Letter from the OSCE PA President, the OSCE PA Treasurer's Report and 2020-2021 Budget Proposal

OSCEs Parlamentariske Forsamling 2019-20
OSCE Alm.del - Bilag 29
Offentligt


The President
_________________
Tordenskjoldsgade 1, 1055 Copenhagen K., Denmark
Phone: +45 33 37 80 40 - Fax: +45 33 37 80 30 - osce@oscepa.dk - www.oscepa.org
To: Members of the Standing Committee of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
Re: Decision: OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Proposed Budget for 2020/2021 – 29th
Financial Year
15 May 2020
Dear Members of the Standing Committee,
In compliance with Rule 41, paragraph 2 of the Rules of Procedure of the OSCE
Parliamentary Assembly, it is my pleasure to circulate to the Standing Committee the proposed
budget for our next financial year that will start on 1 October 2020 and conclude on 30
September 2021. This proposed budget was presented by Treasurer Peter Juel-Jensen to the
Bureau at its last meeting held on 27 April where it received unanimous support.
The Treasurer’s Report outlining the financial situation and the financial needs of the
OSCE PA substantiating the proposed budget is hereby attached.
This budget proposal has been thoroughly prepared in these exceptional circumstances
by the Treasurer together with the Secretary General to reflect the minimum basic needs of the
Assembly. Due to the lockdown provoked by the measures to respond to the COVID-19
pandemic, all the programmed activities of the Parliamentary Assembly – including statutory
meetings, election observation missions, presidential and other activities – have been either
cancelled or postponed since the second week of March 2020 and without concrete information
at the moment regarding when they will be resumed. Therefore, the budgeted amounts for such
activities in our current budget as approved by the Standing Committee in Luxembourg last
July will not be used.
It is therefore proposed to freeze the Assembly’s budget and to accrue the saved
amounts and transfer them to next year´s budget as an extra contribution from the OSCE PA
International Secretariat to the OSCE PA overall budget thus automatically reducing the
amounts of all national delegations that constitute the latter’s contributions to the budget.
Following a careful assessment of the OSCE PA finance team we expect to save a total of €
350,000 (three hundred and fifty thousand euros).
OSCEs Parlamentariske Forsamling 2019-20
OSCE Alm.del - Bilag 29
Offentligt
The President
_________________
Tordenskjoldsgade 1, 1055 Copenhagen K., Denmark
Phone: +45 33 37 80 40 - Fax: +45 33 37 80 30 - osce@oscepa.dk - www.oscepa.org
In the attached Report you will find the proposal regarding the national contributions
based on this proposal which as you can see are considerably reduced. Together with the
Bureau we believe this to be a fair, clear, and honest way to help our parliaments and our
Assembly in the times of economic crisis which we will all be confronted with after the end of
the current pandemic.
Given the impossibility for the Standing Committee to formally meet in the near future
and with the unanimous agreement of the Bureau, I will apply a “Silence Procedure” to have
the Standing Committee approve the budget for the 29th
Financial Year, in accordance with our
Rules. If by 15 June I have not received in written the negative vote of at least two voting
Members of the Standing Committee (Rule 35,1) I will consider the proposed budget adopted
(Rule 41,1)
In the meantime, and in full compliance with Rule 41, paragraph 2 of our Rules of
Procedure, please address any questions, suggestions or comments on the proposed annual
budget prior to the formal decision by 15 June to Treasurer Peter Juel-Jensen through Deputy
Secretary General Gustavo Pallarés at the International Secretariat.
I thank you all in advance for your engagement and co-operation. This Parliamentary
Assembly has always functioned – and continues to function – in an extremely cost-effective
and efficient way, thanks to the continuous support, commitment, and solidarity of all national
delegations.
Yours sincerely,
George Tsereteli