At their meeting of 25 and 26 June 1990 in Dublin, the Heads of State or Government of the Twelve emphasise the exceptional importance for the future of Europe of the Paris Summit, to be held in November 1990, on the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).

On 9 October 1990, with a view to the Paris Summit to be held on 19, 20 and 21 November, the European Parliament adopts a resolution on participation by the Twelve in the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), better known as Helsinki II.

In his editorial of 16 November 1990, three days before the opening of the Paris Conference on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, Emanuele Gazzo, Director of Agence Europe in Brussels, is sceptical about the implications of the meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).

On 19 November 1990, during the Paris Summit of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), the 22 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the Warsaw Treaty Organisation sign the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE).

On 19 November 1990, François Mitterrand, President of France, delivers the opening address and outlines the implications of the Summit held in Paris, from 19 to 21 November, attended by the 34 Heads of State or Government of the countries taking part in the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).

Le 19 novembre 1990, à l'occasion du sommet de la Conférence sur la sécurité et la coopération en Europe (CSCE) à Paris, les chefs d'État ou de gouvernement des pays membres de l'Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique Nord (OTAN) et de l'Organisation du traité de Varsovie se déclarent prêts à établir de nouvelles relations de partenariat et à œuvrer ensemble pour le désarmement en Europe.

On 20 November 1990, at the Summit Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) held in Paris, the German Federal Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, outlines the CSCE’s new tasks.

‘The breakthrough.’ On 20 November 1990, commenting on the Paris Summit of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), the Austrian cartoonist Ironimus depicts the establishment of new partnerships between the Eastern and Western blocs by emphasising the role played by Austria in the process of political and economic rapprochement.

Following the collapse of the Communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the disintegration of the Soviet Empire, the Paris Summit of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) adopts, on 21 November 1990, the Charter of Paris for a New Europe. This Charter welcomes the end of the era of confrontation and division in Europe and makes particular reference to the values of peace and the inviolability of territorial borders.

On 21 November 1990, François Mitterrand, President of France, gives an assessment of the Summit Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) held in Paris and answers questions posed by journalists on the nature of the new relationship between East and West.

On 21 November 1990, the Paris Summit of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) decides on how to institutionalise the CSCE and adopts the Paris Charter for a New Europe.

On 22 November 1990, the Soviet daily newspaper Pravda speculates as to whether the Charter of Paris for a New Europe provides the necessary guarantees to avoid further wars on the continent.

On 23 November 1990, commenting on the conclusions of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Summit held in Paris from 19 to 21 November, the French daily newspaper Le Monde speculates on the challenges awaiting the new Europe born of the end of East–West confrontation.

On 2 December 1994, on the eve of the CSCE Conference in Budapest, the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit analyses the economic and political situation in Moldova and Transnistria, regions of the former Soviet Union.

On 5 December 1994, in Budapest, at the Summit Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), François Mitterrand, President of France, delivers an address in which he questions the usefulness of the CSCE and discusses the new implications of security policy in Europe.

On 5 December 1994, in Budapest, at the Summit Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), Martti Ahtisaari, President of Finland, delivers an address in which he weclomes the new era of cooperation in north-eastern Europe.

Acknowledging the fact that the CSCE is no longer simply a Conference, the Budapest Summit of 5 and 6 December 1994 changes its name to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). This gives the Organisation a new political impetus, while also reflecting its institutional development since the end of the Cold War.

On 5 December 1994, in Budapest the Summit of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) opens at which the decision is taken to change its name to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

On 6 December 1994, with the opening of negotiations at the CSCE Summit in Budapest the previous day, the French daily newspaper Le Monde analyses the differences of opinion between the Western countries and Russia regarding the probable evolution of the CSCE’s structures and its future relations with NATO and the UN.

On 8 December 1994, the Russian daily newspaper Pravda refers to the CSCE Summit in Budapest and comments on the situation of Russia, caught between China and Japan on one side and NATO on the other.

On 20 and 21 March 1995 in Paris, the Final Conference on the Stability Pact in Europe, convened on the initiative of the European Union on the basis of a proposal from France, is attended by the representatives of the OSCE Member States. The Council of Europe is represented by its Secretary General. At the end of the Conference, the participants adopt a political declaration and integrate into the Stability Pact all the agreements and arrangements for cooperation and good neighbourly relations that they have concluded. The Stability Pact, which is monitored by the OSCE, serves as a model for other joint initiatives on preventive diplomacy.

In 1995, Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the Soviet Union, draws lessons from the transitional period that followed the end of the Cold War and refers to the need to establish an effective collective security system within the framework of a European ‘Common Home’.

In 1995, Andrey Kozyrev, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, sets out Moscow’s position on the role of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in maintaining and strengthening European security.

On 2 and 3 December 1996, the Belém Cultural Centre hosts the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Summit, at the end of which a ‘Declaration on a Common and Comprehensive Security Model for Europe for the Twenty-First Century’ is adopted.

On 2 December 1996, at the summit of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) held in Lisbon, Jacques Chirac, President of the French Republic, delivers an address in which he outlines the implications and tasks of the organisation.

Meeting in Lisbon on 2 and 3 December 1996, the participating States of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) adopt the Lisbon Declaration on a Common and Comprehensive Security Model for Europe for the Twenty-First Century.

Table showing the allocation scheme relating to large-scale missions and projects established by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)

On 22 September 1998, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recommends the Committee of Ministers to promote better coordination between the activities of the Council and those of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

This video clip outlines the origin of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) as an instrument for political and military détente in Europe during the Cold War and its development in post-Communist Europe as an international organisation active mainly in the fields of crisis prevention and management, renamed ‘Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe' (OSCE) in 1995.