Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö has confirmed that the country will seek the chairpersonship of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2025, the 50th anniversary of the organisation’s founding conference in Helsinki.
Speaking on Monday at a seminar held by the Körber Foundation during his visit to Berlin, Niinistö confirmed the bid.
“We have to take responsibility for the future of our continent,” said Niinistö, who also met the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier during his visit. “Finland is ready to do its bit. Last week we decided with the government to propose that Finland take the chairmanship of the OSCE in 2025.”
That year marks 50 years since the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, which was held in Helsinki and led to the founding of the OSCE.
The conference saw US President Gerald Ford and Soviet leader Leonid Breznev meet in the Finnish capital, with a momentary easing of Cold War tensions following the meeting.
Niinistö has frequently invoked the ‘Helsinki spirit’ in recent months, while campaigning to hold a 2025 version of the conference.
“The Helsinki spirit is a state of mind,” said Niinistö in Berlin. “But more than that it is a way of working that overcomes divides and mistrust.”
“If it was possible for that state of mind to be born in the middle of the Cold War, it cannot be impossible today. We do not need a new summit some time in the future, the task is much more urgent. We need the Helsinki spirit here and now.”
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