The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean was represented at the 26th Ministerial Council of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), held in Bratislava on 5-6 December 2019, hosted by the Slovak Chairmanship, under the leadership of Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák, Chairperson-in-Office.
During the two days, Foreign Ministers and high level delegates of the 57 OSCE Member States and 11 OSCE Partners for Co-operation, discussed many strategic issues, namely, the armed conflict in Ukraine, Negotiations on the Transdniestrian Settlement Process in the “5+2” Format, Western Balkans, Violence against women, Trafficking of human beings, and, also of particular interest for PAM, issues related to fight against terrorism, climate change, migration and the protection of human rights.
While Member States could not reach consensus on many of the draft resolutions initially tabled, this Ministerial conference remains one of the most important forum to bring to the same table all countries of the OSCE region, which spans from Vancouver to Vladivostok, to discuss and find ways to resolve regional crises. Among the decisions adopted, Sweden and Poland were identified as holding the forthcoming Chair for, respectively, 2021 and 2022.
In Bratislava, the OSCE Chairmanship was transferred from Slovakia to Albania, and Prime Minister and Foreign Minister ad interim Edi Rama will lead the organization in 2020, culminating in the 27th OSCE Ministerial Council to take place in Tirana next December.
As every year, the OSCE Council represented an excellent opportunity for PAM delegates to liaise with representatives from OSCE States and partners, in particular the Mediterranean ones, and the OSCE PA, in order to further strengthen cooperation. PAM also welcomes the decision adopted by the Council of renaming the “Contact Group with Mediterranean Countries” as OSCE Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation.