Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend an informal ministerial gathering of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which will be held in Slovakia’s High Tatras on 9 July. The main theme of the meeting will be conflict prevention. Ministers will discuss opportunities to promote stability and security in the OSCE region.
Slovakia, which holds the OSCE Chairmanship in 2019, had raised conflict prevention and effective multilateralism among its priorities.
The OSCE has been in a key role in efforts to resolve conflicts especially after the Ukraine conflict. The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) is a central international player in Eastern Ukraine.
The security of Europe
“The future of Ukraine impacts the security of the whole of Europe. It is essential to put an end to the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. The region suffers from a serious humanitarian crisis”, wrote Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto in the 'Minister’s notes' (Ministerin kynästä) series of articles earlier in July.
Finland supports the OSCE's activities through, for example, approximately 35 Finnish advisers working in the OSCE Secretariat and operations, of whom about 20 are employed in Ukraine. In addition, Finland supports the OSCE's projects through voluntary contributions of approximately 550,000€ a year.
Gender equality
Finland has also supported the strengthening of the OSCE’s mediation capacity. The Group of Friends of Mediation is co-chaired by Finland together with Turkey and Switzerland. Additionally, Finland plays a key role in the promotion of gender equality in the OSCE’s work. The OSCE’s Plan of Action on Women, Peace and Security was launched on Finland's initiative.
While in Slovakia, Minister Haavisto will have meetings with other OSCE participating States’ foreign ministers and discuss the priorities of Finland’s Presidency of the EU, among other issues.
