Coordinator of the working group on political issues in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) Pierre Morel has said that the "Steinmeier Formula" is a mechanism that links the issue of special status to the local elections in Donbas and said the issue has been blown out of proportion in Ukraine.

In 2019, one of the achievements of our political subgroup was the coordination of the so-called 'Steinmeier Formula.' A lot of things are known about the hyperbolization of this formula, that this will lead to a traumatic situation, will completely stop the process. No, this is not so. ... This is a mechanism that connects the issue of special status with local elections, for starters, and then on an ongoing basis. After issuing an ODIHR report (OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights), we'll assess whether international standards for the conduct of elections have been implemented, he said at the OSCE in Ukraine in 2019 conference in Kyiv on Tuesday.

Morel added that the task for the future is to introduce additional amendments to the legislation of Ukraine in order to implement the mechanism of the formula.

This is the work on which we are focusing our efforts now in a political subgroup, he said.

The formula is named for the incumbent German president, former German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. It provides that before the election the law on the special procedure of local self-government in the ORDLO will be applied on a temporary basis, and after the election and the release of the final report of the OSCE/ODIHR with the recognition that the elections were held in accordance with democratic principles, the law becomes final.