MALTESE PARLIAMENTARIAN ATTENDS THE OSCE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY MEETING IN VIENNA

The Hon. John Vella, leader of the Malta delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, will be attending the Standing Committee of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly which is to be held in Vienna, on 22 and 23 February 2001, in the OSCE premises, in the Congress Centre Hofburg (Heldenplatz).

The meeting will be opened by the President of the OSCE PA, Mr. Adrian Severin (Romania). The OSCE Secretary General, Ambassador Jan Kubiš; High Commissioner van der Stoel; Mr. Freimut Duve, Representative on Freedom of the Media, and other senior OSCE officials will brief the parliamentarians on the latest OSCE developments followed by a question / answer session.

The meeting will also be addressed by the President of the Austrian Nationalrat, Dr. Heinz Fischer, after which the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Mr. Mircea Dan Geoana, will brief the Standing Committee on OSCE developments and take questions from the floor.

The Standing Committee will also discuss the results of the OSCE Ministerial Council Meeting which was held last November, as well as other business.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE is composed of 317 Parliamentarians from 55 OSCE Member States. The Standing Committee is composed of the Heads of National Delegations, the President of the Assembly, the nine Vice-Presidents, the Treasurer, the Chairs of three General Committees on Political Affairs and Security, Economic Matters, and Human Rights.