From Detente in Europe to European Detente: How the West shaped the Helsinki CSCE, by Angela Romano

Abstract

‘Who do I call if I want to speak to Europe?’ This apocryphal remark has long been attributed to Henry Kissinger and has been repeated so often that it has gained an aura of authenticity. But Kissinger has always denied that he said these words—although he has latterly come to admire their resilience—especially as he had no intention at the time of pandering to the wishes of the European Community (EC). In the wake of the 2007 Treaty of Lisbon, the European Union (EU) acquired such a ‘voice’, and today it has a grandly titled ‘High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy’ (currently Baroness Ashton) to promote its interests abroad. It has taken fully fifty years for the current situation to be formalised, but at least future Kissingers will have someone to call. Our understanding of this evolutionary process is significantly enhanced by Dr Angela Romano's detailed examination of a largely ignored period of western European collaboration during the era of Détente. Her analysis of the EC's role in the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), culminating in the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, provides a fascinating insight into how the Community began to operate as a single entity on the international stage and the extent of its successes. Dr Romano cogently argues that the EC's pivotal role in these convoluted negotiations has rarely been acknowledged, and that the Community's joint decision-making proved far more adept than might have been expected. She states that ‘Detailed preparation, excellent and timely coordination throughout the conference, careful tactics and a tough style of negotiation were the elements of the Nine's [the nine EC member states] successful performance’ (p. 225).