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Ministerial Council 2015

24 November 2015



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Final Decisions and Declarations

The following final decisions and declarations were adopted at the 2015 OSCE Ministerial Council:

What's it all about?

From 3 to 4 December 2015, OSCE Foreign Ministers convened in Belgrade, Serbia, for the annual Ministerial Council, to consider issues relevant to the organization and take the appropriate decisions.

OSCE Ministerial Council

The Ministerial Council was established by the Charter of Paris for a New Europe (1990) under the original name of "Council of Ministers for Foreign Affairs". The 1992 Helsinki Document reaffirmed its role as the central decision-making and governing body of the OSCE and gave it more extensive powers in the field of conflict prevention and crisis management. The 1994 Budapest Document renamed it "Ministerial Council" and fully confirmed its pivotal political role.

Learn more about the OSCE Ministerial Council

Bringing together foreign ministers and delegations from the 57 OSCE participating States, the two-day Council occurs near the end of every year and in the final stages of each chairmanship. It acts as the main central decision-making and governing body in the period between OSCE summits and provides a rare opportunity for participating States and 11 Partners for Co-operation to engage in high-level multilateral and bilateral talks on their current security relations and concerns.

1 December: Preparations

OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier (l) and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Serbia’s Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić, at the first press conference of the 22nd OSCE Ministerial Council, Belgrade, 1 December 2015.

2 December: Preparations

The #UnitedCVE campaign photo booth at the Press Centre allows the participants of the 22nd Ministerial Council to show their support for the campaign.

The Extended OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Bureau December 2015 meeting was held on the eve of the 2015 OSCE Ministerial Council. The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Serbia’s Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić, also participated in the event.

Representatives from the OSCE Parallel Civil Society Conference 2015 handed over a set of recommendations to the OSCE Troika Representatives ahead of the Ministerial Council.

The recommendations of the 2015 OSCE Parallel Civil Society Conference, organized by the Civic Solidarity Platform, are handed over by Ralph du Long to Ambassador Dejan Šahović, Head of the Task Force for the OSCE Chairmanship of Serbia and representatives of the OSCE Troika, Belgrade, 2 December 2015.

20:30 - PRESS RELEASE: OSCE field missions’ work in promoting regional co-operation important for stability in Western Balkans, says Chairperson-in-Office Dačić

3 December: Day 1

07:00 - We will posting live updates on this page throughout the day with the latest from the 22nd OSCE Ministerial Council. Follow the discussion on Twitter @Serbia2015OSCE and @OSCE or using #OSCEMC15 hashtag. Watch live at www.osce.org/live.

09:45 - Delegates from the OSCE participating States have arrived at the venue in Belgrade for the 22nd OSCE Ministerial Council. Before the first session begins, all Foreign Ministers and Heads of Delegations pose for the traditional family photo.

OSCE Foreign Ministers and Heads of Delegations pose for a family photo at the 2015 Ministerial Council in Belgrade, 3 December 2015.

12:00 - PRESS RELEASE: ‎Joint Statement by the Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries

12:10 - Robust diplomacy needed to rebuild trust in Europe: the final report of the Panel of Eminent Persons on European Security as a Common Project was presented at the Ministerial Council.

13:45 - PRESS RELEASE: Far-reaching action needed in world ‘spiralling out of control,’ OSCE PA President tells foreign ministers

15:00 - The final report of the Panel of Eminent Persons on European Security as a Common Project is available online.

18:38 - PRESS RELEASE: OSCE Troika meets at Ministerial Council in Belgrade, calls for further measures to strengthen ceasefire in Ukraine

19:07 - PRESS RELEASE: Statement by the OSCE Troika welcoming Final Report of the Panel of Eminent Persons on European Security as a Common Project

19:23 - PRESS RELEASE: OSCE Ministerial Council in Belgrade: Rebuilding consensus on European security must be our central concern

19:38 - PRESS RELEASE: Robust diplomatic process needed to replace mutual recrimination with rebuilding trust in Europe, conclude Panel of Eminent Persons

PHOTOS: for more photos from Day 1 check out our album on Flickr:

OSCE Ministerial Council 2015

4 December: Day 2

09:00 - OSCE Troika meeting with the Asian Partners for Co-operation.

13:40 - PRESS RELEASE: Only through dialogue can solutions be found to crisis in and around Ukraine, says OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Dačić

Incoming Chairperson, Germany's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, delivering a speech during the closing session of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Belgrade, 4 December 2015.

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Serbia’s Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić delivering a speech during the closing session of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Belgrade, 4 December 2015.

READ: Closing Statement by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Serbia’s Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić, at the 22nd OSCE Ministerial Council