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Foreign Minister Steinmeier on the adoption of the OSCE budget for 2016
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier issued the following statement on the adoption of the OSCE budget for the year 2016 on the evening prior to assuming the Chairmanship of the OSCE:
I am most delighted that the OSCE budget for 2016 was adopted on time today. It was a tough nut to crack and required dogged negotiations in Vienna and with my fellow foreign ministers in the respective capital cities over a prolonged period, including during the Christmas break.
The fact that we have managed to get the budget for the coming year under lock and key today is also thanks to the willingness on the part of the OSCE partners to compromise and to reach out to each other when this is called for.
The smooth running of the organisation is therefore now ensured.
This is a good omen. We can now devote our full energy to the business of day‑to‑day work right at the start of our OSCE Chairmanship.