first time, 35 States will be meeting on an equal footing freely to make heard their voices and their choices and, transcending the logic of blocs, to debate the future of a Europe that is master of its own destiny and of its relations with the world around it. Between the old order that is unravelling and the new balances that are to be created, the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe has, 15 years after the Helsinki Final Act, the role of becoming the institution that will manage in everyone's best interests the transitional phase that is now beginning for all the participating countries. Does this mean that these 35 countries are only concerned with themselves and unable to turn to the world that is around them and that is also changing? The fear of such introversion exists and there has already been denunciation here and elsewhere of the risk of a transfer of tensions from the East-West axis to the North-South axis; concerned with their own affairs, bent on consolidating their immediate security and fascinated by their return to history, the European countries may allow themselves to be drawn, even involuntarily, along the road of generalized disengagement, reducing their development assistance, leaving regional or local crises to fester, resigning themselves to the weakening of international organizations. Shutting de facto the rest of the world out of the transformation of the international system would lead to a game with a nil, and even a negative score: what was gained in the North would be more than lost in the South. It goes without saying that such an approach would run against the current history and be fraught with consequences, and no one is prepared to 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the role of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe in shaping the future of the continent and its relations with the world. It highlights the risk of European countries becoming introverted and neglecting their global responsibilities, which could have negative consequences for international development and cooperation. The text does not focus on specific economic or social issues, but rather on the broader implications of European countries' actions on the international stage.

**Category**
International trade, Humanitarian aid and relief