II SÉRIE-D — NÚMERO 64

16

Thank you, Madam President.

Dear Colleagues,

First of all, I must thank the

rapporteurs on behalf of my political

group of the European People's

Party for this very precise and

exhaustive work on San Marino's

compliance with the obligations

arising from its membership of the Council of Europe.

The Monitoring Committee has reviewed San Marino's compliance with its obligations and its democratic

institutions and the rule of law in great depth. San Marino's unique and robust system of democratic institutions

and the rule of law is well suited to its historical democratic heritage and the characteristics of its microstate

status. At the same time, as already mentioned, there are peculiarities of these governmental structures that

have also raised concerns about the effectiveness of the system of checks and balances in the country and the

potential vulnerability of its democratic institutions and representatives to corruption and conflicts of interest.

Thus, the Commission makes a number of recommendations aimed at strengthening the system of checks

and balances and the resilience of democratic institutions, including improving the working conditions of

members of the Grand and General Council and, in particular, achieving greater equality between men and

women. In this area, much remains to be done: for example, the proportion of women in the national parliament

is only 33% and in the private sector 22 %. Unemployment among women is 10,56 % and among men only

4,7 %.

In order to maintain its independence as a sovereign state in an increasingly interconnected and

interdependent world, San Marino has nevertheless integrated fully into the international community and

harmonised its institutions and legal framework with international standards. San Marino is to be commended

for its efforts, despite the already noted difficulties of its microstate status, to ensure that its democratic

institutions and legal framework still comply with international standards, in particular its obligations as a

member State of the Council of Europe.

That is why we support this report.

Thank you and congratulations for this work.

DE REFERIR AINDA:

Presidência da Sessão Plenária (28 de abril)

Na qualidade de Vice-Presidente da Assembleia Parlamentar do Conselho da Europa, a Presidente da

Delegação portuguesa, Deputada Edite Estrela, presidiu à Sessão, na manhã

do dia 28 de abril, durante o debate O cumprimento das obrigações de São

Marino decorrentes da sua adesão ao Conselho da Europa (Doc. 15737).

Apresentação e discussão do Relatório de Atividades do Bureau e da

Comissão Permanente, pelo Deputado Ian Liddell-Grainger (Reino Unido,

CE/AD), (Doc. 15745, Doc. 15745 Add. 1, Doc. 15745 Add. 2), a 24 de abril. Este relatório analisa os trabalhos

e as decisões dos órgãos subsidiários da Assembleia desde a última sessão.