By Hans Hedrich, World BEYOND War, March 5, 2025
Now, as a “separation” is emerging in NATO-based military policy between the U.S. and Europe, Europe faces a choice between a continued arms race with a prolonged conflict with Russia and a peaceful agreement between East and West, followed by arms reduction on both sides.
The first scenario means huge expenses for weapons, a lack of funds for social sectors and similar areas, and, despite this (or precisely because of it!), a constant fear of war. The second scenario promises savings from reduced military spending and more resources for prosperity, solidarity, education, culture, and environmental protection. In the first scenario, NATO or a European military organization would attempt to ensure security through militarized means; in the second, this role of maintaining peace and security would primarily belong to the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe). The first scenario costs us dearly and offers little; the second costs little and offers much! The choice is ours!
Based in Vienna, the OSCE is the successor to the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE), founded in 1975 in Helsinki, during the confrontation between the socialist states of Eastern Europe, led dictatorially, and the capitalist and democratic states of Western Europe. At that time, East and West mainly agreed on the respect of state borders and human rights, to mitigate the ideological and interest-based conflicts between the two parts of Europe. This détente policy eventually led to the end of the Cold War, the peaceful reunification of the continent, and a new era of freedom and prosperity.
Ideally, after 1989, according to the Charter of Paris in November 1990, CSCE/OSCE was supposed to maintain security in Europe. However, NATO gradually took over this role, which led to the marginalization of Russia and, ultimately, the conflicts in Ukraine in 2014 and 2022. Now, as the end of this war begins to take shape, the OSCE, which brings together 57 countries and over 1.3 billion people from North America, Europe, and Central Asia (including the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine), has another chance to assume the role for which it was created – that of the “UN of Europe.”
In 2025, it will be 50 years since the founding of the CSCE – the perfect moment to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and to lay the foundation for a new and solid security and peace in Europe! Therefore, we call on the OSCE, its institutions, employees, and representatives to convene a summit of heads of state and government of the OSCE member countries – in the spirit of the Helsinki 1975 and Paris 1990 traditions!
Only in this way can we once again ensure peaceful coexistence between the states and peoples from Vancouver to Warsaw and Vladivostok!
