OSCE Ministerial Council meeting to be held in Oslo

VIENNA, 23 November 1998 - The Foreign Ministers of the 54 OSCE Participating States will meet in Oslo on 2 and 3 December for the 7th OSCE Ministerial Council Meeting. They will discuss and assess the OSCE's work during the past year and consider issues relevant for the future of the Organization.

Special attention will be focused on the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission (KVM). Ministers will evaluate the situation in Kosovo and assess progress in the establishment of the Mission.

At the meeting, Foreign Ministers will review the progress on a "Document-Charter on European Security." This will include a discussion on the OSCE's role in conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation and an examination of the role of the OSCE in the evolving network of European security organizations. The Ministers are also expected to look into how the Organization's operational capabilities can be enhanced.

The agenda will also cover regional issues and new threats to European security.

The Ministerial Council will take a decision on which country will assume the OSCE Chairmanship in the year 2000 and it is anticipated that a decision will be taken on the date and site of the next OSCE Summit.

Media representatives wishing to cover the meeting should request a press accreditation form. Please call Florence Le Clézio at: tel. (+43-1) 514 36 180.

Accreditation badges and press programmes can be picked up at the Press Center at Oslo Spektrum as of 12.00 on 1 December 1998. The Press Center will be equipped with telephones, telefax and photocopying machines and will offer working space for reporters. A Media Lounge has been designated on Level 1 of the SAS Plaza Hotel, the venue of the meeting.

Further information about the Ministerial Council Meeting as well as decisions taken will be available on the Internet at www.ud.dep.no/osse.