Austria in the CSCE process

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Helsinki Final Act (CSCE Process)

The CSCE process describes a series of cross-bloc conferences in Europe , which began in 1973 with a conference in Helsinki . Austria was also represented among the 35 participating states. It was part of the neutral states and acted as a mediator between East and West .

N + N states

The neutral and non-aligned countries (N + N) consisted of the four neutral ( Finland , Austria, Sweden , Switzerland ) and the non-aligned member states ( Yugoslavia , Malta , Cyprus and the non-aligned dwarf Staatenen Liechtenstein and San Marino ). In the negotiations on the CSCE Final Act, the so-called N + N states positioned themselves as mediators between East and West, thereby attempting to contribute to a successful conference.

In the 1950s, Sweden and Switzerland did not yet have a great need to act as an intermediary between the blocs. The reason for this was that both states were not involved in the Second World War and therefore had no interest in a security conference in Europe as proposed by the Soviet Union . The situation was different in Finland and Austria. These two countries were significantly involved in the Second World War and had a better relationship with the Soviet Union, which is clearly evident from their geographic location and their shared history. As a result, they were predestined to take on a crucial role as mediators. In the CSCE process from the 1970s onwards, they temporarily succeeded in assuming an important or even dominant role in the negotiations. However, they also repeatedly reached the limits of their influence, which was seen at the follow-up meeting in Belgrade . The reason for this was not the lack of support for Western demands on the part of the N + N states, but the lack of willingness to compromise between West and East.

CSCE Final Act

preparation

Within the framework of the CSCE, Austria developed from an initially reluctant actor at the preliminary meeting in Dipoli to an active mediator who was particularly committed to the issues of the so-called third basket. Foreign Minister Rudolf Kirchschläger emphasized this clear stance in his speech at the CSCE Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Helsinki in 1973. During the negotiations in Geneva from September 1973 to the summer recess 1974, Austria and the other N + N played a prominent role in coordinating the informal negotiations on the four sub-chapters of Basket III. This mediating role was groundbreaking for Austria's further appearance in the CSCE.

CSCE Summit Helsinki

From July 30th to August 1st 1975 the CSCE Summit took place in Helsinki, which concluded the two and a half years of negotiations and ended with the solemn signature of the CSCE Final Act. In addition to Federal Chancellor Bruno Kreisky , Erich Bielka , Ludwig Steiner and Helmut Liedermann were part of the Austrian delegation . For Austria itself, Kreisky's meeting with Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito and Czechoslovak President Gustáv Husák was particularly important. Kreisky dealt with three complexes of questions in his speech on July 31, 1975: First, he tried to place the CSCE in a larger context. Second, he addressed problems that multilateral cooperation should face in the future. Third, he dealt with the CSCE as an ideological competition.

CSCE follow-up conferences

Belgrade follow-up conference

The first follow-up conference to the CSCE process took place in Belgrade on October 4, 1977 and lasted until March 9, 1979. The aim was to check to what extent the Helsinki decisions had been observed by the 35 participating states. Austria's Ambassador Liedermann emphasized the extensive exchange of views and the willingness of all participants to enter into further open discussions as positive progress. At the same time, however, he regretted the unwillingness of some participants to follow the final act as a whole. The tension between the East and the West, especially between the USA and the Soviet Union, created a negative atmosphere at the conference in Belgrade. The Soviet Union sharply criticized the United States. For example, she spoke out against United States psychological warfare . At the same time, the remaining participating states accused the Soviet Union of violating human rights.

Madrid follow-up conference

The Madrid Follow-up Conference is the second of the follow-up conferences and took place from November 11, 1980 to September 9, 1983. Among other things, Austria proposed an energy initiative through which the participating states should work more closely together. This initiative envisaged improving the exchange of important energy information and examining the possibilities for expanding trade. Furthermore, the gas, electricity and oil networks of the participating states should be interconnected. The N + N states also suggested measures to build confidence, which should increase stability and security in Europe. For example, the number of military troops should be reduced.

Conference on Confidence Building and Disarmament in Europe (KVAE) in Stockholm

The KVAE began on January 19, 1984 in Stockholm . All 35 participating States of the CSCE were represented at the conference. The N + N States submitted the SC.3 document to the other participating States. In this confidence and security building measures (VSBM) are discussed, which also include military restrictions. A key question for the KVAE was the reaffirmation of the ban on non- violence . The N + N states were appointed as coordinators for five different working groups during the conference. Austria, which was involved in the drafting of the SC.3 document, therefore took over the group that should campaign for the renunciation of force.

