CSCE Budapest Declaration,
Towards A Genuine Partnership In A New Era,
DOC.RC/1/95 (21 December 1994)

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Mediterranean

1. The non-participating Mediterranean States have had a long-standing relationship with, and have shown keen interest in the work of, the CSCE since its beginning. Reaffirming their conviction that strengthening security and co-operation in the Mediterranean is important for stability in the CSCE region, the participating States welcome the agreements recently concluded in the Middle East peace process. Recalling the Helsinki Document 1992 and confirming subsequent relevant decisions, the participating States decide to intensify the dialogue with the five non-participating Mediterranean States referred to in the decision taken by the 25th Meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials.

2. To this end, and responding to the interest shown by these non-participating Mediterranean States, they take the following decisions:
   1. An informal, open-ended contact group, at the level of experts, will be established within the framework of the Permanent Council in Vienna. This group will meet periodically to conduct a dialogue with these non-participating Mediterranean States in order to facilitate the interchange of information of mutual interest and the generation of ideas.

   2. Building on the tradition of Mediterranean seminars already in existence within the CSCE, the participating States decide to hold a seminar in 1995 on the topic of the CSCE's experience in the field of confidence-building measures. The participating States also envisage holding future seminars on topics of mutual interest. They welcome the offer made by the Arab Republic of Egypt to host the above seminar, and encourage the other four non-participating Mediterranean States to make similar offers.

   3. The Chairman-in-Office will conduct during his/her term in office high-level consultations between the CSCE, represented by the Troika and the Secretary General, and the non-participating Mediterranean States.

   4. In order to consider the proposals that originate in the contact group, seminars and high-level consultations, the Chairman-in-Office will invite during the course of the year representatives of these non-participating Mediterranean States, as appropriate, to any meetings of the Permanent Council solely devoted to "Mediterranean Issues", or to the Senior Council when "Mediterranean Issues" are placed on the agenda. The Chairman of the Forum for Security Co-operation, with the consensus of the participating States, may also invite representatives of these non-participating Mediterranean States to meetings devoted to "Mediterranean Issues".