Chairman-in-Office

VIENNA, 21 November 2007 - King Juan Carlos I of Spain and Austrian President Heinz Fischer inaugurated the new headquarters for the OSCE Secretariat and the OSCE's Representative on Freedom of the Media in Vienna today.

"These new premises will open a new space for commitment and responsibility, designed to meet the increasing demands of the Organization and the renewed importance of its missions," the King, whose country holds the 2007 OSCE Chairmanship, said at the inauguration of the renovated Palais Palffy-Erdody building.

"The essence of the OSCE is symbolized by this Palace: a joint programme for security and co-operation, working for peace, prosperity and democracy all over our continent."

The King thanked the Republic of Austria and its President for their support of the Organization. The Austrian President also made a speech.

The OSCE Secretariat and the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media will move to the new building, located at Wallnerstrasse 6 in central Vienna, in mid-December. The renovation, paid for by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour, the OSCE and the City of Vienna, cost 26.1 million euros.

OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut said: "Today, thanks to the generosity and far-sightedness of the people of Austria, this project has a home and it has a face in the heart of greater Europe."

Earlier today, the King hosted a lunch for OSCE diplomats, at which he said the OSCE was just as important now as when it was born in 1975.

"Spain, whose recent history has been closely linked to the Organization, has always underlined the OSCE's special value. Indeed, our transition towards a fully democratic society took place in parallel with the birth and development of the OSCE," the King said.

Video footage of the inauguration speeches and the lunch speech will be available on www.osce.org