The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

At the Fourteenth Ministerial Council Meeting of The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Chairman Ambassador Bertrand de Crombrugghe, gave an address to representatives of participating States at the Hofburg on 21 December 2006, in which he stated:

By the way, and here I open a parenthesis, one of the pleasures of the Chairmanship is to receive all kinds of mail, some less related to the OSCE than others, some funnier than others. At the very beginning of 2006, I received a letter that I promised myself I would share with you in due course.

It is from a certain Mr. Martin John Callanan in London. I have no clue who this chap is or what his connection to the OSCE might be. His letter reads very simply: “Dear Chairman, I respect your authority.” Wonderful! How did the chap get this into his mind, I truly wondered! It seemed like a promising start to me, but I can assure you, it only inspired a short and wild dream, nothing more. I did not divulge it early in this Chairmanship. I feared I might be misunderstood.

The full speech as PDF