Poland will take the lead in the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe pursuant to the decision of the Ministerial Council of OSCE in Bratislava dated 5th December 2019 and will hold this position for the second time in history. First time Poland chaired the Organisation in 1998. Polish chairmanship in OSCE will last from 1st January until 31st December 2022.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announcement, minister Rau will officially inaugurate our chairmanship and present its priorities on 13th January in the meeting of the Permanent Council of OSCE in Vienna. Poland will cooperate within the so called OSCE triumvirate together with the previous and successive chairmanship - Sweden and North Macedonia.

Sweden gave the lead over to Poland during the December Ministerial Council in Stockholm, Poland will formally start exercising it in the beginning of the year. The head of Polish diplomacy assured in the capital of Sweden that Poland is ready to work and Polish presidency will be characterised by responsibility, realism and reliability.

Rau also highlighted that the “priority for Polish presidency will be to actively prevent and mitigate conflicts and crisis situations”. In the middle of July, in Vienna, during the meeting of the Permanent Council of OSCE, Rau also said that Poland wants to strive for stability and security in the region. He underlined that one of the most extreme and current challenges in the area of European security is solving the conflict in Ukraine.

“Poland will fully support all the diplomatic efforts for peaceful solving of the situation inside and around Ukraine in accordance with the Minsk agreements and full respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally acknowledged borders” – said Rau.

From Rau’s point of view, Poland will take the lead in OSCE in a very difficult period. Polish priorities will focus on the so called three dimensions or three baskets of activities of OSCE. “The first one is the sphere of military and political conflicts, the second one concerns economy issues, and the third one is related to human rights” -said Rau.

OSCE gathers 57 member states. The genesis of the organisation derives from the Final Act of the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Helsinki in 1975. The formal decision on transforming the CSCE into OSCE was taken during the summit in Budapest in 1994. The works of OSCE concentrate on three dimensions: political, economic-environmental and human, which form a unique (for OSCE) and comprehensive security concept.