The Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), meeting in Strasbourg today (April 28), resolved that it has no confidence in Pedro Agramunt as President of the Assembly, PACE website said.

It further resolved that Agramunt is not authorised to undertake any official visits, attend any meetings or make any public statements on behalf of the Assembly in his capacity as President.

“The President chose not to attend the Bureau today, and has not presented a letter of resignation. As a result, and in the context of the current Rules of Procedure under which the President cannot be compelled to resign, the Bureau felt it necessary to take these steps,” said Sir Roger Gale (United Kingdom, EC), Senior Vice-President of the Assembly, after chairing the Bureau meeting.

“The standards and principles of the Parliamentary Assembly are more important than any individual member, and the integrity of our Assembly must be upheld,” he added.

The Spaniard had traveled to Syria in his capacity as a Spanish politician and not as a PACE representative.

In March, Agramunt and ten other politicians from Spain, Italy, the Czech Republic, Serbia, and Belgium met with Russian lawmakers and Syrian President Assad in Damascus following an invitation by Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, the Speaker of the People's Council of Syria.