1. The European Union warmly welcomes and thanks the Chairs of the Security, the Economic and Environmental and the Human Dimension Committees for their presentations and for ensuring a collaborative approach among the Committees, promoting the OSCE’s comprehensive concept of security throughout 2022. During one of the most challenging years for the Organisation and the OSCE area and beyond due to Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, we commend the flexibility and dedication of the three Committees in adjusting their programme to address the most urgent and relevant issues.
2. The European Union congratulates Ambassador Kinnear and her team on the successful work undertaken by the Security Committee. We attach great importance to the Security Committee, as a forum for discussing non-military security issues and a platform for advancing OSCE commitments related to transnational threats. We welcome the focus on challenges stemming from the Russian aggression, notably on the protection of critical infrastructure, border security and management, combatting human trafficking, organised crime in grey zones and transnational VERTL in digital space. The EU also commends your efforts to ensure gender-balanced panels in the Security Committee, thereby making the full, equal and meaningful representation of female experts in the first dimension a reality.
3. Regarding the working methods of the Committee, we commend your professional, inclusive and consultative approach and the promotion of interactive discussions in a collegial atmosphere, the practical focus and the involvement of a broad range of stakeholders from diverse backgrounds including civil society and academia.  
4. We would like to thank the chair of the Economic and Environmental Committee, Ambassador Florian Raunig, for his leadership which together with his team contributed to the successful work of the Second dimension in 2022. Following the devastating impact of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine, we commend the work of the EEC into continuing to address some of the most pressing issues, especially the challenges caused by risks to security from environmental degradation and damage to critical energy infrastructure resulting from Russia’s war of aggression. We also welcome the focus on important topics including climate change, sustainable connectivity, combatting corruption and the promotion of sustainable management of natural resources, food security and digital aspects of education for youth employability, as well as strengthening women’s economic empowerment. We appreciate the work on these issues as an integral part of the OSCE comprehensive concept of security.
5. With regard to the working methods, we reiterate our position that a balance between economic and environmental activities is important and we look forward to including relevant stakeholders, such as civil society and the private sector in our discussions as much as possible.
6. The EU expresses its appreciation to Ambassador Anne-Kirsti Karlsen and her team for successfully chairing the Human Dimension Committee and – throughout the past months - for keeping the focus on the most pertinent issue: Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and its tragic consequences and impact on the human rights situation in the region. As Russia’s war of aggression continued, we fully trusted in your guidance and judgement in adjusting the topics of our discussions, offering us the opportunity to reflect on the most pressing issues, such as Combating Violence against Women in Conflict, Rights of Children and Youth in Conflict, Role of Civil Society along the Conflict Cycle, Democratic Institutions in Times of Crisis, Accountability for War Crimes and many others.
7. Thanking once again the outgoing Chairs of the Security and Human Dimension Committees for their dedication and their leadership, we trust that intensified engagement on the cross-dimensional and cross-regional impact of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and on the abovementioned important topics will continue next year under the Chairpersonship of North Macedonia. Your committees’ work embodies the OSCE’s comprehensive concept of security and we look forward to actively supporting and contributing to it.

The Candidate Countries NORTH MACEDONIA*, MONTENEGRO*, ALBANIA*, UKRAINE, and the REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA, the Potential Candidate Countries BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA* and GEORGIA, and the EFTA countries ICELAND and LIECHTENSTEIN, members of the European Economic Area, as well as ANDORRA and SAN MARINO align themselves with this statement.

* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.