On 30 October, the Council of Europe's Secretary General Alain Berset, will address the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Vienna, hold meetings with Austrian authorities, and deliver a lecture at the Vienna Diplomatic Academy School of International Studies.
In his address to the OSCE permanent council, the decision-making body of the 57-state organisation, Secretary General Berset will focus on Europe's security challenges and will call for a renewed emphasis on democratic security. In response to rising democratic backsliding and increasing rearmament, Berset will highlight the New Democratic Pact for Europe as a collective effort to strengthen Europe's security architecture and make democracies in Europe more resilient, inclusive, and responsive to contemporary challenges. During his meeting with OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu he will also discuss possible avenues for strengthening cooperation between the two organisations.
The theme of the Secretary General's lecture at the Vienna Diplomatic Academy School of International Relations is "Thirty years of democratic security and the New Pact for Democracy: the road ahead". The Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs and the Central European University are co-organisers of the event.
Meetings with the Federal President of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen, the Third President of the Austrian National Assembly Doris Bures, Justice Minister Anna Sporrer, as well as in the Chancellery and the Ministry for European and International Affairs, are also on the agenda of the Secretary General's visit.
Secretary General Alain Berset
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Vienna School of International Studies
