Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) does not see the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) out of the woods following the leadership crisis that was averted at the last minute. “The OSCE is in the heart-lung machine,” Schallenberg told Austrian journalists in Skopje on Wednesday. He would like “more engagement” with the OSCE. He also wants to show this through a “concentrated support package” for Malta’s new OSCE presidency.
After Russia’s months-long blockade of official presidential candidate Estonia, OSCE ambassadors agreed on Monday at short notice that the EU’s smallest state, Malta, would be the presidential country in 2024. This prevented the danger of the collapse of the only regional forum in which North America, Europe and the states of the Soviet Union are represented.
The Malta agreement is a “very beautiful and elegant solution that shows that none of the states want to drive the OSCE to the wall,” Schallenberg said. However, since the start of the war in Ukraine, the organization has been busy trying to “keep it afloat.” The OSCE must work more efficiently because “80 percent” of the work is spent on keeping the organization alive.
Schallenberg announced that Austria wants to help Malta, which only appeared as a potential country to chair the OSCE at the beginning of November, with offices at the OSCE headquarters in Vienna and the deployment of two to three diplomats. He had already spoken about this on Monday with Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela during his visit to Vienna. Donations to the OSCE are “energy and money well spent,” Schallenberg emphasized.
Schallenberg welcomed the decision by North Macedonia’s OSCE presidency to allow Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to attend the organization’s annual meeting on Wednesday and Thursday in Skopje. Last year, Schallenberg recalled, he was the only Western Foreign Minister to criticize the cancellation of Lavrov’s invitation by the then Polish presidency. “We, as the West, should not be afraid to sit down with the Russians. I believe the tendency to delve into our own foreign policy echo chambers is life-threatening.” The diplomacy that he himself advocates is carried out in the OSCE. “This is classic multilateralism in the best sense,” he emphasized.
Due to Lavrov’s participation, the foreign ministers of Ukraine and the Baltic States canceled their participation in the meeting in Skopje. In the case of Ukraine, Schallenberg said he could “emotionally understand” this step because people are killed every day by the aggressor, Russia. At the same time, he emphasized that the OSCE was “irreplaceable” in the period after the war in Ukraine. It is also “our lifeline in relation to Central Asia and the Caucasus,” he emphasized. “We need more OSCE in the future, not less.”
Regarding a report in the daily newspaper “Die Presse” (Tuesday’s edition), according to which Austria was not considered OSCE president country due to the prospect of possible participation by the FPÖ government, Schallenberg said: “The partners see the electoral calendar and the Studies. It happens once again that the Kickl-FPÖ casts a shadow and is a factor of uncertainty. All of Austria will then pay the price.” At the same time, the Minister for Foreign Affairs reiterated that Austria was never a candidate for the presidency. Schallenberg’s statements also contrast with those of Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP), who, in response to a question on Monday about possible reservations regarding Austria, said that there had been no “intervention” against Austria since the country he presides over was “never under discussion”.
Schallenberg wanted to attend an informal dinner of OSCE foreign ministers on Wednesday evening. The annual meeting officially begins on Thursday morning with speeches from top diplomats. Ultimately, the OSCE ambassadors wanted to work on a solution to the pressing personnel issues: the terms of office of the four top OSCE positions, including that of Secretary General Helga Schmid, expire on Sunday. Schallenberg was confident that there would be a solution here too. “I assume it will work,” he said. According to the chancellor, the next country to hold the presidency has also already been confirmed. Finland is expected to hold the OSCE presidency in 2025. Schallenberg is particularly concerned about the OSCE’s budget problem, which has been unresolved for two years. The budget for 2022 is currently being continued, which is a huge problem given rising prices and threatens the 13 OSCE missions, which are carrying out important work, especially in the Western Balkans.