Economic, scientific and environmental cooperation were grouped
together in the 1975 Helsinki Final Act and form the economic
dimension of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE). Based on the view that trade, as well as
scientific and environmental collaboration, enhance security,
OSCE efforts in this area are designed to facilitate and build
on the transition from command to market economies, to lessen
economic disparities between participating States, and to combat
economic and environmental threats to security. Within the
economic and environmental dimension, as it is generally
referred, the OSCE countries have adopted a wide range of
commitments designed to foster free market economies and enhance
economic cooperation, including better economic and commercial
information and improved business contacts and facilities. They
have also agreed on industrial cooperation measures such as
harmonization of standards and arbitration of disputes.
Additionally, this dimension includes cooperati