Finland took over the one-year-long Chairmanship of the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Tuesday, Xinhua quoted the Finnish government as saying in a statement. Finnish Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva becomes the new OSCE chairman. He took over from Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, whose country chaired the OSCE in 2007. This is the first time for Finland to play such a role in the OSCE, said the statement. "Finland's Chairmanship will focus, above all, on intensifying the organization's operation and on the observance of existing commitments," said Kanerva. Finland's chairmanship will be characterized by many uncertainties, said Kanerva. The Kosovo issue will be prominent issues during the year, he added. The new chairman will outline the chairmanship's priorities in a speech on Jan. 10 in Vienna to the Permanent Council, the OSCE's main regular decision-making body. Soon after that, he will make his first visit to OSCE field operations to Ukraine and Moldova, said the statement. The membership of the OSCE includes 56 states, among them European countries as well as the countries of South Caucasus, the five Central Asian nations, the United States and Canada.
