The 26th OSCE Ministerial Council was held 5-6 December in Bratislava. Head of the Swedish Delegation was Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde. At the meeting the participating States decided that Sweden and Poland will take on OSCE Chairmanship in the years 2021 and 2022 respectively.
“We intend to base our programme for 2021 on the efforts of previous Chairmanships. We will focus on OSCE core business and our commonly agreed principles and commitments. The European Security Order, the concept of comprehensive security, as well as democracy, human rights and equal rights for all, will feature high on our agenda. Likewise, we will continue the important work of resolving the conflicts in the OSCE area. The primacy of diplomacy is a hallmark of the OSCE – it will continue to be our approach under a Swedish chairmanship”, said Foreign Minister Linde in her national statement.
Read the whole statement here.
As from 1st of January 2020 Sweden will be part of the OSCE-chairmanship trojka, together with the outgoing Slovak chairmanship and the incoming Albanian chairmanship. From the turn of the year Sweden will also lead the work within the OSCE Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation Group. Proceeding in the fall Sweden will also take over the OSCE Budget Committee and lead the negotiations on the OSCE budget during Sweden's 2021 Presidency.
