SKOPJE, 2 October 2016 – The refugee and migrant crisis and the potential of the OSCE and its parliamentarians to help mitigate the situation were the focus of debate today during the final session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Autumn Meeting. Under the theme of “Improving Human Rights-Based Governance of International Migration,” dozens of parliamentarians exchanged ideas on political responses and underlined their role in building

SKOPJE, 30 September 2016 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 2016 Autumn Meeting, bringing together some 170 parliamentarians from across the OSCE’s 57 participating States, opened today in Skopje with addresses by OSCE PA President Christine Muttonen and host officials. President Muttonen offered remarks stressing the parliamentary conference’s theme of “Strengthening Confidence-Building Measures and Good Governance in the OSCE Region,” and

COPENHAGEN, 26 September, 2016 – Guglielmo Picchi (MP, Italy), Head of the OSCE PA observer mission to the 8 October parliamentary elections in Georgia, today issued the following statement: “Two days ago upon leaving Tbilisi I said that everyone we met welcomed the strong atmospheric change since the 2012 elections. One political party has since raised concerns and has objected to my characterisation of our meetings, reminding of the concerns

President Giorgi Margvelasjvili meets Ignacio Sanchez Amor and Guglielmo Picchi in Tbilisi. TBILISI, 24 September 2016 – Leading members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly election observation mission to the 8 October parliamentary elections in Georgia today concluded a three-day visit to the country, noting the active participation of many parties in the campaign. OSCE parliamentarians will observe the upcoming parliamentary elections in

COPENHAGEN, 23 September 2016 – In one week, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 15th Autumn Meeting will open in Skopje with addresses by host officials including Speaker of Parliament Trajko Veljanoski and Vice-President Renata Deskoska. The opening session will also feature remarks by OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Christine Muttonen (MP, Austria). Some 200 members of parliament from 50 countries will gather from 30 September to 2

PA Secretary General Roberto Montella, Research Assistant Maria Patrakova and President Ilkka Kanerva speak to poll workers in Moscow, 18 Sept. 2016 MOSCOW, 19 September 2016 – The 18 September State Duma elections were transparently administered by the Central Election Commission, but challenges to democratic commitments remain. The legal framework can serve as an adequate basis for elections, but the electoral environment was negatively