"Serious threats to peace and security, even the question of war and peace, have returned to Europe, and in fact to us here in Hamburg," said Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. It was clear before the Ministerial Council that the conflicts and tensions surrounding developments in eastern Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea would not be resolved overnight.

Precisely for this reason, Frank-Walter Steinmeier saw the OSCE Ministerial Council as an important sign. "If the OSCE didn’t exist, we would need to invent it," he said. Numerous discussions took place on stage and behind the scenes. Frank-Walter Steinmeier discussed some of the most urgent matters of global security in depth with US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

In a final declaration, the parties to the conflict in Ukraine are called on to implement the regulations agreed in the Minsk agreements at last. There was a lot of support for Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s initiative to put in place a new mechanism for conventional arms control.

Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier also looked back at Germany’s one-year OSCE Chairmanship. The goal had been to renew dialogue in an effort to help "rebuild the trust that has been lost, so as to restore security, from Vancouver to Vladivostok."

Crisis mode as a permanent state of affairs

The 23rd OSCE Ministerial Council took place against the backdrop of a large number of unresolved conflicts, he reported. The situation in eastern Ukraine is one of the main concerns. Ceasefire violations are still being observed. "This state of affairs is more than sobering – it remains inacceptable for me," declared the Federal Foreign Minister. If the parties to the conflict are not ready or willing to find political solutions, however, the OSCE cannot help end the conflict.

Developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict too are cause for concern, he reported. The resurgence of hostilities in spring this year made it plain to all observers how dangerous this conflict still is. Only in the Transnistria conflict are the parties now willing to pursue "results-oriented negotiations".

Members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) include all European states, the successor states of the Soviet Union, the USA, Canada and Mongolia. With its 57 member states, the OSCE is the world’s largest regional security organisation. It has its roots in the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, held in the 1970s at a time when Europe was divided into two opposing blocs. In 2016 Germany took over from Serbia at the helm of the organisation. It thus bears responsibility for this important forum for dialogue. Germany will be followed in 2017 by Austria, and then in 2018 by Italy. These three countries form the current "troika". They consult and coordinate their activities in order to ensure continuity.

Polling forces to a greater extent

Frank-Walter Steinmeier called on participating states to equip the OSCE with the material and human resources it needs to face new duties and new challenges. He singled out five important fields of action. Firstly, channels of communication and innovative dialogue formats must be kept open "across political divides", and indeed further developed. Secondly, the states must pool their forces to a greater extent, not least by stepping up the engagement of women.

Thirdly, the minister looked at the architecture of arms control, and pointed out that this must be brought into line with the security-policy, military and technological realities of today’s world. Fourthly, he said, the view of new challenges and threats including terrorism, radicalisation, cyber crime, migration, discrimination of every sort, and hatred are important. And fifthly, Frank-Walter called for the "wealth of experience" of the OSCE to be incorporated to a greater extent in efforts to prevent, manage and follow up conflicts. For this though, more investment in the OSCE will be needed, he said.

Defending values

We must not merely pay lip service to the need to strengthen the organisation in the long term, he declared. And he called on participants to keep an eye on the compass of shared values. "Without democracy, without the rule of law, without respect for human rights and fundamental liberties there can be no complete security."