CSCE becomes OSCE

VIENNA, 3 January 1995 - As of 1 January, the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) has a new name. At last month's Budapest Summit, CSCE Heads of State and Government, determined to give the CSCE new political impetus, agreed to change the name to Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

As the Budapest document stipulates, the name change "has no effect on the character of its commitments nor the status of the CSCE and its institutions."

The CSCE was created in the early 1970's as a multilateral forum for dialogue and negotiation between East and West. The history of the CSCE is twofold. From 1975 to 1990, the CSCE, as its original name implied, worked as one continuous conference. The Paris Summit Meeting in 1990 marked the beginning of institutionalisation, reflecting the changes in Europe and the new challenges for the post-Cold War period. The developments in the security situation in Europe in the 1990's led to a fundamental change in the CSCE and to a dramatic strengthening of its role. Reflecting this change, the 1994 Budapest Summit changed its name to OSCE. Today, the OSCE comprises 53 Participating States from the region stretching from Vladivostok to Vancouver, including the United States, Canada and all the countries of Europe and the former Soviet Union (the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has observer status, Yugoslavia (Serbia - Montenegro is suspended).