Short history of the OSCE

In the early 1970s, the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) was functioning as a multilateral forum to promote a dialogue between the East and the West. The Helsinki Final Act of 1975 laid down the basic principles for the behaviour of the participating States of the CSCE towards their own citizens and also among themselves.

Until 1990, the CSCE functioned as a series of meetings and conferences, at which norms and obligations were elaborated and information on their implementation was reported periodically.

The turning point in the forum’s activities was the Paris Summit of 1990. The Charter of Paris for a New Europe called upon the CSCE to play its part in the management of the process of historic changes in Europe and to respond to the new challenges arising after the end of the “cold war.” For the purpose of dealing with these tasks, the meetings were placed on a regular footing and the work of the Conference was given a systematic character.

In November 1990, an important agreement – the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE Treaty) – was elaborated during negotiations as part of the CSCE process.

At the Budapest Summit in 1994, it was decided to rename the CSCE as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). This gave a fresh political impetus to the Organization’s work and, at the same time, was an indication of the course of its institutional development.

The Lisbon Summit of 1996 adopted the Declaration on a Common and Comprehensive Security Model for Europe for the Twenty-First Century, and approved a framework for arms control and the development of the agenda of the Forum for Security Co-operation. It was then that the idea of the OSCE’s key role in strengthening security and stability in all the dimensions underwent further development. The Summit resulted in the adoption in 1999 in Istanbul of the Charter for European Security, which envisages enhancement of the Organization’s operational capabilities. At the same time, 30 participating States of the OSCE adopted the Istanbul Declaration and signed the Agreement on Adaptation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe.