Standing Committee meeting in Vienna, February 2008

OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Goran Lennmarker opened the meeting of the Standing Committee of Heads of Delegation and informed Members about his activities since the Committee last met in Portoroz, Slovenia. He highlighted his recent visits to Algeria, Israel, Jordan, and Palestine, his participation the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Madrid and his leadership in the Russian parliamentary elections.

Mr. Hans Raidel, Treasurer of the Parliamentary Assembly, reported that the PA continues to remain within budget and is in a good financial situation.

OSCE Secretary General Mr. Marc Perrin de Brichambaut informed the Committee about the Madrid Ministerial Council. Although there wasn’t a Ministerial Declaration, he appreciated the decisions made in different dimensions, for example on environmental security, highlighting the OSCE to be the only international Organization connecting these two issues. He also commented on the OSCE’s current priorities: he considered the OSCE’s field work in Kosovo to be of great importance. Talking of his detection of erosion in the process of the implementation of democratic standards, he stressed the OSCE’s role as a forum for exchange and dialogue. The address was followed by a discussion about budgetary challenges the Organization is facing, the possible reform of the OSCE, especially with regards to ODIHR’s mandate, and the future of the OSCE mission in Kosovo. President Lennmarker concluded that these challenges call for a strong Organization.

Spencer Oliver, Secretary General of the OSCE PA, reported on the extensive programme in the field of election observation; almost 250 parliamentarians have led the observation missions since the last Winter Meeting. He informed about upcoming events, the Bureau Meeting in April, the Annual Session in Astana and the Fall Meetings in Toronto. He gave an overview about the work of the International Secretariat, highlighting the weekly newsletter News from Copenhagen and the Research Fellowship Programme. He stressed the PA’s efficiency, which handles an increased workload while remaining within the approved budget.

The Standing Committee was informed about the past five election observation missions: Ukraine, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and Armenia. President Lennmarker concluded by stating that election observation is a valuable experience for Members of the Assembly and encouraged active participation in future missions.

The activities of the Ad Hoc Committees on Moldova and Belarus, as well as the reports of the Special Representatives on South-East Europe, Guantanamo, Mediterranean, OSCE budget, and the fight against organized Crime were presented to the Committee.

The Standing Committee concluded by agreeing to holding the Eighteenth Annual Session of the Parliamentary Assembly in Vilnius, Lithuania from 29 June to 3 July 2009, and it accepted the Norwegian Parliament’s invitation to hold the Nineteenth Annual Session in Oslo in July 2010.