ArmInfo. Reelected President of PACE Pedro Agramunt stated in his speech on the first plenary winter session of the Organization that PACE currently faces four existential challenges, which create a state of constant upheaval.
According to him firstly, transnational terrorism poses a fundamental and multi- faceted danger. Secondly, the refugee crisis, which has triggered much debate about European identity and values. Millions of people are heading towards Europe, on the road to salvation. That is why the refugee crisis is a test of Europe's ability to reach consensus.
"The situation in Ukraine remains very delicate. The conflict has already taken over 9 000 lives, Russian-backed separatists still control part of the country and peace remains elusive. Threats to security and frozen conflicts still exist in the region of Transnistria in the Republic of Moldova, in Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia, and in Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan. All of them present a challenge to Europe's security and complicate efforts to achieve a peaceful settlement. Do not take peace for granted. We have to work on peace again and again in each generation", Agramunt stated in his speech published on PACE official website.
"Lastly, I would like to mention the wave of left and right-wing populism, rising nationalism and the erosion of democratic principles and human rights in some places, which affect our cohesion and our capacity for joint action. These are issues that dominate our agenda and which have grown more urgent and which threaten to undo decades of progress towards greater union, more open borders and closer integration", he noted.
To note, the Armenian delegation to PACE has constantly accused Agramunt of his pro-Azerbaijani stand. It also spoke against his attempts to include Karabakh settlement in the agenda of PACE sessions.