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Roundup: OSCE lawmakers admit "erosion" of its system but believe in future

Xinhua, July 10, 2015 Adjust font size:

The attempt by some 300 parliamentarians to revisit the Spirit of Helsinki in 1975 this week resulted in many confident words about the future, but much more argument and belligerent stands on current issues.

On Thursday the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) published a Helsinki Declaration, which concerned 142 issues ranging from the Ukraine crisis to environmental challenges and fiscal problems.

Many of the views heard targeted Russia. Counter arguments were not heard that much as Russians did not attend the meeting due to an EU entry ban that in the end resulted in the absence of the whole Russian delegation.

Parliamentary Assembly President, Finnish veteran politician Ilkka Kanerva insisted that the meeting had not done any damage to diplomatic efforts despite the strong language and partisan approach.

Kanerva dismissed the view that the Spirit of Helsinki could actually be defunct, but said some reforms are needed in the OSCE.

Outgoing Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly Spencer Oliver said the debates in Helsinki now had been "full and frank".

Kanerva seemed confident the Russians would be back by the next meeting, to be arranged in Ulan Bator, Mongolia in late 2015.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto denied Finnish responsibility on the non-entry, saying that a notification process with the rest of the EU had indicated the entry ban could not be waived.

It turned out Helsinki was not eligible for an exception as it is not a home of any OSCE organization or any other international body that could have been used. Finland will be demanding clarifications for future rules, said Niinisto.

Critics have pointed out that using the intra-EU notification system was very likely to bring in some negative stands. But a brave choice of just letting the Russians in could have resulted in major international criticism as well, local commentators noted.

While the issue of non-admittance to some Russians dominated the news headlines, the Assembly did take a critical look at the current status of the 1975 legacy.

In the new Helsinki Declaration, the Parliamentary Assembly openly admitted the "erosion of trust and confidence within the OSCE". The Assembly said it had an increasingly detrimental effect on the dialogue and called for steps to be taken to stop it.

One of the changes suggested is that OSCE would give up the requirement of consensus in reaching decisions. The Parliamentary Assembly noted that now the consensus rule is "a serious obstacle to effective and immediate action in times of crisis".

In the Parliamentary Assembly the consensus rule was not applied but resolutions were decided through voting.

The frontlines between those very critical of Russia and those wanting to leave space for finding solutions recurred in many votes.

A draft resolution accentuating the rights of homosexuals was an exception where value conservatives from both east and west found common ground. Endit