The OSCE Network of Think Tanks and Academic Institutions published a report on »OSCE Confidence Building in the Economic and Environmental Dimension:  Current Opportunities and Constraints«. The 36-page report is based on two workshops in Birmingham and Vienna bringing together 16 academics from across the OSCE space, who contributed background papers and case studies, as well as practitioners from the OSCE’s Austrian Chairmanship and OSCE Secretariat.

In the context of the current impasse in Russia-West relations, the report explores the use of confidence-building measures (CBMs) in the economic and environmental dimension to reduce tensions, improve trust and raise predictability. Among the areas where CBMs can be applied, the report details the following areas:

• Dialogue between the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union to promote flexibility for the states in-between;
• Cooperation on common economic and environmental challenges;
• Regulatory transparency and harmonisation;
• ICT governance;
• Mutual water management.

The report calls on the OSCE to use its authoritative convening power and agenda-setting facility, as well as previous experience with confidence-building measures in other dimensions, to address the divisions among the participating states by serving as a neutral platform for dialogue and implementing specific confidence-building measures in the economic and environmental dimension.

Related files:

OSCE Confidence Building in EED, Short Summary
OSCE Confidence Building in EED, Full Report