At the opening of the 32nd OSCE Ministerial Council in Vienna, Finland’s Chairpersonship underscored its commitment to upholding the Helsinki principles, the need to respond to current security challenges, and preparations to equip the Organization for the future. Over the past year, Finland launched the Helsinki+50 Fund to strengthen the OSCE’s operational capacity and led the Helsinki+50 discussions on the future of the OSCE. The Chairpersonship highlighted the increasingly difficult international environment, particularly in light of Russia’s violations of these principles in Ukraine, and emphasized the need for accountability, inclusive dialogue, and the modernization of the OSCE to ensure its ability to address present and future challenges.

Czechia came to the OSCE Ministerial with one main objective – to keep Ukraine high on the OSCE agenda in the years to come. “Just like last year in Malta, I have come to Vienna to once again call on Russia to stop its unjustifiable aggression against Ukraine. The OSCE, like the UN, is one of the few platforms where we can deliver this clear and concise message to Russia directly,” said Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský. On the margins of the Ministerial Council, a bilateral meeting was held with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, during which the Czech Foreign Minister reaffirmed his support for the country under attack.

In addition to waging war against Ukraine, Russia is also paralysing the OSCE itself by blocking the organisation’s budget. As a result, the OSCE has been operating under a provisional budget for the fourth year in a row. “By paralysing the OSCE, Russia is showing that it has no interest in an international system in which states are equal. It does not want to reach agreement with anyone; it wants to dictate,” Lipavský commented.

Despite this, Czechia is working to ensure that those projects which can continue do so successfully. Within the OSCE, it supports Ukraine’s resilience through the Support Programme for Ukraine. Czechia also nominates experts for the OSCE Moscow Mechanism, which gathers evidence of Russian crimes and has in the past confirmed, for example, the forced deportation of Ukrainian children. In addition, Czechia provides the OSCE Chairpersonship with a Special Representative for Ukraine, Ambassador Petr Mareš, who has held this position since December 2024 and will now serve another year in the same role.

The Czech Foreign Minister also joined a signature campaign calling for the release of three imprisoned OSCE staff members who were detained while performing their duties and have been held as hostages by Russia for more than three years. On this occasion, he also met the wife of one of them. The event was organised by the Ukrainian human rights organisation Zmina.

Additionally, a meeting of the Group of Friends of the Western Balkans took place on 4 December. In addition to North Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo and Serbia, the meeting was attended by representatives of all members of the group – Italy, Austria, Czechia, Slovakia, Croatia, Greece and Slovenia. The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, was also present. The main topics were the prospects for EU enlargement to include the Western Balkan countries and energy cooperation between the Western Balkans and the EU.