Is cooperation with the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) important to the European Union (EU)? Could an EU-OSCE partnership end OSCE’s current crisis? This paper from Contemporary Security Policy examines EU-OSCE relations, outlining modes of co-operation and overlap in objectives. The OSCE, with its inclusive membership and consensus-based approach, remains a relevant and essential actor in European security. Its current political crisis should not jeopardise EU commitment to cooperation.
The post-Cold War period has been challenging for European security organisations. In the 1990s, the prospect of greater international cooperation was accompanied by increased pan-European armed intra-state conflict. Calls for organisational intervention in these conflicts resulted in increased attention to a pan-European security architecture. The EU has strong links with the OSCE in its ethos and objectives. EU member states make up nearly half of participating OSCE states. But the OSCE has recently been under attack from some of its participating states (particularly Russia) and is undergoing a difficult reform process. Since the 2004 enlargement of the EU and NATO, it has been regarded as a less relevant organisation.
There are geographical and functional overlaps between the EU and OSCE. This has yielded both positive and negative results.
- There are functional crossovers between the EU and OSCE in peacekeeping. Despite formalisation of EU and OSCE relations in 2003, enhanced cooperation brought few visible results.
- Cooperation in the field for structural conflict prevention takes place, but it is difficult to assess effectiveness. Successful coordination often depends on the individual diplomats and officials on-site. Structural conflict prevention may be undermined by conflicting organisation objectives in host countries.
- Cooperation for early warning purposes has been slow to develop. Mechanisms for information exchange between the OSCE’s Conflict Prevention Centre and the EU Situation Centre are largely ad-hoc. The OSCE’s openness is not reciprocated by the EU.
- In terms of operational cooperation, the EU’s development of civilian crisis management competencies has increased cooperation with the OSCE in election monitoring. Much of this cooperation is concentrated in South East Europe.
EU commitment to work with the OSCE should not be jeopardised by the OSCE’s current political crisis. The OSCE, with its inclusive membership and consensus-based approach, remains essential to pan-European security. The EU should renew efforts to cooperate with the OSCE for the following reasons:
- Support for the OSCE as an actor in European security could be crucial for the organisation’s continued relevance and continued existence. EU solidarity could bridge the gap between US and Russian divisions, and counter the increasingly antagonistic and militaristic tone of both states. Enhanced cooperation between the EU and OSCE could also allow for a clearer and more decisive policy toward Russia.
- The EU needs to draw on the OSCE’s experience in pursuit of its objectives, particularly in the South Caucasus and Central Asia. Conflicts in Moldova, Georgia and Nagorno Karabakh are not a priority for UN action and require better coordination between the OSCE and EU. Interventions in Central Asia to promote democratic practices and human-right protection could also benefit from EU-OSCE collaboration.
