At the opening of the Summer Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the President Ms Anne Brasseur has welcomed the recent initiatives from the President of Ukraine, Mr Petro Poroshenko, to establish a cease-fire, and initiate constitutional reform, which all gave hope for future development of events in that country. She expressed her conviction that those activities would contribute to the process of normalisation in Ukraine, and in relations between Russia and Ukraine. She stresses as particularly essential implementation of the Ukrainian President’s initiatives as swiftly as possible, including in the field of political and institutional reform. She also recalled the importance of the respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity as one of fundamental principles of the Council of Europe

On the first day of the Summer Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Report on the presidential and early parliamentary elections in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and the Report on early presidential elections in Ukraine were reviewed. The observation mission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe assessed that the elections in Macedonia were conducted efficiently and in accordance with national legislation. However, in the Report prepared by Mr Stefan Schennach (Austria, the Socialist Group) he warned of the irregularities noticed during the voting, particularly in cases of organized voting, and also pointed out to the irregularities of "technical" nature, after the opening of polling stations and during the counting of votes. The Assembly also noted the possible misuse of state resources for political purposes by the ruling party. It was estimated that the electoral process alone did not contribute to reducing the tensions that existed between and within ethnic communities. In order to promote democratic consolidation in the country, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, with the support of the Venice Commission, offered assistance to Macedonia in order to improve the electoral legislation.

The Report on the presidential elections in Ukraine stated that the elections were held in accordance with international standards and that the basic human rights and freedoms were meet in most parts of the country, despite continuing violence in the east of the country, which had seriously affected the electoral environment. The election turnout was high, and the results gave the new president the necessary legitimacy. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe said that "there was no military solution to the current crisis." In order to consolidate the electoral process, PACE called on the Ukrainian authorities to adopt a uniform electoral law, as there were too many regulations at the time that in a complex and ambiguous way regulated this process. PACE also recommended strengthening of the supervision of the expenditure of funds by political parties during the election process. The Assembly will continue to monitor the situation in Ukraine and has expressed willingness by the Venice Commission to provide technical assistance for the reform of the electoral legislation.