ABSTRACT
The end of military operations undertaken by NATO against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) coincided day-for-day with the launch on 10 June 1999 of a multilateral process aimed at the long-term consolidation of the Balkan region: the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe. This chapter presents the main thrust of the Stability Pact (from the perspective of its actors, objectives and structures), assesses the first steps towards its implementation and analyses its impact on the OSCE. The Stability Pact constitutes an original process whose key actors are States and international institutions working in constant interplay. The Istanbul Summit Declaration recognised the leading role of the European Union within the Stability Pact process. In sum, the expansion of the OSCE regional dimension in South-Eastern Europe is becoming an organisational priority for 2000, both on its own merits and because it will contribute to the Stability Pact's success.
