OSCE Chairman participates in Ministerial Troika meeting

VIENNA, 14 January 2005 - On the second day of his visit to Vienna, Dr Dimitrij Rupel, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, chaired a meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Troika. Participants at the meeting included Mr Karl de Gucht, Foreign Minister of Belgium, Ms Katia Todorova, Deputy Foreign Minister of Bulgaria, and Ambassador Jan Kubis, OSCE Secretary General. The OSCE Troika also met the heads of OSCE institutions as well as the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

The Troika meeting focussed primarily on current OSCE issues, particularly the appointment of a new Secretary General and the need for consensus on financial questions.

"Our desire is that the OSCE should function as smoothly as possible. We will therefore strive to bring our positions together and reach consensus on how much participating States contribute to the OSCE's budget," Minister Rupel said. In his opinion the United States, the Russian Federation and the European Union should bring their positions closer together, as the OSCE was a low-cost organisation offering good value for money.

Participants at the Troika meeting agreed that additional efforts need to be made to find a new Secretary General when Ambassador Kubis's second term ends in June.

Dr Rupel informed the OSCE Troika of recent steps towards appointing a Panel of Eminent Persons, which will, on the basis of a decision adopted at the Ministerial Meeting in Sofia, formulate proposals for improving the functioning of the Organisation. "The group will have to work very intensively, as it is expected to submit proposals for OSCE reform by the end of June," Dr Rupel added.

Other issues included the current situations in Moldova and Georgia and future OSCE activities in those two countries. The discussions also touched on the situation in other participating States which host OSCE field missions. The Chairman-in-Office briefed the Troika on the talks he held during his visits to Ukraine and Kosovo earlier in January.

Dr Rupel met separately with Mr Alcee L. Hastings, President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, and Ambassador William Hill, Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova.