Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)

For Switzerland, the OSCE is an important vehicle for it to promote peace and security in Europe, in its neighbouring regions and in the world as a whole, in accordance with its foreign policy priorities. It provides Switzerland with an opportunity to discuss security policy issues and confidence-building measures with all European and Central Asian states as well as the United States, Canada and Russia.

Since the early days of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, the predecessor of the OSCE, Switzerland has been committed to building bridges in the tradition of its good offices and the promotion of dialogue. Switzerland also uses the OSCE as a platform to promote its liberal values. Specifically, Switzerland is active at three levels:

• At the political level, Switzerland is constantly contributing ideas and its own negotiation efforts to resolve deadlocks and find compromises.
• At the diplomatic level, Switzerland advocates OSCE-relevant issues both in Vienna and in the capitals and gives them due prominence in bilateral consultations with the OSCE participating states.
• At the institutional level, Switzerland strengthens the OSCE's ability to act, for example through the targeted financing of projects and secondments to field missions and central institutions.
• At the mandate level, Switzerland repeatedly makes its expertise available to solve specific problems.

Switzerland's current commitment is based on the OSCE Action Plan 2022–25, in which it identifies measures that contribute to strengthening the OSCE as a platform for dialogue in the area of European security, and highlights those areas in which Switzerland can offer added value by 2025.