The Member States of the European Union thank you warmly, Madam Secretary General, for your Unified Budget Proposal for 2024. We also commend the work of the Secretariat and the fund managers who prepared this Proposal.
The EU Member States wish to reiterate their firm and continuous support for the OSCE in all its dimensions, for its institutions, for all of its missions and activities and for the wholehearted commitment you have shown, Madam Secretary General. Unfortunately, the Organization has been without a budget since 1 January 2022 and it has been forced since then to operate under a mechanism of provisional allotments based on the 2021 budget. We regret that this situation has greatly impaired the everyday functioning of the Organization and created some major difficulties in terms of management.
Rest assured that the EU Member States remain ready to study the Unified Budget Proposal for 2024 in a constructive spirit following its detailed presentation. We are prepared to support an initiative by the Chairmanship that would nevertheless allow discussions on this Proposal to begin.
The candidate countries North Macedonia , Montenegro , Albania, Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the European Free Trade Association countries and members of the European Economic Area Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, as well as San Marino, Andorra, Moldova and Serbia align themselves with this statement.
*North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and
Association Process.