Van der Linden made Commander in the Order of Orange-Nassau
04/09/2007 14:49
Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal
PACE President, ending official visit to the Netherlands, made Commander in the Order of Orange-Nassau
René van der Linden, the President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), has been made Commander in the Order of Orange-Nassau, one of the highest honours of the Netherlands, for his activities and contribution as President of PACE.
He received the honour, which is in the gift of Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands, from the Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen during an official visit to the country. Mr van der Linden is a member of the Dutch Senate, and has been President of the Assembly - which brings together 318 parliamentarians from 47 European countries - since January 2005.
During his one-day visit, the President met Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, Europe Minister Frans Timmermans and the heads of both chambers of the Dutch Parliament, as well as holding a round-table with Dutch human rights and Europe experts.
Speaking at the end of the visit, the President stressed the need for the Netherlands to support a stable, solid partnership with Russia, which he said was "one of the most important challenges for the long-term future of the European continent".
He also called for closer relations between the EU and the Council of Europe, and a "new impetus" for the Juncker Report, a series of proposals to strengthen co-operation between the two organisations made in April 2006 by Luxembourg's Prime Minister.
Mr van der Linden also stressed the need for both governments and parliaments to give greater attention to the Council of Europe, and underlined the contribution of NGOs, civil society and religious organisations in achieving the Organisation's human rights goals.