MINUTES OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE MEETING
 MALTA
18 NOVEMBER 2006
1. Call To Order
The meeting was opened at 3:00 p.m. with Mr. Göran LENNMARKER, President of the OSCE PA, in the Chair.
2.       Adoption of the Agenda
The Agenda was adopted with minor changes to the order in which items would be taken.
3.       Opening Remarks by the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
The PRESIDENT informed the Standing Committee of his activities since the close of the Annual Session in Brussels.
4.       Welcoming Remarks by the Head of the Maltese Delegation
to the OSCE PA, together with information on the results
of the Conference on “Immigration, Integration and
Cross-Cultural Dialogue: The Role of the OSCE†and
 arrangements for the OSCE PA Forum on the Mediterranean
Mr. Jason AZZOPARDI (Malta) welcomed members to Malta and summarized the results of the Conference.
5.       Report by the Treasurer
Mr. Jerry GRAFSTEIN (Canada) (Treasurer of the OSCE PA) reported on the Assembly’s finances (written text distributed).
6.       Report by the Secretary General
Mr. Spencer OLIVER (Secretary General of the OSCE PA) reported to the Standing Committee on the work of the International Secretariat.
7.        Consideration of the Changes to the Rules of Procedure
Mr. Pieter DE CREM (Belgium), Chairman of the Sub-Committee on the Rules of Procedure, reported to the Standing Committee on the activities of the Sub-Committee.
The Standing Committee members proceeded to vote on the proposed changes to the Rules of Procedure.
           Rule 5:  Adopted
Speakers:Â Mr. Pieter DE CREM (Belgium), Mr. Oleh BILORUS (Ukraine), Mr. Alexander KOZLOVSKY (Russian Federation).
           Rule 6 & 7: Adopted
Speakers:Â Â Â Â Â Â Mr. Pieter DE CREM (Belgium), Mr. Oleh BILORUS (Ukraine), Mr. Spencer OLIVER (Secretary General).
           New Rule after Rule 13: Adopted
Speakers:Â Mr. Pieter DE CREM (Belgium), Mr. Andrew MACKINLAY (United Kingdom).
           Rule 15.1:    Adopted.
Speakers:Â Mr. Pieter DE CREM (Belgium).
           Rule 18:       Adopted.
Speakers:Â Mr. Pieter DE CREM (Belgium).
           Rule 19:       Adopted.
Speakers: Mr. Pieter DE CREM (Belgium), Mr. Göran LENNMARKER (President), Mr. Oleh BILORUS (Ukraine), Mr. Michel VOISIN (France).
           Rule 20.1:   Adopted.
Speakers:Â Mr. Pieter DE CREM (Belgium).
           Rule 35:      Adopted.
Speakers: Pieter DE CREM (Belgium), Göran LENNMARKER (President).
          Â
Rule 38:      Not Adopted. The present Rule 38 stays in effect.
Speakers: Mr. Pieter DE CREM (Belgium), Mr. Göran LENNMARKER (President), Mr. Michel VOISIN (France), Mr. Albrecht KONECNY (Austria), Mr. Jean-Charles GARDETTO (Monaco), Mr. Vitaly EVSEYEV (Deputy Secretary General), Mr. Spencer OLIVER (Secretary General), Mr. Alexander KOZLOVSKY (Russian Federation).
8.       Reports by the International Secretariat on
Election Monitoring and Other Activities
Election Observation
Mr. Spencer OLIVER (Secretary General of the OSCE PA) reported to the Standing Committee on the OSCE PA briefing to the Permanent Council in Vienna regarding election observation.Â
Speakers: Mr. João SOARES (Portugal), Mr. Jesús LOPEZ-MEDEL (Spain), Mr. Roberto BATTELLI (Slovenia), Mr. François DE DONNEA (Belgium), Mr. Alexander KOZLOVSKY (Russian Federation), Mr. Michel VOISIN (France), Mr. Göran LENNMARKER (President).
Ms. Tina SCHØN (Deputy Secretary General) informed the Standing Committee about the upcoming election observation mission to Serbia for the elections on January 21, 2007. Information will be sent to the national delegations as soon as it is available.
                                   Speaker: Mr. Sergei ZABOLOTETS (Belarus)
The PRESIDENT asked members of the Standing Committee to forward suggestions for the theme of the next Annual Session, which will be discussed by the Bureau at their meeting in Brussels in conjunction with the Ministerial Council in December 2006.
9.       Briefing by the OSCE Secretary General, Ambassador Marc
Perrin de Brichambaut on proposed OSCE Budget for 2007
Mr. Marc PERRIN DE BRICHAMBAUT, OSCE Secretary General, reported on the proposed budget and briefed the Standing Committee on the upcoming Ministerial Council meeting in Brussels.
Speakers: Mr. Pétur BLÖNDAL (Iceland), Mr. Jerry GRAFSTEIN (Canada).
10.     Reports of the Ad Hoc Committees
Ad Hoc Committee on Abkhazia
Mrs. Tone TINGSGÅRD (Sweden) reported on the activities of the Ad Hoc Committee as well as on her work as the PA’s Gender Representative.
Special Representative for Southeast Europe
Mr. Roberto BATTELLI reported on his activities and informed the Standing Committee of the President’s upcoming visit to the region.
Special Representative on the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
The PRESIDENT reported on his activities as Special Representative on Nagorno-Karabakh.
11.      Future Meetings of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
The PRESIDENT announced the following meetings presently scheduled for the rest of 2006 and 2007 as follows:
Meeting of the Bureau on 3 December 2006 in Brussels (in conjunction with the Ministerial Council Meeting)
Participation in the Ministerial Council Meeting of the OSCE PA Delegation on 4 and 5 December 2007 in Brussels
Winter Meeting on 22 – 23 February 2007 in Vienna (meeting of the Standing Committee, joint and individual meetings of the three General Committees)
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Expanded Bureau, 23 April 2007 in Copenhagen
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Annual Session, 5-9 July 2007 in Kiev
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Autumn Meetings (Standing Committee, Conference and Mediterranean Forum), October 2007 in Slovenia
                                   Speaker:       Mr. Oleh BILORUS (Ukraine)
12.     Other Issues
Speakers: Â Â Â Â Â Mrs. Nino BURJANADZE (Georgia), Mr. Alexander KOZLOVSKY (Russian Federation)
The President closed the meeting at 6:15 p.m.