Vienna follow-up conference

The third follow-up conference was held in Vienna from November 1986 to January 1989 . Important decisions in the areas of security, humanitarian cooperation and the Mediterranean issue were discussed, as in previous conferences. On the subject of security, 27 principles were formulated, which represent further efforts to strengthen cooperation between the participants with regard to general security. It was also great value to the general disarmament policy , especially in Europe, established and efforts were made to a future detente . Technical, economic and environmentally-oriented decisions formed the core of the Vienna meeting.

Paris Summit 1990

As a result of the revolutions in Eastern and Central Europe in 1989 , the decades-long division of Europe was overcome. In order to guarantee the complete dissolution of the division of Europe and to guarantee the newly created democracies to grow together with the rest of Europe, new structures were necessary. One possibility of creating such restructuring was found in the course of the CSCE process. From now on, the CSCE should provide the framework for a new political order in Europe. The basic values ​​that all CSCE states now represented were in particular democracy, the rule of law , fundamental freedom and respect for human rights. Austria and numerous other states supported the proposal to convene a summit conference made by the Soviet Union.

After the dissolution of the classic East-West antagonism, the N + N states lost their previous mediating role, while the Austrian delegation was able to remain involved in all important decision-making processes through committed cooperation. The Austrian head of the delegation Martin Vukovich, in his function as general coordinator, played a key role in the final version of the Paris Charter for a New Europe, which was adopted at the 1990 Paris Summit. In addition to the definitions of the fundamental political changes in Europe in the first part of the Charter and the guidelines for future CSCE work in the second chapter, permanent structures and institutions were decided in the third part. Vienna was chosen as the location for the newly created conflict prevention center.

Helsinki Summit 1992

The aim of this conference was to propose democracy as a solution to the conflict and also to win over the other participating states. An important point of the summit meeting was to get the participating states to realize the theoretically listed human dimension, including human rights, in the states. Furthermore, efforts to strengthen military security in Europe should continue after the summit. A forum for security cooperation was set up in Vienna for this purpose.

Budapest follow-up conference

The last of the CSCE follow-up conferences took place from December 5-6, 1994 in Budapest . In 1995 the CSCE was replaced by the OSCE . The conference in Budapest provided an opportunity to reflect once again on the almost thirty years of efforts by the participating states to achieve global security and cooperation, while also looking to the future. Among other things, the successful withdrawal of foreign troops from Baltic regions in 1990 was discussed. Among other things, the CSCE was given more power in the areas of conflict resolution, crisis management and arms control. In addition, the ceasefire in the Soviet- Armenian conflict of 1994 was praised . Support was given to the Georgian government, which was striving for its own independence. The general code of conduct for all international transgressions and cooperations was further developed, especially the focus on arms trade and international crises as well as the exchange of military information. Tighter restrictions were also adopted in relation to weapons of mass destruction and their spread. Most recently, efforts have been made to deal with humanitarian issues such as the death penalty, torture, protection of minorities and migration in more detail.

