A LAST-minute diplomatic finesse over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh allowed the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to reach the required unanimity on its final declaration yesterday, reports Patrick Smyth from Lisbon.
The summit of the 54-member organisation adopted a declaration on a new "European Security Model for the 21st Century" which seeks to establish the basis for "a co-operative foundation for our common security".
At a press conference, the High Representative of the Dayton Conference, Mr Carl Bildt, called on the Serb government to re-run the disputed municipal elections in the presence of international monitors. And he welcomed the OSCE's renewed mandate to run the Bosnian municipal elections next summer, warning that "standards must be substantially higher" than the widely-disputed September federal polls.
The European Model, still very much on the drawing board, is an attempt, in the arcane language of international security debates, to move away from the balance-of-power politics which have dominated Europe for centuries.
Although its structures are as yet embryonic - and highly idealistic - the OSCE is developing diplomatic tools of conflict prediction, prevention and management, then post-conflict resolution.
It has conducted one major operation in organising the Bosnian election and a range of lower-profile tasks predominantly in the countries of the former Soviet Union.
It is hoped that by providing what the EU calls a platform for co-operation between states and security organisations it may allow disputing parties the sort of breathing space and impartial arbitration that can defuse tensions.
Yesterday, the long-running row between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the former's claim to the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh had deadlocked over wording on recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, jeopardising the final declaration. By taking the disputed text out of the declaration and issuing it in the name of the Swiss presidency, the day was saved.
The summit also provided the opportunity for many diplomatic encounters and some grandstanding. The opportunity was too much to miss for the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu - on a diplomatic offensive to Europe that brings him today to Ireland. At a press conference he denounced the Palestinian Authority as the only obstacle to settling the problem of Hebron.
He said he had been enormously encouraged by his meetings with European leaders, many of whom encouraged him, he claimed, to put the true facts of the situation before the public. For example, it was not true, he said, that the Israeli government has been expanding controversial settlements at a breakneck speed. "Unfortunately," he said, budgetary constraints meant that the pace was slower than that of the last government.