Special Representative
To:
PA President
and
PA Secretary General
PC Brief Weeks 22/23, 2016
During these two weeks, there were meetings of the Permanent Council (PC), including a
reinforced one (by representatives from the capitals) on OSCE Scales of Contributions the
Forum for Security Cooperation (FSC), the Preparatory Committee (PrepComm), the Advisory
Committee on Management and Finance (ACMF), the topical committees, working groups and
numerous other informal meetings. We also accompanied the Chair of the PA’s 3
rd
Committee,
Isabel Santos, and Vice President Néri during their visits to Vienna.
Furthermore, I participated in the OSCE Chairmanship Code of Conduct Conference in Berlin,
as a Session Moderator and delivering concluding remarks, as well as assisting Vice President
Néri, who delivered an address on behalf of President Kanerva. I also attended the Annual
Meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the South East European Cooperation Process in
Sofia, accompanying Vice President Roberto Battelli. Francesco Pagani participated in the
Regional Heads of Missions Meeting in Sarajevo. News from Copenhagen reported about all
these events. Marc Carillet and Francesco also attended a “Team Building Exercise” for all
OSCE PA staff in Copenhagen.
The PC adopted Agenda and Organizational Modalities of the 2016 Annual Security Review
Conference to be held in Vienna, June 28–30. 2016. It was addressed by the Foreign Minister of
Georgia and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. There were also routine reports
and the usual discussions under “Current Issues”, with a substantial increase in East-West
polemics regarding the events in Eastern Ukraine and the situation in Crimea, triggered also by
the growing number of attacks on the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM). These attacks include
abduction of local SMM staff and shooting down of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
In the Special Session of the Scales of Contributions (the amount of contributions that every
participating State has to pay into the OSCE budget), delegations had an opportunity to express
their views on what most consider a relatively unfair distribution. Vice President Néri also spoke,
referring to the PA’s Helsinki resolution on the issue. Norway and Switzerland, however,
criticized the discussion, because in light of current challenges the OSCE budget is very low
compared to other international organizations, and has been decreasing substantially over the
past decade.
Isabel Santos, when addressing the 3
rd
Committee of the OSCE, took stock of the Human
Rights situation in the OSCE, assessing it as very worrying. With no successor for Dunja
Mijatovic in sight, the next controversy regarding the autonomous institutions affects the High
Commissioner on National Minorities. With Russia objecting to an extension of the mandate of
Astrid Thors, a new Commissioner has to be found. The vacancy has just been advertised, with
a deadline for applications until July 22, 2016.
Andreas Nothelle
Ambassador
June 13, 2016