Media-Society.com // PRAGUE – The OSCE concluded the 32nd Economic and Environmental Forum (EEF) at Prague’s Czernin Palace on 10–11 September 2026, bringing together representatives of the 57 participating States, international organizations, academia, the private sector and civil society around a forward-looking theme: “Strengthening security and stability in the OSCE area through anticipating technologies and science-based diplomacy.”
As the OSCE’s flagship annual event in its economic and environmental dimension, the Forum examined how the organization can strengthen its ability to anticipate technological developments — including artificial intelligence and quantum technologies — assess their implications for security and stability, and better prepare for a rapidly changing economic and environmental landscape. Discussion ranged from virtual assets, energy security and early warning systems to climate-related risks and innovative tools for natural resource management.
“We must prepare the OSCE for the security challenges of tomorrow,” Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka stressed in his opening remarks, underlining that emerging technologies can drive prosperity, innovation and resilience while simultaneously creating new risks and transforming the nature of security threats. The keynote address was delivered by Marilyne Andersen, Director General of the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA).
OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Swiss Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, framed anticipation as a political necessity. “Anticipation is a political necessity. This is why Switzerland has chosen Anticipating technologies as a priority of its Chairpersonship. We must anchor this approach in the OSCE, because technology already affects all three dimensions of the OSCE,” he said, recalling the international conference hosted in Geneva in May that first brought together experts from science, technology, diplomacy and policymaking on the subject.
A significant share of the two-day programme was devoted to science diplomacy — how scientific co-operation can strengthen trust and international collaboration, and how long-term research partnerships can contribute to stability across the OSCE region. State Secretary Alexandre Fasel of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs noted that the very fact the Forum could be agreed upon amid current divisions demonstrated the endurance of the OSCE’s comprehensive concept of security.
The Prague meeting followed a Joint Preparatory Meeting in Vienna on 7–8 September and offers concrete follow-up to one of the Swiss Chairpersonship’s 2026 priorities, with a Permanent Council Decision on the Forum adopted under reference PC.DEC/1531. The EEF traces its roots to 1992, when CSCE foreign ministers established an annual Economic Forum; renamed the Economic and Environmental Forum in 2007, it now feeds its recommendations into the OSCE’s main decision-making bodies each autumn. With the Forum concluded, attention across the organization now turns to the 2026 Warsaw Human Dimension Conference, which opens on 5 October.
