Stéphane Valeri unanimously re-elected President of the National Council of Monaco
All unanimous, the twenty-three (Franck Julien was excused for his absence for professional reasons, editor’s note) elected from the National Council re-elected President Stéphane Valeri and Vice-President Brigitte Boccone-Pagès; as do committee chairmen.
Each year, the ritual is the same: it is a question, for the national advisers, of voting the renewal of the office. A way to restore, or not, their confidence. And this year again, beyond the differences between majority and minority, the High Assembly showed itself to be united and close-knit.
After the opening of the session by Dean Daniel Boeri, the President took the floor.
“A mandate
which counts double
Stéphane Valeri sees in this vote the mark of “constant and loyal support since the beginning of our mandate in 2018″.
As the health crisis continues, he insisted on the importance of sticking together. “If Monaco got through this historic period better than many other countries, it is also because we were able to work in unity between the institutions and the government. Under the authority of the Sovereign Prince, it is the entire Monegasque State, which has demonstrated all its strength and efficiency, for the good of Monegasques, residents, economic players and employees of the Principality. »
And Stéphane Valéri to launch: “It’s a mandate that counts double. Not only will it have been necessary to advance crucial files, but in addition, all this will have been upset by a long and unprecedented health crisis.
While the next national elections will take place in less than a year, the president’s speech on Tuesday evening looked like a balance sheet.
1,500 housing units in fifteen years
On housing, “absolute national priority, a boost has been made with the National Housing Plan wanted by the Prince in 2019 and which will lead to 1,500 housing creations in fifteen years. “Next year, all Monegasque households whose situation justifies it will be well housed in their country.”
Stéphane Valeri confirms that, at the same time, the Children of the Country could thus find accommodation in the protected sector.
But what marked the term of office were also legislative developments for today’s society: decriminalization of abortion, cohabitation contract, recognition of “unconventional practices contributing to well-being”fight against attacks against women and against harassment and violence in schools, law on the transmission of nationality after twenty years of marriage against ten years before…
SBM: games have a historical and strategic place
But the legislative work to be done continues. In the coming months, the most important texts concern the “RGPD”, on the protection of personal data, without which Monaco will not be able to exchange effectively with the European market, the protection of women’s rights, the modernization of the status of civil servants, …
Stéphane Valeri was also delighted that the SBM had postponed the games to a “historic and strategic place which must be theirs. Generally speaking, there is a lot to be done to further develop our revenues through the economic performance of our granted monopolies.”
Ukrainian parliamentarians in the National Council
Two Ukrainian parliamentarians in the hemicycle and Rouslan Stefantchouk, the president of the Rada Parliament, live by videoconference: Ukraine was invited to the National Council on Monday on the occasion of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie Region Europe.
For its second day in Monaco, the Conference of Presidents of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie (APF) Region-Europe devoted its work, among other things, to the situation in Ukraine.
The two Ukrainians have long presented on the reality of the invasion and its dramatic reactions on the population. Exchanges with representatives of French-speaking parliaments were unanimous on the need to strengthen solidarity.
In the continuity of these exchanges, the President of the National Council explained to his counterpart that the elected representatives of Monegasques are strongly attached to the values of sovereignty of each State, democracy and freedom. Stéphane Valeri recalled the position of Prince Albert II condemning the military invasion of Ukraine. “Faced with the war, the bombardments and the human dramas that have been unfolding before our eyes for almost a month and a half, our human duty is to call relentlessly for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces. “
In testimony of Monaco’s support, the President of the National Council underlined: “Every evening, we have decided to light up, out of solidarity, the Parliament building in the colors of the Ukrainian flag. In addition, many initiatives are organized in our country to raise funds for Ukraine and we are distributing medical and food aid.”
He thus specified that the Monegasque Red Cross has, to date, provided more than 1.5 million euros in humanitarian aid for the victims of the conflict. This solidarity is also reflected in Monaco by the granting of residence cards to Ukrainians accommodated by Monegasque homes, as well as by the medical and food assistance granted to them, as needed.
The following evening, after his re-election, Stéphane Valeri translated himself to the Monegasques for, again, “pay tribute to the courage and resistance of the Ukrainian people, who are fighting for their freedom and sovereignty.”
Michèle Dittlot, president of the Monaco section at the APF, recalled, for her part, the humanist values shared by the French speakers gathered, “from the defense of human and children’s rights to equality between women and men”“from the promotion of democracy to the protection of identities and cultural diversity.