The United Kingdom thanks the Secretary General, and representatives of the Austrian Court of Audit and the Audit Committee for their presentations today and their comprehensive reports.
The External Auditor and Audit Committee reports provide an important overview of the OSCE’s financial health, and oversight of the organisation’s administration and internal controls. We recognise that the audit assessments have been made in the context of significant ongoing challenges – including the impact of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and the continued non-agreement of the OSCE Unified Budget.
The UK welcomes the unqualified opinion of the External Auditor that the OSCE’s financial statements for 2024 presented fairly the financial position of the organisation. We appreciate the Austrian Court of Audit’s professional work in this role, and warmly welcome your earlier agreement to extend for a further two audit cycles until July 2026.
Mr Chair, it is vital for the work of all OSCE structures that participating States agree a Unified Budget for 2025 and beyond. As the Reports and presentations this morning clearly illustrate, the continued non-agreement of the Unified Budget – and the lack of an updated Post Table – continue to severely constrain all parts of the organisation in delivering their mandates. We again urge all participating States to engage constructively with budget proposals and ensure the organisation is able to carry out its work effectively in line with the OSCE principles we have all signed up to.
We welcome the assessments in the Reports that the OSCE’s overall financial liquidity remains sound. We commend the OSCE executive structures for their ongoing work to adapt to the financial challenges facing the organisation, and for helping to maintain continuity of business. We also appreciate the tireless efforts of successive Chairs-in-Office – Malta and Finland – in advancing budget proposals and agreeing additional expenditure authorisations.
I again thank the Austrian Court of Audit and the Audit Committee for the comprehensive reports. As always, the UK looks forward to engaging constructively on the report recommendations.
Thank you, Mr Chair.
