conference CSCE Vienna - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 1986

In accordance with the relevant provisions of the CSCE Final Act, the CSCE participating States decided in Madrid on 6 September 1983 to hold the Third Follow-up Meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) in Vienna on 4 November 1986. This occasion is dedicated to a special stamp block of Austrian Post, whose picture shows a view of Vienna. The historical root of the CSCE lies in the division of Europe that took place after the end of the Second World War, which sparked the desire to reduce the associated tensions. A series of initiatives served this purpose, but a breakthrough could only be achieved when the East-West divide in Germany and Berlin was defused by the 1970-71 agreements: the road to a pan-European conference involving the United States and Canada became free. In parallel, the major military blocs NATO and the Warsaw Pact agreed on troop reduction talks. Finally, all European states (with the exception of Albania), as well as the United States and Canada, were able to reach this fertile ground in a three-phase conference to sign the CSCE Final Act. In view of the still strained East-West relations and the slowing down of the dynamics of the CSCE process, the Vienna Follow-up Meeting had the important task of achieving a revitalization of the CSCE and thus contributing to East-West détente. This special stamp block is reminiscent of this important event for the security and peaceful coexistence of peoples in Europe.