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OSCEPA Contact Information

OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
Radhusstraede 1
1466 Copenhagen K, DK
Tel: +45-33 37 80 40
Fax: +45-33 37 80 30
E-mail: osce@oscepa.dk

Annual Session in Vilnius concludes deliberations

AS-2009_Voting_2nd_CommitteeVILNIUS, 2 July 2009 -- The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Annual Session today finished its work on its concluding document, the Vilnius Declaration, which is set to be adopted on the Session’s last day, 3 July.

A general debate during the plenary session covered a range of topics and ended today's deliberations.

The Assembly’s three Committees had worked intensively to finish its work on time. The Committees also voted on new officers for the coming year. The following were elected:

First Committee: Chair: Consiglio Di Nino (Canada); Vice-Chair Canan Kalsin (Turkey); Rapporteur: Riccardo Migliori (Italy).

Second Committee: Chair: Roland Blum (France); Vice-Chair: Ivor Callely (Ireland); Rapporteur: Serhiy Shevchuk (Ukraine).

Third Committee: Chair: Walburga Habsburg Douglas (Sweden); Vice-Chair Robert Aderholt (United States); Rapporteur: Matteo Mecacci (Italy).

On the Annual Session's last day on 3 July, the Assembly will also vote on a new President, four new Vice-Presidents, and a new Treasurer.

 

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office addresses Annual Session

VILNIUS, 30 June 2009 -- The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Greece’s Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, addressed the 18th Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Vilnius on Tuesday, 30 June, and then participated in a lengthy question and answer period.

The appearance of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office at the Assembly’s Annual Session is an established tradition, and Ms. Bakoyannis was warmly greeted by the parliamentarians. Their questions ranged from the situation in Georgia, the recent Ministerial meeting in Corfu, and the ongoing discussion within the OSCE on new European security, to the situation in Iran. 

“Being myself a parliamentarian, I have great appreciation for the Parliamentary Assembly’s role and added value it brings to our Organization,” she said .

Improvement in Albania’s election process, but violations persist, observers say

EOM-Albania-2009-GrossruckTIRANA, 29 June 2009 - In a statement issued today, the International Election Observation Mission concluded that Albania's election process demonstrated improvements, but also noted that violations persist. 

The observers said the elections marked tangible progress with regard to the introduction of new voter registration and identification procedures, and the adoption of an improved legal framework. But the observers also noted that these improvements were overshadowed by the politicization of technical aspects of the process and violations observed during the campaign which undermined public confidence in the electoral process.

Election day was overall calm and peaceful and the atmosphere was improved. Observers assessed the voting process slightly more positively than in previous elections, but noted procedural violations related in particular to inking procedures and widespread family voting.

The mission said it was too early to make a definite assessment, as the vote count and tabulation of results have yet to be completed.

Vilnius Annual Session opens in the Seimas

VILNIUS, 29 June 2009 -- The 18th Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly opened in the Lithuania’s capital Vilnius on June 29.

In the March 11 Hall in the Seimas, Lithuania’s Parliament, OSCE PA President Joao Soares bid all participants welcome to the first Annual Session ever held in a Baltic country, as last year’s Session in Kazakhstan was the first time an Annual Session was held in Central Asia. 

This shows not only our geographic but also our political reach, said Mr. Soares,  adding that he was a passionate advocate of the OSCE but that he also strongly believes in its need to reform.

“More than thirty years after Helsinki, we need to have the same strategic vision to strengthen the OSCE, realizing that this is a completely new world that needs new solutions to new problems,” Mr. Soares said. “If we really want to deliver on our promise, we must understand that the new threats also represent new opportunities to act in an innovative way.”

OSCE PA delegation attends Corfu Ministerial meeting

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly was represented with a senior delegation at the 27-28 June informal OSCE Ministerial meeting in Corfu, Greece.

President Soares headed the delegation, which also included Vice-President Ben Cardin of the United States; Panayotis Skandalakis, Head of the Greek Delegation to the OSCE PA; and Secretary General Spencer Oliver.

The informal meeting of foreign ministers was convened by the Greek OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Dora Bakoyannis, to add impetus to discussions on European security mechanisms. The ministers discussed various proposals on security structures that have been put forward in recent months.