Justice and Migration Morgan Johansson.

Other highlights of the session include debates on recognising and enforcing the principle of accountability in the Parliamentary Assembly, promoting integrity in governance to tackle political corruption and parliamentary scrutiny over corruption. It is also planned to hold debates on the situation in Belarus and political influence over independent media and journalists.

Pavel Filip, Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, and Duško Markovic, Prime Minister of Montenegro, will deliver speeches, and Lubomír Zaorálek, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, will address the Assembly's parliamentarians in his capacity as Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers.

To note, one of the central topics to be considered at the session is the tense situation over PACE President Pedro Agramunt’s future.  The PACE Bureau declared Agramunt deprived from the right to make statements or participate in foreign trips on behalf of the assembly on April 28 due to his unauthorized visit to Syria. However, PACE regulations do not provide grounds for PACE president’s dismissal, which means that Agramunt will secure his office until his voluntary resignation.

The Bureau ordered Liliane Maury Pasquier to prepare a draft document amending PACE regulations to introduce dismissal procedures of PACE members in elective office. The document will be considered on Tuesday.