OSCE and arms control

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security organisation with 57 participating states.

The OSCE conducts extensive co-operation in the security domains that encompass the politico-military, economic, environmental, and human dimensions. The OSCE serves as a forum for political dialogue and decision-making concerning, among other, issues relating to conflict prevention, crisis management, and conflict mediation. The OSCE concept of operations is to warn against and prevent impending conflicts, and to participate in crisis management and post-crisis rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Finland holds the OSCE chairpersonship in 2025. Additionally, Finland is to chair the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) for the final four months of the year 2025.

Vienna Document

The Vienna Document (VD), adopted in the OSCE, is a politically-binding agreement that concerns measures for enhancing military confidence and security (visits to bases, evaluation visits, inspection visits, military information exchanges, reports, meetings) among the OSCE participating states. Adopted in 1990, the Vienna Document was last updated 2011. Due to the increasingly tense security situation, the Vienna Document has not been updated although the document states that updates be considered every five years.

The Vienna Document requires participating states to provide information on

  • strength and location of troops and equipment in Europe
  • development of defence policy
  • procured new equipment
  • unusual military activity

Finland and the Vienna Document

Finland

  • prepares to receive three inspections per year
  • prepares to receive one evaluation visit per year
  • conducts from 1 to 4 evaluations and inspections in other participating states annually
  • participates in military meetings and arms control events
  • co-ordinates inspection measures in co-operation with participating states

Treaty on Open Skies

Part of the OSCE arms control system, The Treaty on Open Skies establishes a regime of unarmed observation flights over the territories of the 32 State Parties as provided in the pre-agreed flight plans. The Treaty seeks to increase openness and transparency of armed forces and military activities, contribute to easier monitoring of arms control agreements, and enhance confidence and security-building efforts.

Signed on 24 March 1992, the Treaty entered into force on 1 January 2002. Finland ratified the Treaty in 2003 and remains obliged to receive five Open Skies flights per year.

The data collected on the flights will be available for all State Parties of the Treaty.

The USA exited from the Treaty in 2020, and Russia in 2021.