ABSTRACT
Subregional cooperation has been an integral component of Western European cooperation and integration since 1945. This chapter focuses on the issue of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE's) cooperation with formalised, and occasionally institutionalised, subregional frameworks, that is intergovernmental frameworks established by subregional groups of States within the OSCE area, and discusses expectations versus reality of this form of links. The OSCE's activities undertaken on a subregional rather than on a comprehensive basis, these are accompanied by debate and occasionally controversy. Subregional frameworks would clearly benefit from more political and practical support from international organisations, which would give them visibility, credibility, and political weight and possibly also the expertise and resources they need. The potential for increased cooperation between the OSCE and subregional frameworks exists in a number of areas. They include the discussion of confidence- and security-building measures (CSBMs), the economic and environmental dimension, and the human dimensions.
