OSCE, Alm.del - 2012-13 - Bilag 49: Nyhedsbrev fra Ambassadør Andreas Nothelle, uge 38, 2013

PA PresidentandPA Secretary GeneralSeptember 23, 2013PC Brief Week 38, 2013As this week was the only period of time without events outside of Vienna before October 10, itwas packed with activities. In addition to the Permanent Council (PC), the Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) and their informal subsidiary bodies, the informal ambassadorial working groupson Helsinki+40 and on Strengthening the Legal framework met, and there was another SecurityDays event.However, the output of these meetings was quite thin. The PC did not take any decisions, nor werethere discussions under “Current Issues” (the second time in a row). The Security Day saw a poorattendance; apparently interest is fading out when it takes place several times per year. Also, thediscussions there were very academic. In a welcome move, Secretary General Zannier remindedthe audience that having a PA is one of the comparative advantages of the OSCE and urged tomake more use of its capacities in the field of conflict prevention. The next Security Day might takeplace on the level of Deputy Defense Ministers, as suggested by one delegation.The Helsinki+40 meeting focused on issues of military security. The US and Russia seem to behesitant to make this a major topic of the discussions, whereas some, like Germany, see it as anintegral part of the Helsinki+40 Process. However, a majority seems to prefer having discussionsexclusively in the format of the signatories of the different documents (like the CFE treaty, OpenSkies etc), or wants to engage the FSC more intensively. I contributed to the discussions by under-lining the most recent PA recommendations on Disarmament and Arms Control and on Confidenceand Security Building Measures. As usual, there was no feedback from delegations.The work on Legal Personality of the OSCE continues not to make any progress. All efforts of theChairmanship and its Representative (former Danish ambassador John Bernhard) to come up witha compromise procedure that could lead to a formal approval of the respective draft Conventionand mark some start of deliberations on a constituent document have been so far in vain. The US,as the only country which is totally opposed to a constituent document, has even hardened its posi-tion. It should be noted, though, that in 1993 in Rome all participating States have committed togiving the OSCE Legal Personality in the national legislation, but so far only 14 of them have im-plemented that commitment.I also hosted a working lunch for the newly arrived ambassadors of Austria, Finland, Iceland, Ire-land, Georgia, and the Netherlands and had a first meeting with the new US ambassador. All ofthem displayed readiness to cooperate closely with the PA and wanted to know a number of detailsabout the PA’s activities. The Austrian ambassador Dr. Christian Strohal is well known to the PA,having been the predecessor of the present ODIHR director.

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