Our mandate on economic issues

The OSCE’s mandate on economic issues goes back to the early days of the CSCECSCE
Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe negotiations in the early 1970s and the Helsinki Final Act 1975, which included both economic and environmental questions in what was then commonly referred to as ‘basket II’. Among other issues, the participating States declared in the document their resolve “to promote, on the basis of the modalities of their economic co-operation, the expansion of their mutual trade in goods and services, and to ensure conditions favourable to such development.”

A central institution in the OSCE’s economic dimension was created at the Helsinki Follow-up Meeting, which took place between 24 March and 8 July 1992. The event, where the participating States made important steps to institutionalize the CSCE—eventually paving the way for it to be renamed into the OSCE—established, among many other bodies, the Economic Forum. The Forum quickly became an annual event and was renamed in 2007 the Economic and Environmental Forum, reflecting the growing importance of environmental security issues.

Both in Rome in 1993 and in Budapest the following year, the OSCE participating States made statements aimed at strengthening the economic dimension. Another important milestone was reached when in 1996, at the Lisbon Summit meeting, the Heads of State or Government tasked the Permanent Council with elaborating the mandate for a Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities within the Secretariat. The Permanent Council agreed to a mandate on 5 November 1997, establishing the position of Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities within the OSCE Secretariat.

In 2003, at the Ministerial Council in Maastricht, the participating States adopted the OSCE Strategy Document for the Economic and Environmental Dimension and committed themselves to co-operating on economic, good governance and sustainable development issues.

Over the years, the CSCE/OSCE greatly enriched its portfolio of economic activities, including such issues as transport and customs, good economic governance, gender-equal entrepreneurship, anti-corruption activities and the support for a sustainable business and investment climate. A full compendium of commitments made by the participating States in the economic realm is contained in a reference manual on the OSCE’s second dimension.