Brussels, 01/07/2005 (Agence Europe) - The panel of well-known figures formed by the president-in-office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Slovenia's Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, presented a 32-page report on 27 June containing 70 recommendations on reform of the organisation that groups 55 European and North-American countries. Examination of the report began on 30 June in Vienna. Dimitrij Rupel hopes to complete reform during the ministerial meeting to be held on 5 and 6 December in Ljubljana.
The panel does not suggest a complete overhaul of the OSCE but rather the development of what already exists. The organisation's three dimensions - human, economic and security- should be reactivated. In order to give them greater visibility, each would in future have a working group to prepare the work of the permanent Council of ambassadors. The proposal would allow a response to be made to Russia's insistent call for rebalancing. The OSCE must come within the European architecture and the reform proposed takes account of the need for complementarity with the Council of Europe and the European Union. On the subject of internal functioning, the panel suggests giving a greater role to the secretary general, who embodies continuity of the organisation without, however, weakening the role of the president-in-office who should continue to play a role of mediator during crises. The method of decision-making by consensus would be maintained but, in future, the countries that block consensus can no longer remain anonymous. As far as appointments are concerned, the countries that put candidates forward may no longer block consensus on their own.
The panel was chaired by the former Norwegian foreign minister, Knut Vollebaek, and included six other well-known figures: Nikolay Afanasievsky of Russia, who died just a few days ago, Hans van den Broek of the Netherlands, Wilhelm Hoeynck of Germany, Kazakh national Kuanysh Sultanov, Richard S. Williamson of the USA, and Miomir Zuzul of Croatia.