Michele Nicoletti becomes new PACE president

Michele Nicoletti from Italy was elected president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) during the PACE session in Strasbourg on Monday, according to a report posted on the organization's website.

Nicoletti, a representative of the Socialist group, replaced Stella Kyriakides in this position, becoming the 31st PACE president since 1949.

The report also notes that Nicoletti was the only candidate for the post.

In his inaugural address, he called for increased unity of the Council of Europe "as the only European institution that brings together 47 countries around the values of human rights, democracy, the rule of law and acceptance of its European Court."

"At a time of great and dramatic challenges – from terrorism to migration, from poverty old and new to mistrust in representative institutions, from the re-emergence of racism and xenophobia to the desperate solitude of so many people – we must offer a response to nationalist and chauvinistic temptations to close ranks, to centrifugal pressures and to conflicts by reasserting the need for peace and justice on our continent," he said.

In addition, 12 PACE vice-presidents were elected, and one of them is the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Volodymyr Ariev (the Bloc of Petro Poroshenko faction).

Kyriakides served as PACE president from October 10, 2017 to January 22, 2018.

As reported, on October 6, 2017, the then PACE president, Pedro Agramunt, tendered his resignation, referring to health problems.

Before that, the group of the European People's Party (EPP) in the PACE excluded Agramunt from its composition. In addition, the PACE made changes to its own regulations, allowing Agramunt to be removed from his post.

The initiative on Agramunt's resignation appeared after the announcement of his visit to Syria as part of the Russian delegation. Information about this was made public on March 20, 2017. Agramunt admitted his mistake, however, said that he would not voluntarily resign.