Thank you, Ambassador Tarran, for the work of your team over the last 12 months and for the helpful presentation this morning.
Mr Chair, the United Kingdom and Albania have a strong bilateral partnership. The UK continues to support Albania’s Euro-Atlantic path. This was reiterated by my Prime Minister during his Tirana visit in May, again at the Berlin Process Summit in October, and in Tirana last week during Special Envoy Dame Karen Pierce’s visit.
The UK notes the Final Report of the ODIHR Election Observation Mission on Albania’s parliamentary elections on 11 May, and the conclusions that elections “were competitive and professionally conducted but took place in a highly polarised environment and contestants did not enjoy a level playing field”. We encourage the Government of Albania to engage constructively to address outstanding recommendations.
The UK welcomes the OSCE Presence’s capacity building of Albania’s parliament, local governance and law enforcement, and your support to elections. We are pleased to support your programmes to strengthen law enforcement and prosecution capabilities in combatting people trafficking, and to separately support the strengthening of key judicial pillars in Albania, including the High Inspector of Justice, the courts, and the prosecutorial system – notably the Special Structure against Corruption and Organized Crime.
We also welcome Albania’s efforts to advance gender equality and the Presence’s active support in this.
Ambassador Tarran, you mention towards the end of your written report the significant loss of purchasing power due to the lack of an agreed Unified Budget, and the need to adapt the Presence’s approach by reducing programme activity or transferring ownership to host authorities. How do you envisage a shift to a more coordination-focused role for the OSCE Presence working in practice?
In conclusion, I would like to thank you once again, Ambassador Tarran, for your leadership during this reporting period, and wish you success with the OSCE Presence’s work over the coming 12 months.
Thank you, Mr Chair.
