Rdelegates vaccinated with drugs recognized in their countries can work at the sites of the Council of Europe, PACE reported after the Russian delegation refused to participate in the assembly session in person due to covid restrictions
Plenary Session Hall of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg
For all members of the Council of Europe, there are uniform rules for working on the platforms of the Parliamentary Assembly of the organization, the PACE press service told RBC. On Thursday, the Russian delegation refused to take part in its work in person, accusing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the French authorities of discriminating against Russians vaccinated with the Sputnik V vaccine, which is not recognized in the EU.
“Official visitors to the sites of the Council of Europe can use any vaccines licensed in the member countries of the Council of Europe, which includes, of course, the V-Satellite vaccine. All visitors are asked to fill out a “Declaration COVID form” in which they can indicate that they have been vaccinated with one of these vaccines, have a negative test for COVID-19 or have been cured of COVID-19, ” the PACE press service said in response to a request from RBC regarding the possibilities of the Russian delegation to attend events held by the Council of Europe.
In the declaration form, visitors to the Council of Europe are encouraged to follow the recommendations of the authorities of France and their own country.
According to the head of the Russian delegation to the assembly, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Pyotr Tolstoy, the delegation received an order according to which its members could only move from the hotel to the building of the Parliamentary Assembly. This was explained by the fact that Russia is considered a country with a high level of coronavirus infections in France and is in the red zone.
The French authorities indicate in their recommendations that to visit public places where more than 50 people gather and move around the country, a special pass is required, which also records data on vaccination, a negative PCR test or the fact of a previous illness. France recognizes vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), so in this case, Russian parliamentarians could provide data on the test passed or recovery after a disease, according to the recommendations.
“The French put Russians in a discriminatory position compared to our colleagues from other countries, in particular, the authors of Russophobic resolutions-Ukrainians,Balts and others,” Tolstoy noted. State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin accused PACE of playing along with pharmaceutical companies. In his opinion, ” PACE should decide: either this is a place for discussions, where the law and standards are guided, or it is a lobbying organization acting in the interests of pharmaceutical companies and promoting those vaccines that are beneficial to them.”
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