- check against delivery-

Special Co-ordinator Erhard Busek

Situation in the Western Balkans

EU-NATO (PSC-NAC) meeting at NATO Headquarters

21 January 2004  

Dear Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer, High Representative/Secretary General Solana, ladies and gentlemen, It’s my pleasure to appear before you at this PSC-NAC meeting in my capacity as the Special Coordinator of the Stability Pact.  

Looking back, I think we can safely say that the last five years have been a very successful period for South Eastern Europe . The region has clearly moved ahead and is on its way towards closer integration into European and Euro-Atlantic institutions. The apologies exchanged between leaders of the region indicate a growing acceptance that good-neighbourly relations and regional cooperation, and indeed reconciliation, are a necessity for further development of the region. In general, I think we have reasons to be more pleased with the developments in the region than are usually reflected in Western Europe and the US . 

Ending the horrendous conflicts in Bosnia and then in Kosovo, along with the 9 years of peace secured by NATO and the EU is an example of what transatlantic cooperation is capable of producing.  Such team work has proved just as important in the economic and democratic transformation of  South Eastern Europe , where 150,000 dwellings were reconstructed and 1,286,000 individuals returned to their homes.  We need to ensure that such success continues to get the attention of the international community, so that none are confused into thinking that disagreements in another region has eliminated our ability to continue to cooperate. 

Please allow me now to turn our focus to security related issues.

I would like to start with organised crime and corruption. It undermines the political and economic prospects of the countries of SEE.  Concerted action is necessary in this field.  Clearly, organized crime is a transborder phenomenon and mere national remedies are obsolete. In the Stability Pact, we make full use of all regional instruments, if we are serious in challenging the criminal networks. Therefore, at the EU-Western Balkans, JHA Ministerial in Brussels on last November, I appealed on SEE governments to launch a joint campaign to fight organized crime and corruption. The main objective of the campaign should be to strengthen political momentum towards implementation of the Palermo Convention, but also to demonstrate regional ownership.   

The Ohrid Process on Border Management and Security is an excellent example of concerted effort of the EU, NATO, OSCE and the Stability Pact. Secure and efficiently managed borders remain essential in tackling smuggling, trafficking as well as the safe passage for people. I’m confident the successful implementation of the commitments taken in Ohrid in May 2003 will contribute to strengthening overall stability and confidence in the region.    

The establishment of cooperation agreements and the development of common training represent a positive signal of regional coherence, a coherence that has to be strengthened in the coming years. In addition, the Ohrid process has proven to be a setting for technical discussions between Serbia and Montenegro and Kosovo/UNMIK. The dynamism created by regional ownership is essential for the success of the Ohrid Border Process. There is no substitution for it. 

We cooperate very well with NATO in the areas of defence conversion and disaster preparedness prevention initiative (DPPI). Here, I just mention the Sava river flood risk prevention in cooperation with the whole region and seismic risk prevention in Moldova . In defence conversion, together with NATO, we have successfully launched programmes for assisting the transition to civilian life of discharged military personnel in several countries, as well as conversion of military bases. I would like to thank NATO for its excellent job in this field.  A relatively new issue and challenge for the Stability Pact is the question of conversion of military industries. We have no interest to support military production in the SEE region. Rather, we should give thought to how we might assist the countries concerned in the process of conversion of their military industry to civilian use. One way could be to involve the business community. I’ve initiated a dialogue with the SP Business Advisory Council to see if we can find a road to build on. 

Defence conversion is a highly complex issue with social and economic dimensions of great consequence.   I would see great merit to follow-up the Berlin conference in September by a meeting possibly on political level to take stock of progress in the area of defence conversion and to identify gaps where regional cooperation would be useful. Involvement of MoD from the SEE region would be natural. Participation by NATO and other international stakeholders, government officials, donors and international financial institutions would be of utmost importance. 

The fight against proliferation and circulation of illicit small arms and light weapons (SALW) is at the centre of the Stability Pact's security agenda. Innovative and effective ways must be found to control and restrict the flow of SALW, and attention needs to be directed at the nature of the flows of these weapons and not only on the weapons themselves. The Belgrade-based South Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SEESAC) - a joint project of UNDP and the Stability Pact - continues to play a central role in the SP’s approach to SALW issues.  

I very much welcome the EU - NATO agreement on a concerted approach on security and stability in the Western Balkans incl. SALW. We are fully ready to go ahead with cooperation with NATO, the EU and the relevant international partners and regional initiatives.

As my last point, I would like to emphasise that in all these undertakings, regional ownership is essential in order to make reforms and changes sustainable and to enhance their impact. It has been my policy from my first day in office, that the role of the Stability Pact should be to initiate, develop and monitor processes and subsequently hand them over to the region where and when feasible.  In this respect I would like to highlight once again the important role of the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) as an emerging 'voice of the region' and a true sign of regional ownership.   But let us not forget that a successful regional ownership strategy requires active participation by regional governments and indeed also commitment on our side to let them work out proper solutions living up to EU standards.  

Thank you for your attention, and please feel free to ask any questions.