The OSCE Structured Dialogue 2018
The OSCE Structured Dialogue on current and future challenges and risks to security in the OSCE area brings together senior officials from capitals and ambassadors of the Organization’s 57 participating States in the format of an informal working group to discuss the challenges in the wider politico-military sphere, explore possibilities of overcoming divergences and reversing the negative developments that have marked European security in recent years.
The Structured Dialogue was launched by foreign ministers in their Declaration on Twentieth Anniversary of the OSCE Arms Control Framework at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Hamburg in December 2016. Against a background of growing concerns among participating States about a European security landscape increasingly characterized by eroding arms control, snap military exercises and close military encounters, the Structured Dialogue seeks to foster greater mutual understanding and a common solid basis for a way forward.
We will work towards creating an environment conducive to reinvigorating conventional arms control and CSBMs in Europe.
The guiding principles of the Structured Dialogue are transparency, collective ownership and respect for diverging views in the OSCE area.
The Informal Working Group is chaired by the head of a delegation of an OSCE participating State, who is appointed by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office. The chair of the informal working group reports to the chairs of the OSCE Permanent Council and the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation.
In 2018 the informal working group is chaired by Ambassador Paul Huynen of Belgium.
The Structured Dialogue is a long-term endeavour without predefined outcomes. Standstill is not an option and our ability to make progress depends on the engagement of each pS.
The Belgian Chairmanship identified threat perceptions and risk reduction as the priorities for 2018.
In 2017, the OSCE participating States started work on a systematic mapping of trends in military force postures and exercises. This Expert Level Workshop continues in 2018, and the results of this activity are designed to serve as the basis for future discussions. So far 3 Expert Level Workshops have taken place. Topics that were treated include threat perceptions and risk reduction related to military incidents and military exercises.
The Expert Level Workshop essentially serves to feed, support and enrich the political discussions in the Informal Working Group. The outcomes of the workshops are re-injected at the political level.”
On 19-21 September 2018, the 6th Informal Working Group Structured Dialogue and the 3rd Expert Level Workshop were held in the Hofburg. During the three day event, a variety of topics related to the OSCE politico-military sphere were discussed in-depth among the 57 participating States. A 7th Informal Working Group is scheduled later this year.