OSCE, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 29: 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

To: Members of the Standing Committee of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly

Re: Decision: OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Proposed Budget for 2020/2021

–

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).

_________________

Tordenskjoldsgade 1, 1055 Copenhagen K., Denmark

Phone: +45 33 37 80 40 - Fax: +45 33 37 80 30 - [email protected] - www.oscepa.org

OSCE, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 29: Letter from the OSCE PA President, the OSCE PA Treasurer's Report and 2020-2021 Budget Proposal

The President

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 29

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

_________________

Tordenskjoldsgade 1, 1055 Copenhagen K., Denmark

Phone: +45 33 37 80 40 - Fax: +45 33 37 80 30 - [email protected] - www.oscepa.org