OSCE think tanks and academic network discusses role of Panel of Eminent Persons on European security

The role of a new Panel of Eminent Persons to examine ways in which to reconsolidate European security as a common project was the focus of a side event organized by the OSCE Network of Think Tanks and Academic Institutions for 50 representatives from participating States, the OSCE and civil society on the margins of the 21st OSCE Ministerial Council in Basel, Switzerland on 4 December 2014.

The high-level Panel was officially launched just hours earlier by OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter in close co-operation with the incoming chairs Serbia (2015) and Germany (2016).

The side event on the Panel was led by Raphaël Nägeli, deputy head of the OSCE Swiss Chairmanship Task Force. He noted that the Panel will be comprised of  personalities from across the OSCE region and will begin its work early next year.

In his remarks, the future chair of the Panel, Wolfgang Ischinger emphasized the centrality of consulting and reaching out to the different actors involved in European security. He focused on the notion of “resilience” and the importance of making European security more immune to crisis.

OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier welcomed the establishment of the Panel and said that the Secretariat of the OSCE is ready to support its work. He highlighted the valuable contribution the OSCE Network of Think Tanks and Academic Institutions could bring to the Panel’s research.

In her remarks, Sonja Stojanovic Gajic, Director of the Belgrade Center for Security Policy, reminded that the Panel’s composition should reflect the geographical diversity of the OSCE and include neutral actors.

Walter Kemp, Senior Director for Europe and Central Asia of the International Peace Institute in Vienna, noted that the Panel comes at a time when the events in and around Ukraine have demonstrated the significance and relevance of the OSCE in the European security architecture. He said that any security architecture needs to be grounded on principles and stressed the importance of reconfirming these principles.

The need for the Panel to come up with both short and long-term recommendations was noted by the Director of the Centre for OSCE Research (CORE) Wolfgang Zellner.

Summarizing the discussions, Fred Tanner, the focal point within the OSCE for the Network, stressed the importance of the Panel’s recommendations being integrated into political processes.

An interim report on the lessons learned for the OSCE of its engagement should be issued by early summer next year and a final report on broader European security issues towards the end of 2015.