Jean-Claude Mignon elected new PACE President

PanARMENIAN.Net - Jean-Claude Mignon (EPP/CD) from France has just been elected President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Taking over from Mevlüt Çavusoglu (Turkey, EDG), he is the 26th President of the Assembly since 1949 and the first French person to hold this office in 23 years.

“First and foremost, I want to make sure in my new position that the rule of law, respect for human rights and the promotion of democracy are not just empty words, and that we are moving forward in these areas, including beyond our borders, in particular by engaging with Europe’s neighbours who are moving down the path to democracy,” he said.

The new President is also eager to find solutions to frozen conflicts, believing it is unacceptable that in this day and age there should still be walls in Europe, CoE official website reported.

A politician and former business leader, Jean-Claude Mignon has represented Seine-et-Marne in France’s National Assembly since 1988. He has been Mayor of Dammarie-lès-Lys since 1983. Mr Mignon has long-standing international experience in PACE and the Western European Union. He has served as PACE Vice-President since 2007 and Chair of the French delegation (2002-2003 and since 2007). He was Vice-Chair of the EPP/CD Group, Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Reform of the Assembly, as well as of the Committee on Parliamentary and Public Relations.