OSCE Secretary General's presentation of the 2027 Programme Outline: UK statement
UK Chargé d’Affaires, Deputy Ambassador James Ford, thanks Secretary General Sinirlioğlu for his presentation of the 2026 Programme Outline and underlines that the OSCE's top priority must remain to support Ukraine and address the impacts of Russia’s invasion.
Thank you, Mr Chair.
Thank you, Secretary General, for your presentation this afternoon. Thank you also to the teams responsible for developing the 2027 Programme Outline.
In 2027, the OSCE’s work to bolster our shared security across Europe will remain as vital as ever. In this challenging context, the organisation’s top priority must be to continue to support Ukraine and to address the impacts of Russia’s invasion – a flagrant war of aggression which continues to violate all the principles of the Helsinki Final Act.
Mr Chair, it was an important achievement to agree an OSCE budget for 2026. This has brought to an end a prolonged period of financial uncertainty and has provided the organisation with a more predictable basis for planning and delivery.
After a period of difficult but necessary budget cuts, we now need to make sure we place the organisation on a stable financial footing over the years ahead. That will enable strategic prioritisation and ensure the OSCE can respond effectively to the challenging geopolitical context. As well as clarity, all OSCE structures – and particularly the autonomous institutions and field operations – require sufficient resources to ensure they can function effectively and deliver their crucial core mandates. We will further study the detail of the proposals included in the outline, and look forward to further discussions among participating States on the shape and scale of resourcing our organisation requires. We will need to see fully-costed proposals to be able to make informed decisions about any possible changes to structures.
Looking ahead, Mr Chair, I would like to encourage all participating States to work constructively towards the agreement of a 2027 OSCE budget. You – and your successor as OSCE Chair-in-Office – will have the full support of the UK as you steer that process.
Thank you.