News and press releases

COPENHAGEN, 7 March 2018 – A large team of parliamentarians from the OSCE will observe the upcoming presidential election in the Russian Federation. Michael Georg Link (MP, Germany) will serve as Special Co-ordinator, leading the short-term OSCE mission of some 420 international observers for the 18 March vote. Marietta Tidei (MP, Italy) will serve as Head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation, which will include some 90 members of parliament from more than 30 countries...

ROME, 5 March 2018 – The 4 March parliamentary elections in Italy were a vibrant display of competitive democracy in which voters could readily inform themselves about their political options and could freely cast their ballots, concluded international observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly today following their first-ever election observation mission in the country. The elections offered voters a multitude of parties to choose from, and benefitted from extensive media coverage, with diverse and critical analysis of many aspects of the campaigns. In a welcome effort, concerns about ‘fake news’ were taken seriously by authorities and media companies during the campaign. On election day, time-consuming procedures resulted in some delays and long queues for voters...

COPENHAGEN, 26 February 2017 – Following the recent reported death of Archil Tatunashvili in South Ossetia, Georgia, OSCE PA human rights chair Ignacio Sanchez Amor stressed the need for close cooperation and a transparent investigation into the events leading to the death. Sanchez Amor expressed his sincere condolences to the family of Mr. Tatunashvili...

COPENHAGEN, 20 February 2018 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is deploying a mission of 42 international observers, including 33 parliamentarians from 22 countries, to Italy for the 4 March parliamentary elections. The observers arrive in Rome next week for two days of briefings before deploying for election day observation around the country.

WASHINGTON, 9 February 2018 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli (Georgia) and Secretary General Roberto Montella are wrapping up a visit to Washington, where they met this week with Members of Congress and officials from the U.S. National Security Council and State Department. In discussions, Tsereteli and Montella have noted the essential role of the OSCE as a forum for dialogue and stressed the importance of continued U.S. engagement in the Organization...

WASHINGTON, 8 February 2018 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli and Secretary General Roberto Montella are in Washington this week, where they participated in a forum on geopolitics in South East Europe on Tuesday. The event at the U.S. Senate featured remarks from prime ministers and members of parliament, who addressed challenges facing the region of South East Europe, as well as members of the U.S. Congress...

BRUSSELS, 6 February 2018 – Senior members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly were in Brussels on 5-6 February to learn more about Belgian migration and asylum policies as well as measures to promote the integration of refugees. The visit was part of a series of activities of the OSCE PA Ad Hoc Committee on Migration which seek to move beyond the assessing of emergency measures in frontline countries to medium- to long-term policies to promote the integration of refugees in destination countries...