Foreign Minister Kanerva will travel to the meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna

Press release 7/2008
9 January, 2008

In his capacity as the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva will participate in the session of the Permanent Council of the OSCE in Vienna on 10 January. In the meeting, Kanerva will outline the priorities for the Finnish Chairmanship. Finland succeeded Spain as the Chairman of the OSCE at the beginning of this year. The Chairmanship lasts one year.

During the Finnish Presidency, the focus will be on intensifying the Organization's operation and observing existing commitments. The OSCE also intends to launch new projects aiming at improving security at the borders of the participating states.

The OSCE is a cooperation organ of 56 states that was established by the Helsinki Final Act on 1 August 1975. It is the only organisation uniting all countries of the Euro Atlantic region. In its activities, the OSCE concentrates on three operational dimensions: 2) politico-military dimension, 2) economic and environmental dimension, and 3) human dimension. The OSCE's main decision-making body is the Permanent Council that meets in Vienna on a weekly basis. The Ministerial Council normally assembles once a year. Preparation for decision-making is carried out by various committees and working groups.

Additional information: Ambassador Aleksi Härkönen, Finnish OSCE Chairmanship Task Force, tel. +358 9 1605 5496, and Press Attaché for the Foreign Minister Juha Kirstilä, tel. +358 9 1605 5012, +358 40 552 8200, www.osce.org/cio(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window), formin.finland.fi/osce(Link to another website.)