BUREAU MEETING

OF THE OSCE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

 

Copenhagen

 

Monday, 23 April 2007

 

9:o0 a.m.

 

1.         Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. with Mr. Göran LENNMARKER (Sweden), President of OSCE PA, in the Chair.

2.               Adoption of the Agenda

 

The draft agenda was adopted with some minor changes.

 

3.        Address by the Head of the Danish Delegation, Mr. Kristian Pihl Lorentzen

 

The Head of the Danish Delegation, Mr. Kristian Pihl LORENTZEN, welcomed the Bureau to Copenhagen.

 

4.        Remarks by the President of the Parliamentary Assembly,

Mr. Göran Lennmarker (Sweden)

 

The PRESIDENT informed the Bureau of his activities since the Winter Meeting in February 2007.

 

5.        Report by the Treasurer

 

Mr. Jerry GRAFSTEIN (Canada) presented the Treasurer’s Report to the Bureau, which included the breakdown of annual contributions for the fiscal year 2006 to 2007 and the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2007/2008.

 

Speakers:  Mr. BILORUS (Ukraine), Mr. GRAFSTEIN (Canada), Mr. OLIVER (Secretary General).

6.        Report by the Secretary General

 

Mr. Spencer OLIVER (Secretary General) presented his report.  As part of his report, Mr. OLIVER asked Ambassador Andreas NOTHELLE (Vienna Liaison Office) to brief the Bureau on the situation at the OSCE headquarters in Vienna.

 

Speakers: Mr. LENNMARKER (President), Mr. CARDIN (USA), Mr. SOARES (Portugal), Mr. GROSSRUCK (Austria).

 

7.        Report on Arrangements for the 16th Annual Session on 5-9 July in Kyiv

 

            Mr. BILORUS (Ukraine) briefed the Bureau on arrangements for the upcoming Annual Session, and in light of the current political situation in Kyiv, assured the Bureau that the Annual Session would still take place in Kyiv.

 

            Speakers:  Mr. LENNMARKER (President), Mr. EVSEYEV (Deputy Secretary General), Mr. HASTINGS (USA), Mr. IVANCHENKO (Russian Federation).

 

8.        Seating Order for Annual Session

 

            The seating order for the coming year will begin with the Slovak Republic.

 

9.        Reports on Election Monitoring

 

            Mrs. TINGSGAARD (Sweden) reported on preparations to monitor the upcoming elections in Armenia and discussed her response to the 10 April letter from Chairman-in-Office Moratinos.

 

            Speakers:  Mr. LENNMARKER (President), Mr. RAIDEL (Germany), Mr. Lopez-Medel (SPAIN), Mr. EFTHYMIOU (Greece), Mr. BILORUS (Ukraine), Ms. HAERING (Switzerland), Mr. GRAFSTEIN (Canada), Mr. HASTINGS (USA), Mr. GARDETTO (Monaco), Ms. CHRISTMAS-MØLLER (Denmark).

 

            After the discussion, the PRESIDENT read a draft letter to Chairman-in-Office Moratinos in response to his April 10 letter.  The Bureau unanimously supported such a letter.

10.      Presentation of Reports and Draft Resolutions by the Rapporteurs of the General Committees

 

THIRD COMMITTEE (General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions):  Mr. LOPEZ-MEDEL (Spain) RAPPORTEUR, presented the draft Report and Resolutions.

 

Speakers:   Mr. LENNMARKER (President), Mrs. TINGSGAARD (Sweden), Ms. HAERING (Switzerland), Mr. CARDIN (USA), Mr. SOARES (Portugal).

 

SECOND COMMITTEE (General Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment):  Mr. Roland Blum (France), RAPPORTEUR.  Mr. Blum could not be present, so Mr. IVANCHENKO (Russian Federation), Chairman of the Second Committee, introduced the draft Report and Resolutions.

 

Speakers:   Mr. EFTHYMIOU (Greece), Mr. LENNMARKER (President).

 

FIRST COMMITTEE (General Committee On Political Affairs and Security):  Mr. LORENTZEN (Denmark), RAPPORTEUR, presented the draft Report and Resolutions.

 

Speakers:  Mr. LENNMARKER (President), Ms. HAERING (Switzerland).

 

 

11.      Report on Arrangements for the OSCE PA Economic Conference on 24-26 May in Andorra

 

Mr. DALLERES (Andorra) briefed the Bureau on the status of arrangements for this conference and reviewed the programme.

 

Speakers:   Mr. LENNMARKER (President).

 

12.      Report on Arrangements for the OSCE PA Standing Committee,

Fall Conference and Mediterranean Forum taking place on 29 September – 2nd October in Slovenia

 

Mr. BATTELLI (Slovenia) updated the Bureau on the preparations for this conference.

 

Speakers:   Mr. LENNMARKER (President).

 

13.      Reports by Ad Hoc Committees and Special Representatives

 

Mr. HASTINGS (USA), OSCE PA Special Representative on Mediterranean Affairs, reported to the Bureau on his activities.

 

Speakers:   Mr. LENNMARKER (President).

 

Mrs. TINGSGAARD (Sweden), OSCE PA Special Representative on Gender Issues, stated that her report will be presented at the Annual Session, and underlined the importance of gender mainstreaming in all the draft Reports and Resolutions of the three General Committees.

 

Speakers:   Mr. LENNMARKER (President), Mr. GRAFSTEIN (Canada), Mr. HASTINGS (USA).

 

Mr. BATTELLI (Slovenia), Special Representative on South East Europe, briefed the Bureau on his activities.

 

Speakers:   Ms. HAERING (Switzerland), Mr. LENNMARKER (President), Mr. GARDETTO (Monaco).

 

14.      Other Business

 

Mr. LENNMARKER (President) stated he would like the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to apply for observer status with EMPA.  The Bureau had no objections to this.  Mr. LENNMARKER also briefed the Bureau on his future travel plans.

 

 

 

The PRESIDENT adjourned the meeting at 3:10 p.m.