Ian Cliff, Head of the UK Delegation to the OSCE, at the opening of the UK's FSC Chairmanship (OSCE/Jonny Perfect)

The UK Delegation to the OSCE has taken over the rotating Chairmanship of the organisation’s ‘hard security’ body until the end of 2009. The Forum for Security Cooperation, or FSC, is one of the two independent decision-making bodies of the OSCE, and is dedicated to politico-military issues.

The UK Delegation will steer the FSC up to and during the annual OSCE Ministerial Council meeting to be held in Athens in December. It will be a demanding time for the UK Delegation team, as they balance the administrative demands of the Chairmanship with the delicate political issues that face the Forum and the OSCE as a whole.  

An important joint meeting of the FSC and the Permanent Council in mid September was incorporated into the Organisation’s wider embracing discussions on the Future of European Security.