YEREVAN, JUNE 25, ARMENPRESS. The summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has kicked off in Strasbourg.

During the session it was expected to elect a new head of the Group of the European People’s Party (EPP), but the election was postponed.

“The bureau of the Group, I am also the member of the bureau, made a decision to postpone the election of the head till autumn session. The reason of the delay are the existing atmosphere and disagreements in the Group during the past two years”, Arpine Hovhannisyan, Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, head of the Armenian Delegation to PACE, said on Facebook.

She informed that the delay will enable to more calmly prepare for the election and restore the Group’s unity.

EPP Group chairman Cezar Preda resigned during the last session over the Azerbaijani-linked corruption scandal and the report released by the corruption committee.

The PACE summer session agenda also includes the issue of protecting the human rights defenders and human rights organizations in PACE member states, in particular, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Russia. The session agenda will also cover the observation report of the April 11, 2018 presidential election in Azerbaijan.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan