Bundesversammlung
Assemblée fédérale
Assemblea federale
Federal Assembly
Swiss Delegation to the Parliamentary
Assembly of the OSCE
The President
CH-3003 Bern
parl.ch
Ms. Pia Kauma
President of the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly (OSCE PA)
7 April 2024
Expression of Support for Mr. Roberto Montella's candidacy for Secretary General of the OSCE PA
Dear Madam President,
dear Pia,
I learned with great satisfaction about Mr. Roberto Montella’s intention to candidate for the position as
Secretary General of the OSCE PA for another term. I particularly welcome this will, which, in these very
difficult times, is essential in ensuring the effective functioning of our Assembly.
For four years now, our Assembly has been experiencing successive major crises. The one caused by
the Covid-19 pandemic had already posed unprecedented challenges to the functioning of
interparliamentary assemblies like ours. Under the leadership of Mr. Montella, the OSCE PA's international
secretariat was one of the first to ensure that work could resume quickly. The Secretariat's performance
was undeniable, since it was necessary to find innovative solutions to enable us to continue our debates.
At all times, Mr. Montella listened to our delegations and did the best to respond to our expectations.
To the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, followed the outbreak of Russia's war of aggression
against Ukraine. Given the historic nature of its mission, our parliamentary Assembly had to refocus almost
all of its work on the catastrophic consequences of this war. In this context, we sometimes experienced
virulent exchanges among delegations, which had eventually consequences on the international
secretariat. In a working atmosphere where tensions were at their highest, our Assembly was nevertheless
able to make adjustments to restore greater stability and serenity. In doing so and despite the difficulties
he had to cope with, Mr. Montella, alongside you and your predecessor, consistently called for the
maintaining of our Assembly’s cohesion. The Swiss delegation greatly appreciated this attitude.
In view of the substantial contributions made by Mr. Montella to the proper and smooth running of our
institution despite these major crises, I can assure you that I will warmly recommend to our Standing
Committee to reappoint him.
Yours sincerely,
Daniel Faessler
Councillor of States
President of the Swiss delegation to the OSCE PA