Ladies and gentlemen
Dear friends

Switzerland is grateful to the government of Finland for hosting this commemoration. It is a pleasure and honour to address you here in my capacity as a member of the OSCE Troika.

“Helsinki” stands for a common European rulebook and for bridges across the continent built four decades ago. Our meeting takes place, however, at a time when much that has been accomplished since then is at risk. Today we should look back and commend all those who have contributed to our common project of creating an inclusive European security order. But we should also seize the opportunity to discuss ways of overcoming the present crisis. “Helsinki” should once again become a signpost to our common future.

When representatives of 34 countries gathered in Dipoli near Helsinki in November 1972 for preparatory talks on a European security conference, they were venturing into unknown territory. It was for the first time since the Congress of Vienna in 1815 that delegates of all European countries sat down at the same table to discuss the future of our continent.

These delegates gathering in Dipoli were pioneers. With Europe divided, there was a great deal of anxiety. No one knew how this multilateral East-West dialogue would unfold. As it turned out, Dipoli marked the beginning of a process that would change European security for good.

After the successful conclusion of the preparatory talks, the CSCE was officially opened – in this hall – by the foreign ministers in July 1973. The conference was then relocated to Geneva where the negotiations on the new foundations of pan-European security were conducted. The diplomats and experts who came to Geneva for these negotiations were told that the conference would last just a few weeks. In the end, the Geneva negotiations took almost two years.

Diplomats began to move from hotels to houses. Several participants married during these CSCE negotiations. There were even marriages between delegates from East and West.

One foreign minister (Henry Kissinger) described this process as “a case of multilateral diplomacy run amok”. Indeed, the figures were impressive: There were 2,400 meetings during the Geneva negotiations. 650 delegates and secretariat staff produced 4,660 documents. Translated into six conference languages, these documents ran to nine million pages or 41 tonnes of paper. Governments found it increasingly difficult to keep track of what their delegates were actually negotiating.

But then something remarkable happened. In summer 1975, consensus was found on reducing all the paper into one Final Act of some 65 pages. The signing of this Final Act at the first CSCE summit in the Finlandia Hall 40 years ago took place in a sober atmosphere, without fanfare. But it was a truly historic event, worthy of today’s commemoration.

The Helsinki Final Act laid down a common foundation for European security. Some of the 10 principles of the Final Act – worked out in 232 meetings – were original CSCE inventions. For example, for the first time, respect for human rights was identified as a precondition for international security.

In addition to the Helsinki Principles, the Final Act has given rise to a cooperative and comprehensive model of security that has remained the hallmark of the OSCE to this day. Cooperative security is based on inclusive dialogue, shared commitments, confidence-building and broad cooperation. It is about security with each other rather than against each other.

The CSCE did not bring about the end of the Cold War. But it did help end the Cold War in a peaceful way. And it provided Europe with a basis on which to build a new inclusive European security order once the Iron Curtain had been torn down.

At the second CSCE summit in 1990, the Paris Charter for a New Europe declared that the era of confrontation and division had ended and a new era of democracy, peace, and unity had begun. With Europe finally being “whole and free”, relations were henceforth to be guided by respect and cooperation.

The Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe was transformed into the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. The OSCE has embodied the spirit of Helsinki to this day. It is an organization with a human touch, seeking to enhance the security both of States and their citizens. The OSCE is a platform for inclusive dialogue and operational action.

Switzerland wishes to pay tribute to all those men and women who have worked for the OSCE and contributed to promoting security and cooperation in Europe. I would like to specifically mention our OSCE monitors in Ukraine. With their commitment, courage, and professional work, they are making an essential contribution to de-escalation efforts in Ukraine and are a source of stability and hope in a difficult environment.

This commemoration is an opportunity to express our gratitude to the OSCE. But we must also acknowledge that the sort of inclusive European security space with equal security for all, which we have committed ourselves to, has failed to materialize. Nor has the OSCE been empowered to tap its full potential.

The past 15 years have seen a decline in trust and a strategic estrangement. The Ukraine crisis has finally brought this broader crisis of European security to a head. Just about all Helsinki Principles have been grossly violated, including those concerning Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the inviolability of its borders, the non-use of force, and non-intervention in internal affairs.

Ladies and gentlemen

Where are we heading? 40 years after the Final Act and 25 years after the Paris Charter, we owe it to the coming generations to prevent our continent from becoming divided again. The high-level discussions that will follow this commemoration will provide an opportunity to discuss ways of overcoming the Ukraine crisis and reconsolidating European security as a common project.

While there is no need for new rules, we should conduct a dialogue on how to foster a common understanding of the Helsinki Principles. We should also discuss the underlying causes of the current crisis and avoid simple blame games. This discussion will have to include the question of whether we all still share the commitments made over the past four decades. Restoring confidence and rebuilding bridges can work if all sides want it to, and if all sides are willing to allow for – and engage in – high-level dialogue.

As for the OSCE, it has demonstrated its usefulness in the Ukraine crisis and become the main international crisis responder on the ground. For the first time in more than a decade, participating States have managed to agree by consensus on launching a major field operation. Through its facilitating role in the Trilateral Contact Group, the OSCE is also closely involved in the Minsk process of resolving the crisis peacefully. The record turnout of ministers at the Basle Ministerial Council, the constructive discussions we had there on Ukraine and European security, and the prospect of continuity with Germany and Austria following the Swiss-Serbian consecutive chairs are further signs that the OSCE is experiencing a long-overdue comeback.

Now is the time to strengthen the OSCE as an anchor of cooperative security linking the Euro-Atlantic and the Eurasian regions. Let us provide the OSCE with the tools it needs to promote dialogue and effective action. The recommendations made by the Panel of Eminent Persons merit thorough debate.

Ever since the pioneering days of the early 1970s, Switzerland has been a strong supporter of the CSCE/OSCE. As we commemorate the accomplishments of the founding fathers, let us be inspired by their vision and determination as we address, once more, our common future. Just as the CSCE brought Europe closer in the past, the OSCE can and should be a decisive force of inclusive security for our continent, to the benefit of the generations to come.

Thank you.

“Just as the CSCE brought Europe closer in the past, the OSCE can and should be a decisive force of inclusive security for our continent” (en)