Networks

Launched in 2012, the OSCE Security Days look at select security issues from many different viewpoints in line with the Organization’s comprehensive approach to security and in keeping with the diversity of contexts in the OSCE area and neighbouring regions. They are intended as a platform for participants to share their experiences and good practices and offer an opportunity to examine emerging trends and priorities for action.

The Security Days gather prominent experts from government, think-tanks and academic institutions, civil society, youth and media, to engage with each other and with the OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation. They are mostly open to the public, requiring, however, prior registration.

The OSCE Network of Think Tanks and Academic Institutions is an autonomous group of research institutions that provides expertise, stimulates debate and raises awareness of the OSCE. Founded during the OSCE Security Days in June 2013, membership in the network is open to interested institutions from throughout the OSCE area. The Hamburg-based Centre for OSCE Research (CORE) of the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy (IFSH) co-ordinates the Network.

In 2014, the OSCE launched the New-Med Track II Network with several partners. This network unites experts inspired by a common commitment to peace and security in the Mediterranean region and an interest in how the OSCE can move Mediterranean co-operation forward. New-Med runs workshops and publishes articles and reports, providing analysis and recommendations on key issues that include migration, intercultural dialogue and security.

The OSCE’s partners for New-Med are the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the International Affairs Institute (IAI, a Rome-based think-tank) and Compagnia San Paolo (an Italian private sector foundation). IAI runs New-Med and chairs its Steering Committee, in which the initiative’s partners are all represented.

Across the OSCE region, autonomous civil society actors have established themselves, dedicated to following and promoting the OSCE’s work, such as the OSCE Network in Sweden.

On the initiative of the then-Swiss OSCE Chairpersonship, the Panel of Eminent Persons on European Security was launched in Basel on 4 December 2014, in close co-operation with Serbia and Germany. This Panel, which comprised 15 senior figures from the political and diplomatic realm, was tasked to prepare the basis for an inclusive and constructive security dialogue across the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian regions, reflect on how to re-build trust among OSCE participating States, and examine perceived threats in the OSCE area, as well as potential common solutions.

The Panel produced two reports: an interim report on lessons learned for the OSCE from its engagement in Ukraine (issued 17 June 2015) and a final report on the broader issues of security in Europe (3 December 2015).