OSCE, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 5: Skriftlig afrapportering fra mødet i Standing Committee den 12. november 2020

OSCEs Parlamentariske Forsamling 2020-21
OSCE Alm.del Bilag 5
Offentligt

Report by Treasurer Juel-Jensen

Online Standing Committee Meeting, 12 November 2020

As delivered

Thank you President!

Dear colleagues,

Nice to

“see”

you and greetings from Denmark.

I very much thank

President Tsereteli

for calling this meeting of the Standing Committee. It is very

necessary for our Assembly that we maintain our engagement despite the current circumstances.

Hopefully meetings in person will happen soon.

And thanks also to

Secretary General Montella

and all his staff in Copenhagen and Vienna for

maintaining the Assembly so active and engaged in these difficult times.

I will be very brief. I repeat my motto: TIME IS MONEY

I am very happy that the Standing Committee approved the budget for this financial year that started

on October First:

Thank you for your support.

The Assembly´s current budget reflects the minimum basic needs of the Assembly responding to the

measures to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As you know the

Assembly’s budget for

this year reflects the accrual of the amounts saved in our

current 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’ annual

contributions. Let me underline that

this is a very exceptional measure

and next year we will have

to go back to the standard procedures and national contributions will therefore be higher.

But we have a long period before us, and I thank all Delegations that have made their contributions

available.

OSCE, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 5: Skriftlig afrapportering fra mødet i Standing Committee den 12. november 2020

President, colleagues,

Our external auditor in Copenhagen

–

Pernille Dupont - will soon finalise preparing the audit for the

last fiscal year 2019-2020 that just concluded. I will be able to report on the audit to the Bureau in

December and, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure, I will also report to you in Vienna at our

Winter Meeting.

I can advance that all indications suggest that we will once again be given a positive assessment for

our financial management. It is also a pleasure to advance that the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly

continues to remain within our approved budget.

I conclude by stressing the words of our President: 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.

Thank you.