The document proposing the early termination of the powers of the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Pedro Agramunt, signed by 158 delegates, is published on the organ's website, which means the official launch of the impeachment procedure for the incumbent PACE head.

"The proposal for the dismissal of PACE President Pedro Agramunt was just presented by 158 members of the Assembly belonging to five political groups and 36 national delegations," the LIGA reports with reference to the press service of the body.

The document will be put to the vote in the PACE session hall at the next session of the body, which will be held in Strasbourg on October 9-13, 2017. If Agramunt by this time voluntarily resigns, the impeachment procedure will be terminated.

Prior to the final decision on this issue, Agramunt is temporarily deprived of the right to chair the PACE sessions.

In the document published on the Assembly's website, 158 of its signatories note that the current head of the PACE "no longer enjoys the confidence of the Assembly on the grounds that his conduct seriously damages the reputation of the PACE and discredits its image".

In recent months, accusations of corruption have been made against Agramunt. The scandal erupted after his trip to Syria on March 21, 2017, together with Russian deputies at the invitation of the latter.

March 29, the delegations of Ukraine, Denmark and Poland in PACE initiated a statement in connection with the scandalous visit of Agramunt to Syria.