Russia and Prospects for European Security

A common theme in Russian security thinking is the desire to be more influential in Euro­Atlantic structures. Last year, President Medvedev put forward proposals for new European security architecture. This met with a rather lukewarm response in the EU and US. Many experts point out that Russia is already involved in a pan­European security organisation – the OSCE.

Medvedev’s proposal led many observers to ask questions related to the OSCE and European security in general: Should the discussion on European security not focus more on the OSCE? How did the Russian policy towards the OSCE transform? What are the prospects for the OSCE and European security as whole?
These questions are highly relevant as we approach the OSCE Athens ministerial meeting in December 2009.

The EU­Russia Centre has prepared its XII Review “Russia and the OSCE”, which aims to provide a comprehensive overview of Russian attitudes towards the OSCE, touching on history, Russia’s record in fulfilling OSCE commitments, and future prospects. We will present the Review during the Panel Discussion to kick­off discussion on Russia – OSCE relations and future of the European security.

The discussion is organized in cooperation with the EU-Russia Centre.