MOSCOW, November 10. /TASS/. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is currently experiencing very serious difficulties and has many shortcomings, former Austrian Foreign Minister, head of the "G.O.R.K.I." center at St. Petersburg State University Karin Kneissl said.

"In his speech this morning, [Foreign] Minister [Sergey] Lavrov noted that some European partners have always resisted the adoption of a full-fledged OSCE charter. This is not just a matter of formality: the existence of a constituent document is a fundamentally important point. In this sense, the OSCE experience can serve as a kind of lesson. I will not list all the other shortcomings of the OSCE - there are many of them - but the fact remains that this organization is currently experiencing very, very serious difficulties," she told the International Collective Security Forum.

"The organization can cease to exist at any time, since it does not have a founding document - there is no charter."