Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Timo Soini addresses the opening plenary of the OSCE PA Annual Session, 6 July 2015. (courtesy of Hanne Salonen/Parliament of Finland) HELSINKI, 6 July 2015 – Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini and OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) recalled the OSCE’s past, assessed the OSCE’s present, and looked to the OSCE’s future in keynote addresses

OSCE parliamentarian Nikolay Kovalev of Russia addresses the Standing Committee, Helsinki, 5 July 2015. (photo courtesy of Hanne Salonen/Parliament of Finland) HELSINKI, 5 July 2015 – The Heads of National Delegations to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly today discussed the decision of the government of Finland to enforce European Union visa bans against several Russian parliamentarians who had registered to participate in the PA’s Annual Session

OSCE PA Secretary General-Elect Roberto Montella (left) addresses parliamentarians alongside current Secretary General Spencer Oliver (center) and President Ilkka Kanerva, Helsinki, 5 July 2015. (photo courtesy of Hanne Salonen/Parliament of Finland) HELSINKI, 5 July 2015 – Roberto Montella of Italy has been elected the next Secretary General of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly with a term starting on 1 January 2016. The OSCE PA Standing

COPENHAGEN, 30 June 2015 – An argument opposing the use of sanctions against parliamentarians, a condemnation of Russia’s actions in Ukraine and a call to action regarding foreign terrorist fighters are among a diverse group of supplementary items proposed for consideration at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Annual Session on 5-9 July in Helsinki . The refugee crisis in the Mediterranean, human trafficking, developments in the Arctic,

COPENHAGEN, 29 June 2015 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) issued the following statement today on the passing of Petur Blondal of Iceland, the Assembly’s Special Representative on the OSCE Budget: “The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly mourns the loss of our longtime colleague and friend, Petur Blondal. Serving for more than a decade as the PA’s Special Representative on the OSCE Budget, Petur will be remembered as

OSCE PA President Ilkka Kanerva COPENHAGEN, 26 June 2015 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) today issued the following statement on the terrorist attacks in France, Tunisia and Kuwait: “I am shocked and appalled by today’s terrorist attacks in France, Tunisia and Kuwait. On behalf of the more than 300 lawmakers of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, I extend my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the