Switzerland and Serbia will hold the OSCE Chairmanships in 2014 and 2015 respectively, the 56 OSCE participating States decided, according to OSCE.

In welcoming this decision, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Irish Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore said: “I am particularly pleased that the OSCE participating States agreed to the joint proposal of Switzerland and Serbia for a two-year Chairmanship package. This innovative approach will allow for longer term planning and consistency for the benefit of our Organization. It will facilitate the development of a perspective for the future of the OSCE as we approach the fortieth anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act.”

The Irish Chairmanship together with previous and incoming Chairs Lithuania and Ukraine as the OSCE Troika will now work together with Switzerland and Serbia to develop future OSCE priorities.

The decision was taken in a so-called ‘silence procedure’, which ended today, Feb 10 with no country voicing objection.

The annual Chairmanship of the OSCE is decided by consensus of the 56 OSCE participating States, The Financial reported.