VIENNA, 4 December 2025 – Addressing the opening of the OSCE 32nd Ministerial Council today, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Pere Joan Pons (Spain) emphasized that the OSCE region is facing “a turning point,” urging participating States to renew their commitment to dialogue, responsibility, and principled leadership.
Highlighting the gravity of current crises, he noted that Europe confronts “the gravest threat to its security and to international law since the twentieth century” with Russia’s war of aggression and full scale invasion of Ukraine, while violence in Gaza and the Mediterranean reflects a broader “profound shift in the global security order.”
President Pere Joan Pons addressing the Ministerial Council, Vienna, 4 December 2025“Accountability must be universal, without double standards,” he said. “The OSCE must remain a bridge: Firm when red lines are crossed, open when opportunities emerge.”
Pons stressed that the OSCE’s founding principles remain vital as the Organization marks the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, recalling “the courage to speak when speaking was difficult” and warning that “in a fractured world — where trust erodes and force too often replaces argument — dialogue is the only road to peace.”
He called on participating States to restore the OSCE’s operational capacity, protect the rules-based European security architecture, reopen structured spaces for responsible dialogue, and finally agree on a Unified Budget, emphasizing that “without a budget, the OSCE cannot act properly” and that each delay undermines missions and mediation efforts across the region.
Pons reaffirmed the Assembly’s unwavering stance on Russia’s war of aggression and full scale invasion of Ukraine. “I am a firm supporter of a sovereign, democratic, European Ukraine — of its territorial integrity, its right to defend itself, and its right to negotiate peace on its own terms. Nothing about Ukraine can be decided without Ukraine,” he said. He condemned recent threats from the Kremlin and demanded the immediate release of OSCE officials Dmytro Shabanov, Maksym Petrov, and Vadym Golda, who remain unjustly detained.
Family Photo, Ministerial Council, Vienna, 3 December 2025Pons stressed that the OSCE’s principles must be applied universally, condemning both the 7 October Hamas attacks and atrocities in Gaza, and insisting that international humanitarian law is not optional and accountability cannot rely on double standards. He underscored the need for principled engagement across the OSCE area, including support for democratic rights in Georgia, steps toward reconciliation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and deepened co-operation with Central Asian partners to bolster long-term stability and economic resilience.
Warning about the rise of disinformation, democratic backsliding, and digital manipulation, he noted that when institutions fail to meet citizens’ needs, “populism prospers and the forces that erode democracy take root.” He highlighted the OSCE PA’s strong commitment to credible, modern election observation, underscoring that “from Vancouver to Vladivostok, elections must be defended against cyberattacks, disinformation, and manipulation. Because democracy without security is fragile — and security without democracy is an illusion.”
Members of the Bureau at the Ministerial Council, Vienna, 4 December 2025Pons emphasized that climate change and a fair, inclusive energy transition are now core security priorities and highlighted gender equality as a powerful driver of stability and democratic resilience. Noting that nearly 60 per cent of his new appointments are women, he said. “Not symbolism. Conviction. Justice. Equality. Democracy in action.”
Concluding his address, President Pons underlined that “dialogue is our greatest strength,” capable of transforming “fear into stability, confrontation into coexistence, and uncertainty into hope,” and called on participating States to uphold the responsibility their citizens expect from them.
While in Vienna, President Pons is holding bilateral meetings with foreign ministers and other high-level representatives. On Wednesday, the OSCE PA Bureau convened ahead of the Ministerial Council to discuss the future of the Organization, the Assembly’s priorities for the coming year, and the OSCE PA’s role in addressing regional and global challenges.
For President Pons’s full remarks at the Ministerial Council in PDF format, please click here.
For the videos of his remarks, please click here. For photos, please click here.
Additional information on the Ministerial Council is available on the OSCE’s website.
