The "Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe" was convened as a permanent international forum of representatives of all European states (except Albania and Andorra), as well as the United States and Canada, to develop measures to reduce military confrontation and strengthen security in Europe.
This is a photo of public art indexed in a public art catalogue of Vienna (Austria) under the number: 48288 (commons, de) .
The meeting was held in three stages:
- July 3 - 7, 1973 - Helsinki - a meeting of foreign ministers,
- September 18, 1973 - July 21, 1975 - Geneva - proposals, amendments and agreement on the text of the Final Act,
- July 30 - August 1, 1975 in the capital of Finland, Helsinki, the leaders of the 35 founding states signed the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Accords).
All OSCE member states
Subsequent meetings
The development of the agreements reached was consolidated at the meetings of the participating states:
- 1977-1978 - Belgrade,
- 1980-1983 - Madrid,
- 1984 - Stockholm,
- 1986 - Vienna.
- November 19-21, 1990 - Paris meeting of heads of state and government of the CSCE participating states. The Charter of Paris for a New Europe (which proclaimed the end of the Cold War) was signed here, the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) was concluded, a joint declaration of 22 states (NATO and Warsaw Pact members) was adopted, and the current three-stage mechanism of political consultations was created: meetings at the highest level, Council of Foreign Ministers (CMFA), Committee of Senior Officials.
- September 10 - October 4, 1991 - Moscow Third Final Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE (the first was held in 1989 in Paris, the second - in 1990 in Copenhagen). A document was adopted, which for the first time states that issues related to human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law are of an international nature, and obligations in the field of the human dimension are not exclusively the internal affairs of the CSCE member states.
- 1992 - Helsinki Summit. The document “The Challenge of the Times of Change” was adopted, which marked the beginning of the transformation of the CSCE from a forum of predominantly political dialogue between the participating states into a trans-regional organization aimed at maintaining military-political stability and developing cooperation “from Vancouver to Vladivostok”. The CSCE received wide powers and opportunities to take practical measures to prevent and resolve local and regional conflicts.
- 1992 - Stockholm meeting of the Foreign Ministry Council. The post of Secretary General of the CSCE was established.
Subsequent OSCE meetings were uneventful
Meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, 2005. Photo by Mikhail Evstafiev
Structure
The main organs of the organization are:
- The Summit (Summit) is a periodically held meeting of the heads of state and government of the OSCE countries.
- The Council of Foreign Ministers is an annual (except for the year of summit meetings) meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the OSCE participating States.
- A permanent council led by a chairperson-in-office (CiO) who holds this post for a year. Conducts regular political consultations and makes decisions (meets weekly in Vienna).
- High Commissioner for National Minorities
- Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights OSCE
- OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
- Representative on Freedom of the Media - monitors media developments in 57 OSCE participating States.
Management
Current Chairman
The Chairman-in-Office (CiO; it becomes the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Chairmanship country) is in charge of the day-to-day activities of the OSCE. Coordinates the work of OSCE agencies/institutions. Represents the organization, observes and facilitates conflict and crisis resolution.
In 2010, the current chairman of the OSCE was the representative of Kazakhstan (for the first time for the republics of the former USSR), in 2011 - the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Audronius Azubalis[3]. In 2012, the chairmanship of the OSCE passed to Ireland, and in 2013 it passed to Ukraine[4]. At the meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in early December 2013 in Kyiv, Switzerland was elected as the OSCE Chairman in 2014, headed by the current President of the country, Didier Burkhalter[5]. The Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2016, Frank-Walter Steinmeier became the chairman of the organization. In 2017, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Austria, Sebastian Kurz, took over as chairman. The presidency in 2018 passed to Italy.
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in Warsaw. The Bureau also designates a contact point for Roma and Sinti issues.
General Secretary
The Secretary General is the head of the Secretariat. Appointed by the Council of Ministers for a period of 3 years:
- Wilhelm Höink (1993-1996)
- Giancarlo Aragona (1996-1999)
- Jan Kubis (1999-2005)
- Marc Perrim (2005-2011)
- Lamberto Zannier (2011-2017)
- Thomas Greminger (2017—2020)
- Helga Schmid (since 2020)
Official languages
The official languages of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe are:
- English,
- Spanish,
- Italian,
- Deutsch,
- Russian,
- French.
Consolidated budget
The OSCE's consolidated budget consists of two parts: the budget for the Secretariat and institutions, and the budget for field operations. The consolidated budget of the OSCE in 2008 amounted to 164,168,200 euros. At the same time, the budget of the Secretariat and the institutes was equal to 55,692,200 euros and, accordingly, the budget of field operations amounted to 108,476,000 euros. The consolidated budget for 2009 was adopted at the level of 158,676,700 euros. Of these, the Secretariat and Institutions budget is €56,652,900 and the Field Operations budget is €102,023,800. The consolidated budget for 2010 was approved in the amount of EUR 152,109,800. The budget for the Secretariat and the institutions is €52,736,000 and the budget for field operations is €99,373,800.
