During the Ministerial Council in the Hague in December 2003 the OSCE adopted a new set of committments within the economic and environmental dimension. This task provided the OSCE with an opportunity to rethink its approach to this dimension in order to integrate it further in the daily work of the OSCE. This should, however, not compromise our efforts within the politico-miltary and the human dimensions.
The OSCE is first and foremost a security organisation. Norway is of the opinion that this should be reflected also in the economic dimension. Thus, to identify potential economic and environmental threats to security should continue to be one of the major tasks of the OSCE.
Norway supprts a focused and practical approach to the economic dimension. The main added value of the OSCE in this field is in our view the focus on conflict prevention. The role of the OSCE should be to identify potential threats within the economic and environmental sphere, and to activate international partner organisations, NGOs and the business community. OSCE supported projects should also be used in a constructive way. But projects themselves are not the solution – they are only tools that may help us reach solutions.
Several issues within this dimension are relevant for all the 55 participating states within the OSCE. Norway supports approaches that are applicable for the whole OSCE region, and not only “East of Vienna”. The fight against organised crime, drugs and arms is one example of this and relevant to all three dimensions of the OSCE. In addition to the human tragedies resulting from this, trafficking and organised crime also has the potential to destabilise national economies.
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