News and press releases

Bulgaria’s presidential and municipal elections in October were generally characterized by a respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, but pervasive allegations of vote-buying underscored the need for continued reform, the final report released by ODIHR on 5 January 2012 concludes...

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo invites civil society organizations in Gjilan/Gnjilane and Prizren regions to submit project proposals on the empowerment of vulnerable groups, public participation in municipal decision making or improving access to municipal services...

The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis, congratulated his successor as OSCE Chairperson, Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Eamon Gilmore today on Ireland taking over the OSCE Chairmanship from 1 January 2012...

DUBLIN, 1 January 2012 – Ireland’s 2012 Chair of the OSCE will seek to address protracted conflicts, promote Internet freedom and strengthen co-operation between the 56 OSCE participating States, said the new Chairperson-in-Office, Irish Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore, today...

VILNIUS, 30 December 2011 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis, welcomed the exchange of detainees by the authorities in Tbilisi and Tskhinvali today...

VILNIUS, 29 December 2011 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis, welcomed today the agreement by Bosnia and Herzegovina’s politicians to form a new state government...

Meeting with the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov, on 22 December 2011 in Vienna, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier discussed the prospects for closer co-operation to tackle organized crime and drugs trafficking...