WASHINGTON– Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission) and Co-Chairman Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), will hold a hearing entitled, “A Parliamentary Perspective on Security and Cooperation in Today’s Europe,” on Thursday, October 18 at 9:30 a.m. in room B-318 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing will focus on the challenges facing today’s Europe and the ability of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to meet those challenges, which include unresolved conflicts and obstacles to democratic development in a region stretching across North America and Europe into the Caucasus and Central Asia. The OSCE has developed an array of institutions to cover a widening range of topics for dialogue among a growing number of participating States. It has also sought to engage partner countries in the Mediterranean region and now in Asia on issues of common concern and where OSCE experience may be of use.
In recent years, there have been efforts to reform the OSCE to enhance its effectiveness and ensure its accountability. Parliamentarians, through the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and their own national parliaments, can play a critical role in the success of these efforts.
The following witness will testify at the hearing:
Göran Lennmarker, President, Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the Swedish parliament (Riksdag).