STRASBOURG
Turkey's EU Minister and Chief Negotiator has been awarded an honorary presidential diploma and medal by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
Speaking at the award ceremony held on Monday evening at the Council of Europe, Cavusoglu thanked President Anne Brasseur and said that the Council sent a powerful message to the world.
"We are all here today to protect the basic values and dignity of humanity regardless of our religious beliefs, political opinions and nationalities."
"Europe is the European Union. Europe is the Balkans. Europe is Turkey. Europe is Ukraine. Europe is Russia. We are all Europe, living in the same continent. We have a lot to learn from each other in order to better the lives of our peoples," he said.
The first Turkish politician to head PACE, Cavusoglu was unanimously chosen as the body’s honorary president on March 7.
A member of PACE’s Turkish delegation since 2003, Cavusoglu became the head of the country’s delegation in 2007 and was elected president of the assembly in 2010. He handed over to French politician Jean Claude Mignon in 2012.
PACE is the statuary organ of 1949-established Council of Europe, of which Turkey is a founding member. Turkey is represented by a 24-member delegation, among a total 642 representatives from member countries. The Assembly was established following the Second World War to ease tensions in Europe and consolidate cooperation, the rule of law and human rights in the continent.
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