South Bend, August 1, 1975
The Baskets of Helsinki
Today the final accords of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) were signed by the 35 participating countries. The various interrelated subjects were summed up in 3 Baskets.
Basket I: Formulates the security principle of the inviolability of the frontiers and of non- intervention in internal affairs.
Basket II: Aims at scientific cooperation and the exchange of experience between East and West in regard to the protection of the environment.
Basket III: Contains the humanitarian or human rights catalogue, the only real concession of the East to the West. It asks for easing the restrictions on reuniting families across borders, and it supports the exchange of information and cultural exchange.
After 22 months of preliminary diplomatic work, the representatives of East and West have finally decided to accept the agreement of Helsinki. The presence of 35 heads of states and governments, who have come to Helsinki to sign the final accords of the CSCE, is reminiscent of the Congress of Vienna, 1814-15. Some similarities cannot be denied. Henry Kissinger, the chief architect of the CSCE, had carefully studied Metternich and the Congress of Vienna. Just as the Congress of Vienna, after the Napoleonic Wars, created a new peace order for Europe, Helsinki put an end to World War II. It looked the political reality in the eye and recognized the balance of strength between the two superpowers.