The OSCE Secretariat bears no responsibility for the content of this document PC.DEL/932/26 and circulates it without altering its content. The distribution by OSCE 2 October 2026 Conference Services of this document is without prejudice to OSCE decisions, as set out in documents agreed by OSCE participating States. ENGLISH only
United States Mission to the OSCE
Statement on Approving a ZNG 2027 Unified Budget As prepared for delivery by Ambassador Darrell Owens to the Permanent Council, Vienna October 1, 2026
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Secretary General, for presenting the 2027 Unified Budget Proposal.
Predictability and timely budgeting remain essential to this organization's credibility. We need a 2027 budget adopted before the end of the year. If not, we return the organization to monthly allotments, which waste time and money, and undermine strategic planning and our reform agenda. We do not have the luxury of time and we do not have a Chair in Office for 2027 to lead budget negotiations on complex restructuring and budget increase proposals. Our only acceptable option, to keep this organization on a regular budgeting cycle, is to adopt a Zero Nominal Growth budget within the next three months.
We have said this for months. And while we understand the effort that went into the preparation of this Unified Budget proposal, the United States cannot support it.
The proposed budget represents a 3.8 percent, or €4.7 million, increase over the 2026 approved budget. The Secretariat has characterized this as a "Zero Real Growth" proposal. We must be clear: Zero Real Growth is not Zero Nominal Growth. From the perspective of the U.S. taxpayer, and every other contributing participating State, a 3.8 percent increase is an increase. As we have stated multiple times this year, we expect a 2027 unified budget that maintains the same top-line numbers as the 2026 budget.
The Unified Budget proposal already contains the tools to hold this budget flat. The Mission in Kosovo cut office costs by €33,100 by consolidating five Regional Centers to three. The Secretariat is saving €56,300 by vacating Hofburg office space. The Department of Management and Finance is applying €102,000 in interest income to offset bank charges. And Montenegro's mission closure by the end of 2027 will remove its costs from future budgets entirely.
These savings show the Secretariat's own proposal already has what it needs to stay flat - it simply needs to apply these tools more broadly.
We ask the Secretariat to return to the Advisory Committee on Management and Finance with a revised 2027 Unified Budget Proposal that keeps the budget envelope at the same €123 million as 2026. We ask fellow participating States to join us in quickly moving budget discussions forward to reach consensus on a ZNG budget. Fiscal discipline is not a constraint on this organization's mission - it is what allows the OSCE to remain a credible, sustainable organization for addressing the region's security challenges.
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