OSCE, Alm.del - 2012-13 - Bilag 28: Nyhedsbrev fra Ambassadør Andreas Nothelle, uge 15-16, 2013

These weeks were the first working weeks after the Easter Recess. I spent a large part of themwith the President/PA Secretary General in Montenegro and at the Copenhagen Bureau Meeting.Roberto Montella was also partially absent for these events. During this time, there were threemeetings of the PC and a number of meetings of the FSC, the Contact Group with the Partnersfrom the Mediterranean, the committees and other subsidiary bodies.The PC finally decided most of the Human Dimension agenda for the year 2013, except for theHigh Level Conference on Tolerance to be held in May in Tirana, Albania, which is still hostage tousual fights about the titles for specific agenda items. There was also a decision on the timing(June 19/20) of the Annual Security Review Conference (ASRC). I briefed the PC, as well as theHuman Dimension Committee, about the outcome of the meeting of the PA Bureau and Transpar-ency Committee. Several delegations welcomed the resumption of PA/ODIHR cooperation basedon the 1997 Cooperation Agreement. However, the EU, in its reply in the Permanent Council, “re-worded” the relevant Ministerial Council Decision 19/06 by stressing the term “partnership” withregard to both institutions in a way that it seems to again go against a full implementation of theCooperation Agreement. Also, in the Human Dimension Committee, the Head of the ODIHR Elec-tion Department expressed the ODIHR’s readiness to resume the cooperation with an emphasis on“partnership”. It remains to be seen whether this is just old rhetoric or it means that there is stillresistance against the acknowledgement of the leadership function of the Chairman-in-Office ap-pointed Special Coordinator.The issue on the downgrading of the field presence in Azerbaijan has been referred to a workinggroup. Lithuania opened its chairmanship of the Forum for Security Cooperation (FSC).Three candidates for the position of the High Commissioner on National Minorities from Croatia,Finland and Russia presented their candidacy in an informal meeting. The Finnish candidate, aparliamentarian, seems to enjoy the highest support. However, after the meeting, several dele-gates did not seem to be convinced by any one of them and expressed interest in having a broaderfield of candidates.Austria and Mongolia announced their elections.

Special Representative