Thank you, Mr Chair.
Firstly, I would like to welcome back Ambassador Wahl to the Permanent Council. Thank you for the work of your team over the last year, and for your comprehensive and engaging report this morning.
The United Kingdom highly appreciates the work and added value of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, and the Mission’s support to government reforms.
The United Kingdom and North Macedonia have developed a strong and supportive bilateral partnership since we established diplomatic relations over 30 years ago. I am delighted that our Prime Minister met with Prime Minister Mickoski during the European Political Community summit last week and announced the new strategic partnership between our two countries. This deepens our mutual commitment to work together on issues of trade and investment, foreign policy, tackling organised crime, infrastructure cooperation and migration.
The UK welcomes the findings of the ODIHR Election Observation Mission that the parliamentary and presidential elections held in North Macedonia last year were competitive and fundamental freedoms were respected, though we note the concerns highlighted over insufficient regulation of the process. We encourage the Government of North Macedonia to continue engagement towards addressing the remaining recommendations in the ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report ahead of municipal elections later this year.
The UK positively notes the OSCE Mission’s achievements over the past 12 months, set out clearly in your Report. We particularly welcome your continued engagement to promote social cohesion and community rights, and your support on criminal justice reform – including work in the last 12 months on judicial independence, promotion of fair trial standards and strengthening cooperation with civil society.
The UK is also pleased to note the Mission’s continued commitment to gender equality – particularly your support for women’s political participation, and your engagement with parliament on the adoption of a new Gender Action Plan for 2025-2027.
Mr Chair, it is vital for the work of all OSCE field operations that participating States agree a Unified Budget for 2025 and beyond. As highlighted in the Report, the continued non-agreement of budgets and the resulting forced subsistence on monthly allotments make it very challenging for field missions to deliver across their mandates and adjust to changing priorities. We urge all participating States to engage constructively with upcoming proposals to resolve the impasse over budgets.
Thank you, Ambassador Wahl. Thank you, Mr Chair.
