The European Union, in a statement delivered at the OSCE Permanent Council on 23 July 2026, commended the work of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek and the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, while expressing concern over shrinking civic space and calling on Kyrgyzstan to ratify the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA). The statement, published by the EU Delegation to the International Organisations in Vienna on 24 July 2026, was delivered on behalf of the EU and aligned states.
The EU welcomed Ambassador Dr. Volker Frobarth, Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, and Dr. Pal Dunay, Director of the OSCE Academy, thanking them for their reports. It praised the Office's achievements across all three OSCE dimensions, noting its role in assisting Kyrgyzstan to implement OSCE commitments and its continued cooperation with civil society. The EU highlighted synergies among the EPCA, the Global Gateway Strategy, the EU Strategy for Central Asia, and the Office's activities, and expressed hope that Kyrgyzstan would finalise EPCA ratification to allow provisional application.
The statement welcomed the Office's work on border security, cross-border confidence-building measures, transnational threats, and non-proliferation, noting coordination with the EU Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA), which launched its 11th phase in Bishkek on 21 May 2026. It also commended efforts on economic growth, sustainable development, digitalisation, good governance, anti-money laundering, voter education, criminal justice, penitentiary reform, torture prevention, and combating human trafficking.
However, the EU expressed concern over developments limiting fundamental freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, as well as the narrowing space for civil society and independent media. It urged authorities to fully implement recommendations from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) final report on last year's early parliamentary elections, which were administered efficiently under the new majoritarian system. The EU stated it continues to monitor the human rights situation closely and called on Kyrgyzstan to uphold its international obligations.
The EU also welcomed the OSCE Academy's work on regional cooperation, conflict prevention, and good governance, reaffirming its financial support. The statement was aligned by Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, and Ukraine.