Opening statement to the Ministerial Council Meeting of the OSCE by High Representative/Vice-President Kaja Kallas

The European Union extends its gratitude to our Chairperson-in-Office, Minister Valtonen, dear Elina, for hosting the 32nd OSCE Ministerial Meeting in Vienna and for Finnish efforts to lead the organisation in these challenging times.

If we read the founding documents of this organisation, then this organisation was established to keep war away from Europe.

And yet, there is one member of this organisation that is not keeping to this. It is the Russian Federation that is blatantly violating international law, but also The OSCE principles.

We again call on Russia to immediately stop this senseless war of aggression against Ukraine and to withdraw all forces and equipment, completely and unconditionally, from all Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.

The establishment of the OSCE didn't come from nowhere, but from the fact that we all had painful historic experiences.

In the last 100 years, Russia has invaded at least 19 countries, many around this table, and some as many as three or four times.

None of these 19 countries ever invaded or attacked Russia.

So, in any peace agreement, we have to put the focus on how to get concessions from the Russian side, so that they stop aggression and the desire to change borders by force.

The European Union will stay the course as only more pressure on Russia and more support to Ukraine will change the balance and have any hope for peace.

It is essential to reduce Russia's capacity to finance its war machine.

The 19th package of sanctions was adopted and the work on the next package continues.

Of course, we understand it is painful, we all suffer due to this, but we all want this war to end.

And for that we need to join efforts and do this collectively.

Wars end when aggressors run out of money to finance the wars.

Ukraine and Europe stand for peace.

Turning now to other priorities:

We will continue to support Republic of Moldova's reform efforts and its democratic resilience as the country advances on its path towards EU integration.

In Georgia, the EU calls on the authorities to respect human rights and stop the democratic backsliding.

The authorities should release the unjustly detained, investigate all allegations of excessive use of force by law enforcement and hold those responsible to account.

The EU continues to urge the Belarusian authorities to end the ongoing repression, release all political prisoners, and uphold their international human rights obligations.

The European Union calls on Belarus to stop supporting Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

We commend the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for initialling their bilateral peace treaty this August. The European Union will continue to support this process with all the tools at our disposal.

The EU and its Member States remain committed to the EU perspective of the Western Balkans. EU enlargement remains the key tool to promote stability and prosperity in the region. We provide significant support so that the candidates can meet the criteria for EU membership.

We continue to support the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina to normalise relations.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, our robust military force EUFOR Althea supports the authorities to maintain a safe and secure environment.

The closer our partners get to accession, the more we see malign actors trying to place obstacles. Together we will counter cyber and hybrid threats, including foreign malign information manipulation and interference.

Central Asia and the EU have upgraded their relationship to a strategic level at the first-ever EU Central Asia Summit.

We cooperate now on a wide range of topics, for example, on climate change, digital and transport connectivity, critical raw materials and security cooperation.

We look forward to working closely with the 2026 Chairperson-in-Office, Switzerland, on these issues.

To ensure the OSCE’s effective functioning, the decisions on a new Unified Budget and the Chairperson-in-Office after 2026 are important.

The Cyprus candidacy for the Chairperson-in-Office in 2027 deserves support.

To conclude, I reiterate the EU’s firm commitment to the OSCE and its founding values.

Once again, thanks to Minister Valtonen and the Finnish Chairpersonship for their leadership over the last year.

And now I give the floor back to the Danish Presidency.