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“The Russian Federation has informed the Council of Europe’s Secretary General that it suspends the payment of the remaining part of its 2017 financial contribution to the Council of Europe’s budget until the full and unconditional restoration of the credentials of its PACE delegation,” Acting President Sir Roger Gale said in his opening speech of the PACE autumn session.

The CoE is facing unprecedented challenges due to this decision by Russia.

In Roger Gale’s words, the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly bear a shared responsibility for preserving the Organisation’s unity and viability and effective capacity, urging both statutory bodies to work together to address the current situation. He recalled that a meeting of the Joint Committee, which brings together representatives from both bodies, is scheduled for 12 October.

To remind, PACE deprived the Russian delegation of its right to vote in 2014 in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Russia is currently one of the largest donors to the Council of Europe's budget. Its annual membership fee amounts to €33 million (US$37.5 million), or about 7 percent of the organization's overall budget. 

Moscow is reportedly due to pay €11 million to the CoE in 2017.