VIENNA, 19 September 2024 – Today, Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen outlined the country’s priorities as the incoming OSCE Chair-in-Office for 2025 to the Permanent Council.

“During its Chairpersonship, Finland will emphasize the principles and commitments of the OSCE. Although they have been blatantly violated by Russia, they remain in force and form the foundation of the European security order,” said Minister for Foreign Affairs Valtonen.

Support for Ukraine will remain at the center of the Finnish Chairpersonship, across all dimensions. The overarching theme of the Chairpersonship will be resilience — both of the participating States and for the OSCE.

“Resilience, the ability to respond to and recover from crises, has gained increased attention among participating States due to Russia’s war against against Ukraine. However, it also encompasses challenges beyond military threats, such as responding to other types of malign activities, addressing climate change or making us more immune towards disinformation,” said Minister Valtonen.

The OSCE, with its comprehensive approach to security, including human rights, democracy and the rule of law, is well placed to tackle these issues.

Over the past few months, Finland has conducted extensive consultations with participating States regarding their priorities for 2025.

A broad consensus exists not only on the importance of adhering to OSCE principles and commitments but also the need to preserve and strengthen the OSCE, including its autonomous institutions and field operations.

Finland aims to fully leverage the wide array of tools at the OSCE’s disposal. Despite enormous challenges, the OSCE continues its valuable work across the region, including through its 12 field operations and three autonomous institutions – the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the High Commissioner on National Minorities, and the Representative on Freedom of the Media.

“We can support Ukraine and other countries in our neighbouring areas through the OSCE’s various institutions and tools. That is why strengthening the Organization’s operational capacity is important to us,” said Minister Valtonen.

“The Chair will offer its good offices whenever and wherever they are needed, and we look forward to collaborating and identifying opportunities with all participating States eager to enhance their co-operation with the OSCE,” she added.

Finland will emphasize issues such as cyber security, media freedom and literacy, support for human rights defenders, and climate security, which all form integral parts of resilient societies.

Throughout the year, Finland will focus on gender equality and inclusion. This includes strengthening engagement with civil society, particularly youth and persons with disabilities.

In politico-military matters, Finland will also serve as Chair of the Forum for Security Co-operation during the last trimester of 2025.

“We fully support Malta in efforts to resolve the ongoing issues that have plagued this Organization for far too long, including the lack of consensus on the budget, filling the organizational leadership positions and selecting Chairpersonships for upcoming years,” Minister Valtonen concluded.

“As the current OSCE Chair, Malta is actively working to strengthen the resilience of our Organization and the OSCE region as a whole. We are pleased to see that this focus will continue under Finland’s leadership next year,” said Ambassador Natasha Meli Daudey, Chairperson of the Permanent Council. “We welcome Finland’s determination to uphold the OSCE’s principles and commitments, and we look forward to deepening our cooperation to tackle both current and emerging challenges, ensuring that the Organization continues to deliver tangible results for the benefit of all people across the region.”