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Spain

Spain has been an OSCE participating State since June 25, 1973 and chaired the OSCE in 2007. Spain is a parliamentary monarchy located between France and Portugal and is a NATO, E.U., and Council of Europe member.  Its economy is highly service-oriented, although it does have a substantial manufacturing base. Of its population of 48 million, 74 percent speak Spanish, 17 percent Catalan, 7 percent Galician, and 2 percent Basque.  Approximately 79 percent of the population is Christian, and 19 percent is unaffiliated. There are almost a million Muslims living in Spain, making up 2.1 percent of the population, along with 60,000 Jews, accounting for 0.1 percent of the population. The Spanish Foreign Minister appeared at a Commission hearing in 2007, and Spain has been the site of several OSCE and OSCE PA meetings over the years.  From 1980 to 1983, Spain hosted the second follow-up meeting of the Helsinki Process, critical to the creation of the OSCE. Spain was also the location of some of the OSCE’s first meetings on anti-Semitism and discrimination against Muslims. In 2002, the Commission held a hearing on post-9/11 OSCE efforts to thwart terrorist financing, which included the Spanish Ambassador to the United States as a representative of the European Union.
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Hearings

European Energy Security Post-Russia

Jun 07, 2022

Russia is weaponizing energy to prolong its unlawful invasion of Ukraine. Unfortunately, the sanctions that Europe and the United States have put in place have not been enough to curb […]

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Press Releases

European Energy Security Focus of Upcoming Helsinki ...

Jun 02, 2022

WASHINGTON—The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, today announced the following hearing: EUROPEAN ENERGY SECURITY POST-RUSSIA Tuesday, June 7, 2022 2:30 p.m. Watch […]

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Hearings

Sweden’s Leadership of the OSCE

Jun 11, 2021

In 2021, Sweden chairs the world’s largest regional security organization—the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)—which comprises 57 participating States stretching from North America, across Europe, and to […]

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Articles

Helsinki Commission Leadership Joins Inter-Parliamen...

Jun 07, 2021

On May 25, 2021, the U.S. Helsinki Commission joined the House Foreign Affairs Committee and European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights at the launch event for the EU – US […]

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Press Releases

Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde to Appear at Hels...

Jun 03, 2021

WASHINGTON—The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, today announced the following online hearing: SWEDEN’S LEADERSHIP OF THE OSCE Priorities for 2021 Friday, June […]

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Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Commemorates 45 Years of Advanci...

Jun 03, 2021

WASHINGTON—To commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, on June 3, Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin (MD) and […]

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Articles

2020 OSCE Mediterranean Conference

Dec 09, 2020

By Zantana Ephrem, Max Kampelman Fellow and Michelle Ikelau Ngirbabulka, Max Kampelman Fellow In 2020, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has faced the unprecedented crisis of COVID-19, […]

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Press Releases

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama to Appear at Helsin...

Sep 09, 2020

WASHINGTON—The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, today announced the following online hearing: ALBANIA’S CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE OSCE Responding to the Multiple Challenges […]

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Articles

2019 Human Dimension Implementation Meeting

Sep 13, 2019

From September 16 to September 27, OSCE participating States will meet in Warsaw, Poland, for the 2019 Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM), organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions […]

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Press Releases

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem D...

Jul 17, 2019

WASHINGTON—The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, today announced the following hearing: STATE OF MEDIA FREEDOM IN THE OSCE REGION Thursday, July 25, […]

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Publications

The Helsinki Process: A Four Decade Overview

Jun 28, 2019

In August 1975, the heads of state or government of 35 countries – the Soviet Union and all of Europe except Albania, plus the United States and Canada – held […]

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Briefings

Partially Protected?

Jun 14, 2019

The U.S. Helsinki Commission convened an expert briefing on the background, implementation, and legal and political implications of temporary protection for people in the United States and Europe who come […]

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