President Efthymiou addresses opening plenary of the 20th Annual Session (OSCE PA) BELGRADE, 6 July 2011 – Parliamentary Assembly President Petros Efthymiou today called for significant changes to the operations of the OSCE to make it more effective in addressing modern political and security crises. Speaking at the opening of the 20th Annual Session of the Parliamentary Assembly under the theme of “Strengthening the OSCE’s Effectiveness and

BELGRADE, 6 July 2011 – The Standing Committee of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly voted today to approve 25 resolutions for consideration in the three general committees. Four resolutions dealing with human rights in Belarus, human trafficking, organized crime, and women’s representation at the Assembly were assigned to be debated Saturday in the plenary. The Standing Committee is comprised of the Assembly’s elected leadership and Heads of

BELGRADE, 5 July 2011 –Delegations have started to arrive in Belgrade for the 20th Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. More than 240 parliamentarians are expected from 52 countries to take part in the largest event on the Assembly’s calendar. Under the theme of “Strengthening the OSCE’s Effectiveness and Efficiency – A new start after the Astana Summit,” members will vote on more than 25 resolutions covering Mediterranean

NEXTGOV 5 July 2011 Russia and the United States are co-sponsoring a resolution to pre-empt cyberattacks that an influential international body is expected to adopt this week, according to a Belgium parliamentary member who introduced the decree. The proposal calls for member nations to exchange information about the way they intend to deploy cyber technology during military conflicts. Russian support is notable because the former Soviet

COPENHAGEN, 1 July 2011 – Following the recent informal 5+2 talks in Moscow, parliamentarians from across 55 countries will focus on the situation in Moldova during the Annual Session of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly, which opens in Belgrade 6 July. The resolution, introduced by Walburga Habsburg Douglas (MP, Sweden), reaffirms support for the 5+2 negotiations as the format for resolving the

COPENHAGEN, 30 June 2011 – To fight international hunger and malnutrition, parliaments should prioritize policies that strengthen rural communities, according to a resolution now pending before the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly’s Annual Session. The resolution introduced by Khachik Harutyunyan (MP, Armenia) calls on parliaments to address social and infrastructure problems in rural areas to secure