On February 13th, ASSEDEL had the pleasure of hosting a training session with Petra Bayr, a member of the Austrian Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). She is affiliated with the Socialist, Democrats, and Greens political group, where she also serves as the Head of the Women’s Group Presidents. Additionally, she is one of the chairpersons of the Committee on the Election of Judges to the European Court of Human Rights.
During her presentation, she provided an insightful overview of PACE, including its composition, key committees, and procedural mechanisms. She explained the 6 committees that work on content as well as the monitoring committees. She also offered a firsthand explanation of how members of parliament join political groups within PACE, detailing the process by her group’s statute with examples of previous encounters. The insight was interesting and educational.
In the Q&A session, our team explored how a report is prepared by a member of parliament and identified potential opportunities for collaboration with PACE members on future reports. This guidance will be highly valuable for our association in further expanding our network and strengthening our advocacy efforts. Furthermore, another question raised during the session inquired about the extent of cooperation between PACE and the European Parliament. The response was somewhat surprising, revealing that the level of cooperation between the two institutions is rather limited.
We sincerely appreciate Ms. Bayr’s time and valuable insights.