OSCE PA President Christine Muttonen delivers closing remarks at the Annual Session in Minsk, 9 July 2017MINSK, 9 July 2017 – Austrian parliamentarian Christine Muttonen was elected to a second term as President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly today at the OSCE PA’s Annual Session in Minsk. Upon her re-election, the President thanked the Assembly for its support and pledged to continue the work that she has pursued since being elected in Tbilisi last year.
“In particular, I will continue pushing governments to find solutions to our enduring challenges,” President Muttonen said. “This means working for an effective OSCE – including by filling vacant positions that currently exist in the Organization – and increasing the involvement of parliamentarians in OSCE.”
In today’s final session, election results were also announced for positions on the Assembly’s Bureau, including four Vice-Presidents and Treasurer.
Member of the German Bundestag Doris Barnett was re-elected Treasurer by acclimation. The Assembly elected Italian parliamentarian Marietta Tidei, United States Senator Roger Wicker, Swedish parliamentarian Margareta Cederfelt, and re-elected Romanian parliamentarian Victor Dobre as vice-presidents.
Leaders of the Assembly's three general committees were elected earlier in the week.
The Committee on Political Affairs and Security elected Filippo Lombardi (MP, Switzerland) as Chair; Guglielmo Picchi (MP, Italy) as Vice Chair; and Kristian Vigenin (MP, Bulgaria) as Rapporteur.
The Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment elected Nilza Sena (MP, Portugal) as Chair; Artur Gerasymov (MP, Ukraine) as Vice-Chair; and Sofio Katrarava (MP, Georgia) as Rapporteur.
The Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions elected Ignacio Sanchez Amor (MP, Spain) as Chair; Ivana Dobesova (MP, Czech Republic) as Vice Chair and Kyriakos Hadjiyianni (MP, Cyprus) as Rapporteur.
For bios of the Bureau members, please click here.
For more information about the Annual Session, including the full text of the OSCE PA's Minsk Declaration, please visit http://www.oscepa.org/meetings/annual-sessions/2017-minsk-annual-session. Photos are available for public use on the PA’s Flickr page at www.flickr.com/oscepa and the Belarusian Parliament's Flickr page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/houseofrepresentatives/. A video playlist is available here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWSg38GfTQV-ERQzAAw8I_CiFcGui-Yac
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is comprised of 323 parliamentarians from 57 countries spanning Europe, Central Asia and North America. The Assembly provides a forum for parliamentary diplomacy, monitors elections, and strengthens international co-operation to uphold commitments on political, security, economic, environmental and human rights issues.
