25/02/2022 - Following on from yesterday’s statement condemning the large scale aggression by Russia against Ukraine in the strongest possible terms and as part of its urgent reconsideration of all cooperation with Russia, the OECD Council has taken a number of initial decisions today.

Firstly, Council has decided to formally terminate the accession process with Russia, which was postponed in 2014.

The Council has also asked the Secretary-General to take the necessary steps to close the OECD Moscow office and to stop all invitations to Russia at Ministerial levels and in the bodies where listed as Invitee.

The Secretary-General has further been asked by Council not to enter into any new agreements for voluntary contributions with Russia, and to take the necessary steps to stop any projects funded through voluntary contributions from Russia, which have not yet commenced.

The OECD’s External Relations Committee has been asked to review Russia’s participation in Committees.

The OECD continues to stand in strong solidarity with the Ukrainian people.

The Council has decided to strengthen OECD support for the democratically elected government of Ukraine.

The reconsideration of all cooperation with Russia and the development of further measures to strengthen OECD support for the democratically elected government of Ukraine will continue over the course of the next few days and weeks.

Finally, the OECD Council will continue to assess the economic and social repercussions of the current large scale aggression of Russia against Ukraine and discussed the energy market impact and related policies with the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Director-General of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA). 

The Council was also briefed by the OECD Deputy Secretary-General and Chief Economist, as well as Directors of the OECD Trade and Agriculture directorate, Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation and Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs.

 

Working with over 100 countries, the OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to preserve individual liberty and improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.