Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, MP, Leader of the Parliamentary delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, together with the Joe Debono Grech, Leo Brincat and Joseph Falzon, are attending the Fourth Part of the 2006 Ordinary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which opened yesterday.

During this part session Boris Gryzlov, president of the State Duma of the Russian Federation; Ferenc Gyurcsany, Hungarian Prime Minister; Sali Berisha, Albanian Prime Minister; Ivo Sanader, Croatian Prime Minister and Boris Tadic, Serbian President; are expected to address the Parliamentary Assembly.

Among the subjects to be debated during this part session are the:

• institutional balance at the Council of Europe;

• implementation of decisions of the European Court of Human Rights,

• general policy on the situation in the Balkans;

• situation in Kosovo;

• OECD and the world economy;

• cultural situation of the Kurds;

• establishment of a European remembrance centre for victims of forced population movements and ethnic cleansing;

• image of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers in the media;

• European drug convention on promoting public health policy in drug control;

• need to reconcile work and family life; and

• European interest in the continued economic development of Russia.

During this part session, the assembly is expected to debate under urgent procedure the situation in Lebanon and the mass arrivals of migrants in Europe.