Austria FM outlines OSCE priorities

 Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said Thursday a strong and effective Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) should remain central forum for dialogue on European security.In his address to the OSCE Permanent Council meeting here, Kurz set out Austria's priorities as current chair of the Council of Europe and highlighted the Council's co-operation with the OSCE in addressing security challenges.Kurz also outlined the main challenges tackled by both the Council of Europe and the OSCE, including human trafficking, cybercrime and corruption. Speaking about the political crisis in Ukraine, he said a solution should be sought only through democratic and peaceful means, in particular through a continued dialogue as well as respect for freedom of expression and assembly.Freedom of expression, including on the Internet, the protection of journalists, and the fight against human trafficking are key priorities of the Austrian Chairmanship of the Council of Europe, Kurz said.He emphasized the synergies between the Council of Europe and the OSCE in these areas, and mentioned a conference on the fight against trafficking in human beings that would be organized jointly by the Swiss OSCE Chairmanship and the Austrian Foreign Ministry on 17-18 February in Vienna."The Council of Europe's focus is on the legalization of our values and goals. The OSCE is a forum for an open dialogue during which we observe, evaluate and shape policies. This makes our two organizations a logical pair of siblings constructively complementing each other," the minister said.He stressed the importance of an "open, critical, but constructive dialogue" in the OSCE in particular putting the agreed into practice, and expressed his hope that the Helsinki+40 process would help to improve and streamline the working methods of the Organization."A strong an effective OSCE remains for us the central forum for a comprehensive dialogue on European security," he concluded, emphasizing Austria's support for the Organization's stabilizing and bridge-building role in Europe and its neighborhood.