VIENNA, 19 February 2009 – The eighth Winter Meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly opened in Vienna on Thursday, 19 February with President Joao Soares welcoming almost 270 parliamentarians and underlining the importance of the organization being willing to engage and meet new challenges. 

“The OSCE is an extraordinary organization and its greatest strength has been its flexibility, allowing it to adapt to new realities,” Mr. Soares said. “However, I fear that this flexibility is being lost here in Vienna. We parliamentarians must do what we can to keep the OSCE an effective forum for dialogue.” 

President Soares also spoke of the importance of the OSCE field missions, which he called the “real strength” of the organization.  

(Quoted from the OSCE PA Website)

The Permanent delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the OSCE PA is led by the Head of the parliamentary committee for foreign affairs, Mr. Oleh Bilorus.