MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Dutch senator and Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) member Tiny Kox told Sputnik on Friday that Pedro Agramunt's resignation from his post as PACE president came too late and his actions as the head of the organization were irresponsible.
Earlier in the day, Agramunt said he was leaving his post due to personal reasons. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe's Bureau declared in April it had "no confidence" in Agramunt, following his March visit to Syria and a meeting with President Bashar Assad, both done as a private citizen rather than a PACE representative.
"This decision comes very late. A lot of damage to the credibility of PACE could have been prevented if president Agramunt would have done what he did promise months ago: to immediately step down when his [European People's Party] EPP Group no longer showed confidence in him… President Agramunt's behavior has unfortunately been most irresponsible and has also damaged his own image. Nevertheless, I appreciate his stepping down," Kox said.
PACE regulations in April did not allow Agramunt to be removed from office despite the "no confidence" declaration. In late June, Agramunt was expelled from his political group in the assembly. The following day, the PACE adopted a resolution, amending the regulations, allowing to begin the process of Agramunt's removal from office.
Agramunt has said that his visit to Syria was aimed at supporting political dialogue.
