One year at the helm of the OSCE: an overview of Finland’s 2025 Chairpersonship
Finland’s term as Chairperson of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) ended on the last day of 2025. Last year marked 50 years since the CSCE meeting in Helsinki and the adoption of the Helsinki Final Act. The principles enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act are as relevant today as they were fifty years ago because they represent the essence of humanity: the yearning for freedom, cooperation and peace.
The timing of the Chairpersonship was challenging because Russia’s war of aggression meant there were no conditions for genuine dialogue on European security. The OSCE’s ability to function as a forum for dialogue was also widely called into question.
“Finland expressed its interest in the OSCE Chairpersonship as early as in the summer of 2021. At that time, President Niinistö’s aim was to increase dialogue and strengthen European security. The conditions for strengthening dialogue changed overnight when Russia launched its full-scale war of aggression in February 2022,” says Jouni Laaksonen, Head of the Task Force for the Finnish OSCE Chairpersonship.
Finland’s Chairpersonship programme was based on three guiding principles in response to the changed security situation:
- respect the OSCE principles and commitments;
- respond to today’s challenges;
- prepare the OSCE for the future.
Respect the OSCE principles and commitments
Finland consistently emphasised the principles of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act. Russia’s blatant violations of these principles have further underlined their importance for the OSCE participating States and the European security order.
The Helsinki+50 Conference, held at Finlandia Hall on 31 July, highlighted the role of civil society in promoting the OSCE’s principles and commitments. In connection with the conference, the Helsinki+50 Discussions on the organisation’s future, launched earlier in the year, continued together with representatives of civil society.
Representatives of both the OSCE participating States and civil society continue to consider that the principles laid down in the Helsinki Final Act are a relevant basis for discussion on European security within the OSCE. However, to respond effectively to today’s challenges, the organisation needs to reform.
Over the course of the year, the Helsinki+50 Discussions generated several concrete proposals for reform, some of which have already begun to be implemented.
Respond to today’s challenges
Finland has kept supporting Ukraine at the heart of the OSCE’s activities. Ukraine is fighting to defend not only its independence and a peaceful future, but also the jointly agreed security order based on international law. The OSCE has an important role in advancing Russia’s accountability.
In 2025, the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights published its eighth monitoring report on human rights violations in Ukraine, and the fifth report under the Moscow Mechanism examined the treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia and in areas under its temporary control. Work was also carried out to prepare for a possible ceasefire and for peace.
Finland also supported dialogue, stability and democracy more broadly across the OSCE area, from Moldova to the Western Balkans and from the South Caucasus to Central Asia. The importance of the organisation’s fieldwork was underlined by the numerous visits to various parts of the OSCE area by Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen in her capacity as Chairperson-in-Office and by her Special Envoy Terhi Hakala.
During its Chairpersonship, Finland advanced a comprehensive security perspective and cybersecurity. The cross-border environmental impacts of Russia’s war of aggression and climate security were central to the economic and environmental dimension. In the human dimension, emphasis was placed on the importance of media freedom and media literacy for security and crisis resilience, as well as on strengthening the work of human rights defenders.
Prepare the OSCE for the future
Finland responded to criticism of the OSCE’s role with concrete action. The Helsinki+50 Fund, launched at the Helsinki+50 Conference, has been used to channel voluntary funding towards work carried out under the OSCE’s principles and commitments. The commitments from eighteen countries totalling more than EUR 17 million will support the OSCE’s operational capability well into the future.
Strengthening inclusiveness was also one of the main themes of the year. During its Chairpersonship, Finland produced for the OSCE roadmaps for Women, Peace and Security and for Youth, Peace and Security. In addition, Finland strengthened the participation of civil society and persons with disabilities in the OSCE’s work. All of these support the OSCE and its participating States in implementing commitments in these thematic areas more effectively than before, and Finland has received much praise for this.
Events and meetings during the year
The year was full of meaningful gatherings, including the Helsinki+50 Conference and the preceding Youth Forum, as well as conferences on cybersecurity and antisemitism in Helsinki, the gender equality conference in Vienna, the climate security conference in Espoo and the Human Dimension Conference in Warsaw. The year culminated in the Ministerial Council in early December, which was held in Vienna to significantly reduce both flight emissions and costs.
In addition to the Chairpersonship conferences, an enormous amount of work was carried out in keeping the OSCE’s day-to-day operations running. Finland’s Permanent Mission to the OSCE organised a total of 40 meetings of the Permanent Council in Vienna, including special meetings and a Permanent Council meeting at ministerial level in February.
“At practically all meetings and events, we focused on what matters to Finland: supporting Ukraine. At the same time, we upheld the multilateral rules-based system and the OSCE’s principles. This kind of diplomacy currently requires considerable patience, but the alternatives would be far worse. We had a long and rather exhausting but in many ways rewarding year as Chairperson,” says Vesa Häkkinen, Finland’s Permanent Representative to the OSCE in Vienna.
At the turn of the year, the OSCE Chairpersonship was handed over to Switzerland. However, Finland will remain part of the OSCE Troika throughout 2026, with special responsibility for chairing the OSCE Asian Partners for Co-operation Group.