PARIS, January 24. /TASS/. Some Eastern European participants of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) challenged the powers of the Russian delegation to the organization. This was announced during the opening of the PACE winter session in Strasbourg, livestreamed by PACE’s press office.

A total of two protests were filed. The initiative, introduced by Lithuanian lawmaker Emanuelis Zingeris was supported by 49 session participants, while the initiative, introduced by Ukrainian lawmaker Yevgeny Kravchuk was supported by 47. According to the PACE rules, at least 30 votes from five different national delegations were required.

Zingeris and Ukraine’s delegations regularly file protests against the Russian delegation’s power at the opening of every winter session. This is being done at the first meeting of the year, because this is when all delegations file their applications for participation in this year’s Parliamentary Assembly work. During the first day of the session, the powers of the delegations are being confirmed automatically unless challenged by PACE members.

At present, the PACE Monitoring Committee will have to prepare a report and a draft resolution within 24 hours. Until the report is published and the resolution is adopted, the Russian delegation enjoys all powers (can participate in meetings, speak and vote). Under the draft resolution, the Russian delegation won’t be allowed to vote. The debate on the powers of the Russian delegation will take place on Wednesday, January 26.