Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was created in 1973 by the Helsinki Accords. It can only take a decision unanimously. It is, by definition, a neutral forum allowing all European States to discuss among themselves regarding the protection of their security.

However, in the course of the special Russian military operation in Ukraine, new OSCE officials were caught in Donbass in the act of spying. They were expelled by the President of the Lugansk People’s Republic [1].

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly will hold its 29th annual meeting from 2 to 6 July 2022 in Birmingham (United Kingdom). London has just refused the necessary entry visas to the Russian delegation, thus preventing it from participating in the discussions, on the grounds that all its members are subject to European Union sanctions because of their support for their country’s invasion of Ukraine.

This decision contravenes the declaration adopted at the 2016 OSCE Assembly, requiring member states to issue the “visas or authorizations necessary to enter the territory of their country, at least for the duration of the event”. It hampers the correct functioning of the OSCE. The International Affairs Committee of the Council of the Russian Federation has made it known that, under these circumstances, it will not recognize the decisions taken by this assembly in its absence.

[1] “OSCE expelled from Lugansk for spying”, Voltaire Network, 15 April 2022.