The Main Task of the European Political Cooperation: Fostering Détente in Europe

This chapter focuses on the first task that European Community (EC) member states assigned to their brand new political cooperation mechanism in the early 1970s, i.e. dealing with the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). Although the Atlantic alliance was already working on preparation for the CSCE, the EC member states decided to proceed with a parallel work on this issue. First, the chapter assesses the reasons motivating EC governments’ decision and reveals their two main goals at the CSCE, namely getting the recognition of the Community and its competences by the Communist bloc, and promoting a specific view of détente as a process aimed at overcoming the Cold War. The chapter then analyses the mechanisms and rules set up on purpose to coordinate EC members’ preparation for the CSCE, and the specific goals and tactics designed for the CSCE negotiations. In the conclusions, the chapter offers an assessment of the EC states’ performance that highlights its successful results.