ABSTRACT
The traditional functions of neutral policy in Europe have often been referred to with the blanket term "bridge-building." In the first half of the 1980s the efforts of the neutrals had two main objectives. First, to protect the fruits of ddtente, particularly mutually advantageous processes of East-West cooperation in Europe, against the negative fallout of the "new Cold War" between the superpowers. Second, to keep existing lines of communication between East and West open and to search for opportunities to do what bridge-building literally means. The neutral states have acquired a number of relevant experiences, which can serve common and indeed Europe-wide interests in the search for a new political order in Europe. In a medium and long-term perspective, the proposed efforts in neutral policy review and initiative should be part and parcel of a wide-ranging process of political consultation rather than an exercise within an exclusive club of neutrals.
