OSCE essential for European security: Swiss foreign minister

Cassis is Chair-in-Office of the OSCE this year, as Switzerland acts as chair of the organisation. Keystone-SDA

European security is facing its deepest crisis since the end of the Cold War, said Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis. But the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) remains an indispensable tool precisely because it provides vital channels of communication, he told delegates in The Hague.

In his speech, delivered in his capacity as the organisation’s Chair-in-Office at the opening of the 33rd annual session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Cassis strongly condemned Russia’s war against Ukraine – which “has been raging for four years now” – and renewed his call for the immediate release of three OSCE staff members still being held by Moscow.

Faced with the erosion of consensus and mutual trust, the foreign minister took stock of the first half of Switzerland’s 2026 chair of the OSCE, highlighting significant concrete achievements. Cassis pointed in particular to the adoption of the 2026 budget, which came after years of deadlock: an achievement that not only enables the organisation to function and fulfill its mandate, but also sends a strong political signal about the ability of the 57 member states to find common ground against the backdrop of intense geopolitical confrontation.

On the conflict in Ukraine, Cassis reiterated the importance of dialogue, recalling his recent missions to Kyiv and Moscow alongside Secretary-General Feridun Sinirlioğlu. Switzerland, Cassis explained, is actively preparing the OSCE’s structures so that they are ready to fully assume their mandate as soon as a political window for peace opens. It would be irresponsible to wait for that moment without adequate preparation, he warned, assuring that “on the day a window of opportunity opens, the OSCE will be ready”.

For the second half of the year as chair, Cassis announced Switzerland’s determination to make the organisation and its field missions even more effective, by promoting reforms and greater complementarity with the Council of Europe, particularly in the area of election observation, to avoid unnecessary duplication.

As he took his leave of the parliamentarians – who he said acted as a link to the national populations at a time of growing mistrust of institutions – Cassis invited all delegates to attend the OSCE Ministerial Council, to be held in Lugano in December.

Translated from Italian/sub-editing gw