MINUTES
STANDING COMMITTEE
OF THE OSCE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY
Vienna
Thursday 19 February 2009
9.00 a.m.
1.        Call to Order
The meeting was opened at 9.08 a.m. with Mr João SOARES (Portugal), President of OSCE PA, in the Chair.
 2.       Adoption of the Agenda
The draft agenda was adopted.
3.        Report by the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Mr João Soares (Portugal).
The PRESIDENT addressed the Standing Committee.
4.        Address by the Secretary General of OSCE
Mr Marc PERRIN DE BRICHAMBAUT, Secretary General of the OSCE, addressed the Standing Committee.
The PRESIDENT invited the Secretary General to respond to questions.
Speakers: Mr WIMMER (Germany), Mr CORUZ (Netherlands), Mr BILORUS (Ukraine), Ms TINGSGÃ…RD (Sweden), Mr DE DONNEA (Belgium), Mr LENNMARKER (Sweden), Mr GRAFSTEIN (Canada).
The Secretary General responded to the questions.
5.        Report by the Treasurer
Mr Hans RAIDEL (Germany) presented the Treasurer’s report to the Standing Committee, including the auditors’ report on the financial year from 1 October 2007 to 30 September 2008.
The PRESIDENT invited the Treasurer to respond to questions.
Speakers: Mr LLOYD (United Kingdom), Mr DI NINO (Canada).
The Treasurer responded to the questions.
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6.        Report by the Secretary General of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
Mr Spencer OLIVER (Secretary General of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly) presented his report.
7.        Other Reports
Election monitoring
Belarus, September 2008
The President reported on the elections.
United States of America, November 2008
The President reported on the elections.
Forthcoming elections:
Ms. Tina SCHOEN announced that the OSCE PA would be observing elections in:
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           Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, March 2009
           Montenegro, March 2009
           Moldova, April 2009
Speakers: Mr DE DONNEA (Belgium), Mr CALLELY (Ireland).
Ad Hoc CommitteesÂ
Report of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Belarus
Ms Uta ZAPF reported on the activities of the Group.
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Special Representatives
Mr Benjamin CARDIN (United States of America) reported on behalf of Ms Anne-Marie LIZIN, Former Special Representative on Guantanamo.
Speaker: Mr WIMMER (Germany).
Mr HASTINGS (United States of America) responded to the question.
Mr Michel VOISIN, Special Representative for Afghanistan, reported on his work. Â
Speakers: Mr DI NINO (Canada), Mr MIGLIORI (Italy), Mr LENNMARKER (Sweden).
Mr VOISIN responded to the questions.
Mr Alcee HASTINGS, Special Representative on the Mediterranean, reported on his work.
Mr Roberto BATTELLI, Special Representative on South-Eastern Europe,
reported on his work.
Mr Petur BLÖNDAL, Special Representative on the OSCE Budget, reported on
his work.
Mr Carlo VIZZINI, Special Representative for the Fight against Transnational Organised Crime, reported on his work.
Mr Kimmo KILJUNEN, Special Representative on Central Asia, reported on his
work.
Mr Goran LENNMARKER, Special Representative on the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict and Special Envoy on Georgia, reported on his work.
Speaker: Mr LLOYD (United Kingdom).
The PRESIDENT announced that the Bureau would be held in Lisbon on 19 and 20 April 2009.
Speaker: Mr Petros EFTHYMIOU (Greece).
Mr Ivor CALLELY (Ireland) announced that the Economic Conference would be held in Dublin from 27 to 29 May 2009. Â
Ms Vilija ALEKNAITE AMBRAMIKIENE (Lithuania) announced that the Eighteenth Annual Session would be held in Vilnius from 29 June to 3 July 2009.
Mr Panayotis SKANDALAKIS (Greece) announced that the Fall Meetings would be held in Athens from 9 to 12 October 2009.
Speaker: Mr Petros EFTHYMIOU (Greece).
Rules of Procedure
The PRESIDENT said that several proposals for amendments to the Rules of Procedure had been submitted. In accordance with Rule 45 of the Rules of Procedure, he had appointed a sub-committee to examine the proposals and to make recommendations to the Standing Committee. He had asked Vice-President Pia CHRISTMAS-MØLLER to lead the sub-committee.
Debate on the proposal for a new European Security Architecture
The President reported it was proposed to hold a debate on the proposal for a new European Security Architecture in the joint meeting of the three general committees on Friday 20 February 2009.
The proposal was agreed to.
Members wishing to speak in the debate on the proposal for a new European Security Architecture in the joint meeting of the three general committees on Friday 20 February 2009 were asked to register their names with the International Secretariat before 18.00 on Thursday 19 February 2009.
10.      Close of meeting
The PRESIDENT closed the meeting at 11.32 a.m.