International

SP senator Tiny Kox is elected for a second term as the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Kox received 175 of the 223 votes cast and managed to be elected for the second time with a large majority of votes.

Kox has been part of the Dutch delegation of Upper and Lower House members in the Parliamentary Assembly since 2003. Between 2007 and his election as president in 2022, he led the United European Left group, one of the five political groups into which members of the assembly are organised.
The first year of Kox's presidency was marked by the Russian Federation's illegal invasion of Ukraine. Within a day of the start of this terrible war, Kox's initiative saw the Executive Board of the Council of Europe meet to remove Russian membership of the Council.

Kox's most recent activities at the Council of Europe focused on the upcoming European summit of heads of government. This summit will discuss the future of the European security architecture, the role the Council of Europe in it, and preventing impunity for the war crimes committed in Ukraine through the possible establishment of an ad hoc international tribunal.

Under Kox's leadership, the Parliamentary Assembly has been given a major role in preparing for this summit, which will take place in Iceland in May this year. In his acceptance speech, Kox dwelt on the conflict in Ukraine, which has now been going on for almost a year.