Second Preparatory Meeting of the 31st OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum, 19-20 June 2024, St. Julian’s

1. The European Union and its Member States would like to thank the Maltese Chairpersonship, as well as the OSCE Co-ordinator of Economic and Environmental Activities and his team, for organising this meeting and continuing to advance the agenda of the second dimension. We also extend appreciation to the speakers, moderators and panellists for their insightful contributions.
2. We thank the Maltese Chairpersonship for its tireless efforts in facilitating the adoption of the PC decision on the 31^st Economic and Environmental Forum. We reiterate the importance of mandated events taking place across all three dimensions, which is crucial to the OSCE’s comprehensive approach to security.
3. This meeting has served as a platform for diverse perspectives on enhancing security and stability in the OSCE region through digital innovation, sustainable development and climate adaptation. We have followed with interest the panel discussions which highlighted the security implications of environmental degradation and disasters, management of natural resources, biodiversity and climate change, and how the OSCE can strengthen security, foster confidence-building, and prevent conflicts in the OSCE region, in line with OSCE principles and other international commitments.
4. The triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution will continue to affect global security in the coming years, including by increasing the risk of conflict. In this light, we reiterate our support for the Second Dimension as an integral part of OSCE's comprehensive approach to security, and its potential to foster confidence-building by addressing environmental aspects of security threats which impact the OSCE region and beyond.
5. As Russia’s war of aggression continues unabated, we believe that the OSCE should continue contributing to addressing and alleviating the economic and environmental consequences of Russia’s war of aggression which are being felt globally, far beyond Ukraine’s borders. It is crucial to restore Ukraine’s natural environment, and to hold Russia accountable for the environmental damage caused by its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
6. The EU looks forward to building upon the outcomes of this conference through further constructive engagement in the OSCE’s economic and environmental dimension.

The Candidate Countries NORTH MACEDONIA*, MONTENEGRO*, SERBIA*, ALBANIA*, UKRAINE, the REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA, BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA*, and GEORGIA, the EFTA country ICELAND, members of the European Economic Area, as well as ANDORRA and SAN MARINO, and the Partner for Co-operation AUSTRALIA align themselves with this statement.

* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.