 One very significant indicator of the direction a European country is taking is its relationship with the inter-governmental Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights organization that works to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law. This week the troubled history of relations between Russia and the Council of Europe (of which Russia has been a member since 1996) reached something of a new low when on 30 June foreign minister Sergei Lavrov informed the Council of Europe that Russia was suspending all financial contributions (approximately €33m annually) until the "unconditional total restoration" of the rights of Russia's delegation. Ostensibly this step was a response to the decision by the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), of 10 April 2014, to strip Russian delegates of their voting rights following Russia’s annexation of Crimea. [Read more] |
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