Members of the CoE Parliamentary Assembly

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) consists of a number of individual representatives from each member State, with a President elected each year from among them for a maximum period of two sessions.

Whilst in the Committee of Ministers each member State has one vote, in the Parliamentary Assembly the number of representatives and consequently of votes is determined by the size of the country. The biggest number is eighteen, the smallest two. As there are an equal number of representatives and substitutes, the total number of members of the Assembly is therefore 648, plus 30 Observers and 30 Partners for democracy.

They are appointed to PACE in a manner which is left to be decided by each member state, as long as they are elected within their national or federal Parliament, or appointed from amongst the members of that parliament. The balance of political parties within each national delegation must ensure a fair representation of the political parties or groups in their national parliaments.