News from Copenhagen

Number 413 Current Information from the OSCE PA International Secretariat 7 December 2011

President Efthymiou calls for OSCE to break routine at Ministerial Council

region. Our worst enemy is routine, he added, our routine proceedings suffocate us and limit our ability to come up with visions for the future. The president highlighted the vital work being done by the OSCEs field operations and called for their full funding. The field presences are the backbone of our OSCE, he said. I repeat that it is crucial to find the political will to re-open OSCE offices in Georgia and Belarus. While in Vilnius, Efthymiou spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and met Kazakhstans Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov, Irish Minister of State for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton, and OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier. Maintaining that the OSCE Permanent Council needs further reform, Efthymiou pointed out that at the OSCE PAs Annual Session in Belgrade, the parliamentarians urged the Permanent Council to make meetings open to public and press on an ad hoc basis. Meeting exclusively behind closed doors is detrimental to our transparency and our public image, Efthymiou said. The full text of the speech is available at www.oscepa.org.

Efthymiou addresses the Ministerial Council as Bureau Members Jean-Charles Gardetto and Tony Lloyd look on.

Speaking on Tuesday at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Vilnius, Lithuania, OSCE PA President Petros Efthymiou said that having an organization which links Europe with Asia and North America using the working methods of the OSCE is needed for the present and the future. In order to be seen as an asset by the international public, this organization has to make greater efforts to be effective and visible by taking relevant and timely political action, he said, addressing foreign ministers from across the 56-country

Efthymiou delivers international statement critical of Russian elections

Pointing to a merging of the Russian state with the ruling party and restrictions on freedom of assembly and interference with actions of civil society, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly election observers leveled their criticism Monday at the conduct of Russias parliamentary elections. The post-election statement delivered on behalf of the OSCE by OSCE PA President Petros Efthymiou said that despite the lack of a level playing field, voters took advantage of their right to express their choice. A biased media environment in favour of United Russia, preelection decisions that denied opposition groups the right to form political parties, and a lack of prompt review of electoral complaints also limited political choice and contributed to a lack of fairness in the election, the observers said. Yesterdays elections proved that the Russian people can form the future of this country by expressing their will despite many obstacles, said Mr. Efthymiou, the Special Co-ordinator to lead the OSCE short-term observation mission. However, changes are needed for the will of the people to be respected. I particularly noticed the interference of the state in all levels of political life, the lack of necessary conditions for a fair competition and no independence of the media. Nearly 90 OSCE parliamentarians, including bureau members Riccardo Migliori (Italy), Tony Lloyd (United Kingdom), Coskun Coruz (The Netherlands), andMatteo Mecacci (Italy) joined approximately 50 parliamentarians

Petros Efthymiou at a polling station in Moscow.

from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Nordic Council observing in several areas of Russia. OSCE PA teams observed election day in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhnij Novgorod, Rostov on Don, Vladivostok, and Irkutsk. OSCE PA observers were briefed jointly with members from PACE and the Nordic Council for two days in the capital before receiving further briefings in the regions to which they deployed. Deputy Secretary General Tina Schoen organized the OSCE PA mission and was joined by Secretary General Oliver, Deputy Secretary General Gustavo Pallares, Senior Counsellor Semyon Dzakhaev, Programme Director Anna Chernova, Deputy Field Director Roberto Montella, Logistics Officer Iryna Sabashuk, and Communications Director Neil Simon. Also assisting were Research Fellows Maria Chepurina and Akbota Yermekova.

For further information: Secretary General R. Spencer Oliver, Director of Communications Neil Simon, E-mail neil@oscepa.dk or Editorial Director Nat Parry, E-mail nat@oscepa.dk, Tel: +45 33 37 80 40, Fax: +45 33 37 80 30.