eeas.europa.eu/delegations/vienna • PAGE 1/3 EUROPEAN UNION OSCE Permanent Council No. 1544 Vienna, 27 November 2025 EU Statement in response to the report by the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, Ambassador Bakyt Dzhusupov The European Union welcomes Ambassador Bakyt Dzhusupov to the Permanent Council. We thank him for his report and reaffirm our appreciation for OCEEA’s valuable work. We remain committed to advancing the agenda of the Economic and Environmental Dimension, in order to achieve comprehensive security in line with OSCE principles and commitments. We appreciate the discussions during this October’s Economic and Environmental Dimension Implementation Meeting, which focussed on disaster risk reduction. At the same time, we regret that consensus on the theme, agenda, and modalities of the 32nd Economic and Environmental Forum could not be reached, despite the tireless efforts of the Finnish Chairpersonship. We welcome that the Chairpersonship Forum “Building a Resilient Future in a Changing Climate” provided us with a platform to address the security implications of climate change and assess the implementation of our commitments. We use this opportunity to reiterate the importance of holding all mandated events across all three dimensions. We remain gravely concerned about the acute environmental and economic impact of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, with consequences felt across the wider region, including in the Black Sea. The deliberate targeting and destruction of agricultural land, energy infrastructure and port facilities on Ukrainian territory blatantly violate international humanitarian law, have immense economic impact and accelerate environmental degradation. The OSCE Secretariat bears no responsibility for the content of this document and circulates it without altering its content. The distribution by OSCE Conference Services of this document is without prejudice to OSCE decisions, as set out in documents agreed by OSCE participating States. PC.DEL/1292/2527 November 2025 ENGLISH only
eeas.europa.eu/delegations/vienna • PAGE 2/3 In this context, we commend the Economic and Environmental Chair’s commitment to address the multi-faceted impact of the war during the meetings of this year. We particularly appreciated the thematic meeting on environmental and maritime security, which allowed discussions on one of the most concerning emerging trends, namely the rise of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet. We also appreciate all efforts within the OSCE to support Ukrainian authorities, citizens, businesses and civil society representatives, in coordination with other international partners, including on anti-corruption, digitalisation and the use of open data, environmental assessment and regeneration, energy security and transboundary water management. We support the OCEEA’s ongoing implementation of the ExB project on “Assessing the environmental impacts of the war against Ukraine and options for remediation”. Continued efforts to evaluate environmental degradation and to strengthen Ukraine’s capacities in disaster risk management, water governance, and hazardous waste management remain essential. We commend the OCEEA’s broader efforts to address security risks across the OSCE area. We therefore appreciate the important work of the OCEEA, notably on: tackling corruption and money-laundering risks linked to virtual assets, transboundary water management, connectivity, transport and trade facilitation, identifying cross-border climate solutions, promoting sustainable energy and energy security, and disaster risk reduction. Climate change remains a risk multiplier with direct implications for peace, stability, and security. The EU recognises the links between climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and security, and remains committed to working with partners to address these interrelated challenges, with particular attention to the most vulnerable. In line with the 2021 Stockholm Ministerial Council Decision, we appreciate OCEEA’s practical initiatives to strengthen climate resilience and address cross-border climate risks. We commend the ongoing projects on strengthening responses to climate-related security risks across South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia, as well as efforts to address climate threats to the energy sector.
eeas.europa.eu/delegations/vienna • PAGE 3/3 We also support the activities on combating corruption and money laundering as well as illegal activities with the use of virtual assets in Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, across South Caucasus and Central Asia. We further welcome the activities aimed at promoting cross-border connectivity, improving trade, transport facilitation, and regional economic cooperation in Central Asia and the South Caucasus. The EU remains fully committed to the economic empowerment of women and youth in societies, and to integrating a gender perspective in all OSCE activities-an essential component of comprehensive security. We therefore welcome OCEEA’s commitment to mainstream gender equality and youth perspectives as a cross-cutting priority. In conclusion, the EU reiterates its appreciation for the OCEEA’s vital contribution to the implementation of the OSCE commitments. We look forward to continuing our close and constructive cooperation in the year ahead. Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, San Marino and Ukraine align themselves with this statement.