OSCE Permanent Council creates new Mission to Montenegro, renames Belgrade-based mission

VIENNA, 29 June 2006 - The OSCE Permanent Council agreed today on the opening of a new Mission to Montenegro, while renaming the former Mission to the now-dissolved Serbia and Montenegro as the OSCE Mission to Serbia.

This follows last week's decision to accept newly independent Montenegro as the 56th participating State at the Permanent Council, the Organization's main negotiating and decision-taking body. Serbia, by virtue of its status as continuing-State to the Union, had retained the country's existing seat at the Council.

"I welcome the opening of a new mission to Montenegro. It's important for the OSCE to ensure continuity of its activities in both countries where it has contributed a lot to ensure stability and democracy," Minister De Gucht said.

Both Serbia's Charge d'Affaires, Miroslava Beham, and Montenegro's Head of Delegation, Vesko Garcevic (the former head of the Union's OSCE delegation) attended today's Permanent Council. Both their governments are satisfied with the outcome.

Ambassador Hans Ola Urstad will remain in Belgrade as Head of the Mission to Serbia, while the new Mission to Montenegro will initially be run by Ambassador Paraschiva Badescu, former Head of the OSCE Office in Podgorica.

The renamed mission in Belgrade retains its headquarters, an advanced police training centre in Zemun, and an office in Bujanovac (Southern Serbia), while continuing to work on the basis of the same mandate. The newly-created mission will begin life using the resources of what had been the Office in Podgorica, as well as a police training centre in Danilovgrad.