Netherlands chairs its first meeting of the OSCE Structured Dialogue with capital representatives

The Netherlands chaired its first meeting of the OSCE Structured Dialogue with representatives of capitals on 6 and 7 May 2019, bringing together political and military representatives from across the OSCE region to Vienna for a combined session of the Informal Working Group (IWG) of the Structured Dialogue in Capital Format and an Expert-Level Workshop. The discussions were chaired by Ambassador Jeroen Boender, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the OSCE.

In his opening statement, Boender underlined the importance of the Structured Dialogue in the current security situation. “The Structured Dialogue is what we, as participating States, put into the process collectively,” he emphasized, adding he hoped that OSCE participating States would genuinely listen to each other’s perceptions, to hear what the other sides are saying and clearly articulate their own views.

Ambassador Radomir Boháč, the Chairperson of the Permanent Council under Slovakia’s 2019 OSCE Chairmanship, said that the Structured Dialogue is a “long-term endeavour without predetermined outcomes.”

On the first day, keynote speakers Tom Middendorp, former Chief of Defence from the Netherlands, Mikaël Griffon, Head of Department for Arms Control and OSCE in the French Foreign Ministry, and Zohir Saidzoda, Deputy Foreign Minister of Tajikistan, focused on transparency, risk reduction and incident prevention, as well as on countering terrorism.

The second day of the meeting took place in the format of the Fourth Expert-Level Workshop. Keynote speakers Anna Tyszkiewicz, Deputy Director of the Department of Security Policy in the Polish Foreign Ministry, Colonel Bryan Haderlie from the United States of America, Vice-Admiral (ret.) Alexey Mezenin from Russia, and General Peter Braunstein from Germany kicked off discussions on the topics: Addressing implementation, or how to make best use of existing instruments; Enhancing predictability and confidence for certain military activities; Preventing and managing incidents; and, finally, Early warning and creating a less risk-prone environment: managing military activities that could cause incidents – “best practices”.

Following the meetings, Boender concluded that although there are divergent narratives, there are also possibilities for practical small steps to enhance confidence and trust. “Many felt that voluntary measures provide a strong utility for transparency, although they cannot replace mandatory measures and full implementation of the existing framework,” he said.

The OSCE Structured Dialogue on the current and future challenges and risks to security was initiated by OSCE foreign ministers in their Declaration on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the OSCE Arms Control Framework at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Hamburg in December 2016. Addressing these challenges, the participating States aim to strengthen dialogue on how to overcome existing divergences, find common ground and reverse the negative trends in the European security architecture. The OSCE Structured Dialogue complements the ongoing work of the OSCE on wider issues of co-operation in the politico-military field. 

The next combined session of the IWG is to be held in September and will build upon the outcomes of these discussions. The Netherlands has been appointed IWG chair by the Slovak OSCE Chairmanship. Previous IWG chairmanships were held by Germany (2017) and Belgium (2018).