Fourth Heads of State Summit, Budapest

The fourth Summit of Heads of State, which took place in Budapest on 5-6 December 1994, was a historic occasion. It was here that the CSCE became an organization - the OSCE - with effect from 1 January 1995.

"The CSCE is the security structure embracing States from Vancouver to Vladivostok," noted the Budapest Document 1994: Towards a Genuine Partnership in a New Era.

"We are determined to give a new political impetus to the CSCE, thus enabling it to play a cardinal role in meeting the challenges of the twenty-first century. To reflect this determination, the CSCE will henceforth be known as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Overcoming barriers and managing change

"The CSCE has been instrumental in overcoming barriers and in managing change throughout our region. Since we last met, there have been further encouraging developments. Most vestiges of the Cold War have disappeared. Free elections have been held and the roots of democracy have spread and struck deeper."

But a note of caution was also sounded: "The path to stable democracy, efficient market economy and social justice is a hard one," it added.

This was reflected by the views expressed by some of the participating States in Budapest. Russian President Boris Yeltsin voiced the fear that although the Cold War was over, there was a real danger it could be replaced by a "cold peace".

Besides the change of name from CSCE to OSCE, a number of similar steps were taken in Budapest. The Committee of Senior Officials was renamed the Senior Council, and the Permanent Committee became the Permanent Council.

The Budapest Summit also formally adopted the Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security, and launched discussions on a Common and Comprehensive Security Model for Europe.