ACCESSION NUMBER:216600
FILE ID:EU-208
DATE:02/25/92
TITLE:U.S. WANTS CSCE TO BECOME MORE USEFUL IN CRISIS PREVENTION (02/25/92)
TEXT:*92022508.EUR
*EUR208   02/25/92 *
U.S. WANTS CSCE TO BECOME MORE USEFUL IN CRISIS PREVENTION
(Kornblum on USIA WorldNet program)  (660)
Cheri J. Mullin
USIA Staff Writer
Washington -- The United States would like to see the Conference on
Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) mechanisms strengthened and given
new tools to deal with the changes arising from the new situation in
Europe, Ambassador John Kornblum, head of the U.S. delegation to the CSCE
meeting in Helsinki, said February 25.

"I think everyone will agree with that," Kornblum said, speaking to
audiences in Helsinki, Paris, Hamburg, London and Ankara during a WorldNet
program -- the U.S. Information Agency's satellite television service.
Kornblum spoke about the CSCE follow-up meeting to be held March 24 in
Helsinki.

Where the U.S. emphasis will differ slightly is that "our first focus is not
going to be crisis management as such, but rather our first focus is going
1o be conflict and crisis prevention," Kornblum said.

"That means there will have to be put in place a very structured set of
procedures for consultation and discussion, so that in fact, there is some
kind of consensus among countries on how to deal with all of the many
strains which are coming up as a result of the new, and let's remember,
basically positive situation which has come about in Europe because of the
end of the Cold War.

"We need a system for managing change...and enhanced tools for crisis
management," he said.  The United States would like to see a structure for
enhanced consultation put in place.  "We also would like there to be a
better organization and understanding of the tools which the CSCE already
has at its disposal."

Kornblum said he would like the CSCE to spend most of its time dealing with
the underlying causes that ignite a crisis and not managing crises after
they arise.

In regard to CSCE's relationship with other organizations, Kornblum said the
United States believes there needs to be an integrated structure of
organizations which forms the security architecture of Europe.

He said the United States believes the most important role the CSCE plays is
that of "the setter of standards to give us an idea of the kinds of
behavior and the kinds of structure which should be part of a truly
democratic Europe.  This is something which is not provided by other
organizations."

However, the ambassador noted that the United States does not believe the
CSCE should move into the field of economics the way the EC or the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) does, nor does
the United States believe the CSCE "should ever have a military structure
like NATO."

Over time these European organizations will supplement and complement each
other, Kornblum said.  He added that it also should be possible "to have a
stable security in place to replace the stable, but very unloved one which
we just lost."

When asked whether the Council of Europe, which is devoted to the promotion
of democracy, the rule of law and the protection of human rights, would
overlap or duplicate the work of the CSCE in the field of human rights and
democratic institution building, Kornblum said:  "I don't see any real
danger of competition between the CSCE and the Council of Europe.  There is
some possibility of some overlap, but I would say that's a good thing and
not a bad thing.  There is certainly enough work for everyone to do."

The ambassador also told viewers that it is not a good idea to expand the
CSCE to include the Mediterranean countries, Japan or others, because it
would lose its focus and its coherence.  However, he remarked that the CSCE
has yielded very important lessons as to how mutual confidences are built
in other regions, and "we (the United States) think these lessons could be
applied to other areas" of the world.

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