See also

literature

  • Thomas Fischer: The Soviet Union and the Finnish CSCE initiative of May 5, 1969. In: Wolfgang Mueller, Michael Portmann (Hrsg.): Eastern Europe from the world war to the turn. Vienna 2007, pp. 313–339.
  • Benjamin Gilde: Not a neutral mediator. The group of neutral and non-pact states and the Belgrade CSCE follow-up meeting 1977/78. In: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte. The central forum for contemporary history research. No. 59/3, pp. 413-444.
  • Benjamin Gilde: Austria in the CSCE Process 1969–1983: Neutral Mediator in the Humanitarian Dimension. Munich 2013. ISBN 978-3-486-71930-7 .
  • Olga Spaiser: External Democracy Promotion in the Post-Soviet Area. The OSCE's Opportunities and Limits for Action in Kyrgyzstan. Hamburg 2009.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Benjamin Gilde: No neutral intermediaries. The group of neutral and non-aligned states and the Belgrade CSCE follow-up meeting 1977/78 . In: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte The central forum for contemporary history research . No. 59/3 , p. 413-444 .
  2. ^ Thomas Fischer: The Soviet Union and the Finnish CSCE Initiative of May 5, 1969 . In: Wolfgang Mueller, Michael Portmann (eds.): Eastern Europe from World War II to the turn . Vienna 2007, p. 313-339 .
  3. ^ Benjamin Gilde: Austria in the CSCE Process 1969-1983: Neutral Mediator in Humanitarian Mission . Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-486-71930-7 , pp. 255 .
  4. ^ Benjamin Gilde: Austria in the CSCE Process 1969-1983: Neutral Mediator in Humanitarian Mission . Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-486-71930-7 , pp. 247-248 .
  5. ↑ Marion Dönhoff: "Big words instead of small deeds" . The time, no. 18 , April 29, 1977.
  6. ↑ APA (Ed.): CSCE follow-up meeting: Austrian final declaration March 1 , 1978.
  7. ^ APA (ed.): CSCE follow-up meeting: East and West dissatisfied with Belgrade . March 9, 1978.
  8. ↑ Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Ed.): Madrid final document: Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe . Vienna 1983.
  9. ↑ austrian energy initiative in madrid. APA, December 5, 1980, accessed May 3, 2017 .
  10. ↑ Austria as an example of confidence-building measures, new proposal for neutral and non-aligned at ksze. APA, December 15, 1980, accessed May 3, 2017 .
  11. ↑ Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Ed.): Foreign Policy Report 1984. Report of the Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs . Vienna 1984, p. 15 .
  12. ↑ Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Ed.): Foreign policy report 1984. Report of the Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs . Vienna 1984, p. 20 .
  13. ^ Matthias Peter, Daniela Taschler (Ed.): Files on the Foreign Policy of the Federal Republic of Germany 1986: January 1 to December 31 . Berlin / Boston / Oldenbourg 2017, p. 8 .
  14. ↑ Chronicle of the Wall: Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe CSCE Follow-Up Meeting 1989. January 15, 1989, pp. 3–9 , accessed on June 6, 2017 .
  15. ↑ Chronicle of the Wall: Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe CSCE Follow-Up Meeting 1989. January 15, 1989, pp. 9–11 , accessed on June 8, 2017 .
  16. ↑ Chronicle of the Wall: Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe CSCE Follow-Up Meeting 1989. January 15, 1989, pp. 11–16 , accessed on June 8, 2017 .
  17. ↑ Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Ed.): Foreign Policy Report 1990. Report of the Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs . Vienna 1991, p. 82-84, 101-105 .
  18. ↑ Olga Spaiser: External Democracy Promotion in the Post-Soviet Area: The OSCE's Opportunities and Limits for Action in Kyrgyzstan . Hamburg 2009, p. 25 .
  19. ↑ Olga Spaiser: External Democracy Promotion in the Post-Soviet Area: The OSCE's Opportunities and Limits for Action in Kyrgyzstan . Hamburg 2009, p. 27 .
  20. ↑ Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Ed.): Foreign Policy Report 1992. Report of the Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs . Vienna 1992, p. 91 .
  21. ↑ Chronicle of the Wall: CSCE BUDAPESTER DOCUMENT 1994 THE PATH TO REAL PARTNERSHIP IN A NEW AGE. December 21, 1994, p. 1 , accessed June 8, 2017 .
  22. ↑ Chronicle of the Wall: CSCE BUDAPESTER DOCUMENT 1994 THE PATH TO REAL PARTNERSHIP IN A NEW AGE. December 21, 1994, p. 9 , accessed June 8, 2017 .
  23. ↑ Chronicle of the Wall: CSCE BUDAPESTER DOCUMENT 1994 THE PATH TO REAL PARTNERSHIP IN A NEW AGE. December 21, 1994, pp. 13-18 , accessed June 8, 2017 .
  24. ↑ Chronicle of the Wall: CSCE BUDAPESTER DOCUMENT 1994 THE PATH TO REAL PARTNERSHIP IN A NEW AGE. December 21, 1994, pp. 18-21 , accessed June 8, 2017 .
  25. ↑ Chronicle of the Wall: CSCE BUDAPESTER DOCUMENT 1994 THE PATH TO REAL PARTNERSHIP IN A NEW AGE. December 21, 1994, pp. 21-24 , accessed June 8, 2017 .
  26. ↑ Chronicle of the Wall: CSCE BUDAPESTER DOCUMENT 1994 THE PATH TO REAL PARTNERSHIP IN A NEW AGE. December 21, 1994, pp. 25-35 , accessed June 8, 2017 .
  27. ↑ Chronicle of the Wall: CSCE BUDAPESTER DOCUMENT 1994 THE PATH TO REAL PARTNERSHIP IN A NEW AGE. December 21, 1994, pp. 39-43 , accessed June 8, 2017 .
  28. ↑ Chronicle of the Wall: CSCE BUDAPESTER DOCUMENT 1994 THE PATH TO REAL PARTNERSHIP IN A NEW AGE. December 21, 1994, pp. 51-58 , accessed June 8, 2017 .