The German OSCE Chairmanship in 2016: Towards a renewed dialogue with Russia?
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) represents the perfect framework for discussion of pan-European security issues thanks to its unique composition - fifty-seven member states of the Euro-Atlantic sphere, including the United States and Russia. The OSCE remains indeed one of the few forums of institutionalized dialogue between Western countries and Moscow and the only one to also include Washington.
However, the organization has in fact played a marginal role in the past years. The crisis in Ukraine has nevertheless led many European decision makers to "rediscover" the OSCE as a tool for cooperation in security matters - the organizations concept of security being much broader than that of NATO. Germany in particular puts great hope in the OSCE and sees an obvious potential.
In autumn 2014 the German government decided to run for Chairmanship of the OSCE and the Council of Ministers of the OSCE accepted this application by unanimity in December 2014. Germany will therefore follow Serbia on 1 January 2016.
A task force to take on this role has already been set up inside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Berlin and the Social Democrat Gernot Erler, former Coordinator for German-Russian Intersocietal Cooperation among other functions, was appointed Special Representative of the Federal Government for the OSCE Chairmanship
This editorial is published in French only – La présidence allemande de l’OSCE en 2016 : Vers un renouement du dialogue avec la Russie ?
Author(s)
Barbara KUNZ
Ancienne chercheuse au Comité d'études des relations franco-allemandes (Cerfa) de l'Ifri
