The United Kingdom on Thursday praised the work of the OSCE Mission to Skopje over the past year, highlighting its support for government reforms and social cohesion efforts, and called on participating states to agree on a unified budget to sustain the organisation’s field operations.
Speaking at the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, UK representative Deirdre Brown MBE welcomed the mission’s contributions to judicial reform, promotion of fair trial standards, and cooperation with civil society in North Macedonia.
“The United Kingdom highly appreciates the work and added value of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, and the Mission’s support to government reforms,” Brown said. She also welcomed the mission’s role in supporting gender equality and women’s political participation, including its engagement with parliament on a new Gender Action Plan for 2025–2027.
Brown reiterated the UK’s support for North Macedonia’s democratic development, citing the recent parliamentary and presidential elections. The UK welcomed the findings of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), which assessed the elections as competitive and respectful of fundamental freedoms, while noting areas for improvement in regulation.
The statement also referred to deepening bilateral ties, following a meeting last week between UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski at the European Political Community summit. The two leaders announced a new strategic partnership focused on trade, security, and migration cooperation.
Brown warned that continued failure by OSCE participating states to agree on a unified budget was hampering field missions across the region.
“As highlighted in the Report, the continued non-agreement of budgets and the resulting forced subsistence on monthly allotments make it very challenging for field missions to deliver across their mandates and adjust to changing priorities,” she said. “We urge all participating States to engage constructively with upcoming proposals to resolve the impasse over budgets.”
The OSCE Mission to Skopje has operated since 1992 and remains one of the organisation’s longest-standing field operations.