ABSTRACT
The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), formerly the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) is one of the great unsung success stories of modern European diplomacy. From its inauspicious beginnings in the early 1970s and through the heightened East-West tensions of the 'Second Cold War', the OSCE has emerged as one of the central pillars of the post-Cold War European security system. The highly important post of High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) was created. CSCE heads of state and government met in Budapest for another of their regular Lisbon Summit meetings. This was preceded by the Budapest Review Conference, which was designed to clarify future tasks and to develop the organisation's structures and decision-making procedures. The Summit agreed to begin negotiations on adapting the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty, mainly because of Russia's insistence that it should be allowed to deploy more of its military forces on its exposed northern and southern flanks.
