Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili gives opening address at Batumi Economic Conference as Goran Svilanovic, George Tsereteli and Petros Efthymiou listen on. BATUMI, Georgia, 12 May 2012 – Regional co-operation on economic development is not only sound fiscal policy but key to peace and security, parliamentary and government leaders said today at the opening of a major economic conference in Georgia. More than 100 parliamentarians and nearly

President Saakashvili to address opening session COPENHAGEN, 10 May 2012 – Nearly 250 participants including more than 100 parliamentarians from 30 countries will convene in Batumi, Georgia 11-14 May for a conference focused on fostering economic co-operation, sustainable development and stability in the OSCE region. The sessions begin at 10:00 on Saturday, 12 May at the Batumi Sheraton. Conference speakers will include: OSCE Parliamentary

Matteo Mecacci at a polling station on election day. BELGRADE, 7 May 2012 – Serbia's parliamentary and early presidential elections on 6 May 2012 took place in an open and competitive environment but additional efforts are needed to improve the transparency of the election process and the functioning of the media, observers said in a statement issued today. Observers noted that voters were provided with a wide degree of choice between various

Francois-Xavier De Donnea speaks to a poll worker on election day. YEREVAN, 7 May 2012 – Sunday's parliamentary elections in Armenia featured a vibrant and largely peaceful campaign, with overall balanced media coverage, but pressure on voters and a deficient complaints process created an unequal playing field, the international election observers said Monday. Observers noted a campaign environment that generally respected freedoms of assembly

YEREVAN, 4 May 2012 - Francois-Xavier de Donnea, special co-ordinator to lead the OSCE observation mission in Armenia, this morning opened a full day of briefings for more than 100 parliamentarians as they prepare to deploy across Armenia for Sunday's parliamentary elections. Matteo Mecacci, leader of the OSCE short-term observer mission to the 6 May parliamentary and early presidential elections in Serbia, began similar briefings for MPs in

Balkan Insight 2 May 2012 The monitoring mission of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, which will observe this Sunday's elections in Serbia, will comprise more than 35 members, the organisation has announced. The OSCE monitoring mission in Serbia will be headed by Italian Matteo Mecacci who was appointed special coordinator by OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore. "I hope that the elections, which we will