Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

After the very interesting discussions, we had this morning on the Stability Pact, the lessons learned from the past five years and the perspective for South Eastern Europe, let me now open the formal part of the Regional Table.

I would like to begin by warmly welcoming the representatives of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Cyprus, those five new EU member states that are about to join the work of the Stability Pact.  I would also like to welcome the International Organisation for Migration, which has expressed interest in working with us in the future as an official partner organisation.  Our consultations, to date, have been very fruitful; I am therefore very optimistic that the participation of these new partners will strongly contribute to achieving our objectives.  I would therefore like to ask the Regional Table to accept the request of the six new partners to join the Stability Pact.

Ever since its creation in 1999, the Stability Pact has been mandated to encourage regional cooperation between the governments of South Eastern Europe, and to coordinate the work of the participating international organisations.  During the Thessaloniki Summit in June 2003, “regional cooperation” was firmly established as a precondition for membership in the European Union – further clarifying for the governments of the region that their activities under the auspices of the Stability Pact are vital to achieving integration with Euro-Atlantic structures.

The Stability Pact continues to support the South East European Cooperation Process by assisting in its deepening and widening, as well as by opening channels for the region’s united voice to be heard.  I am pleased that Croatia now fully participates in SEECP activities – I believe that their membership will bring added value to the initiated processes and will contribute to the success of the Romanian chairmanship’s activities.  

I would also like to welcome the outcome of the recent Meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in Bucharest, which has resulted both in governmental pledges to implement measures in the area of organized crime and corruption, and in increased public awareness of the problem.  Another important event convened recently under the auspices of the SEECP has been the first Regional Forum of the Migration, Asylum and Refugees Regional Initiative (MARRI), which established a political and expert level forum for the five SAP countries and is a clear indication of enhanced regional ownership of the process. 

In the past six months, the various initiatives of the Stability Pact have continued to contribute to the development of the region, and the active participation of governments has facilitated the transfer of responsibilities to the region.  The range of centres and secretariats already working in the region has been extended to include the SPAI regional secretariat in Sarajevo, the MARRI Centre is currently being set up in Skopje, and a Secretariat for the Sava Commission in Zagreb will soon be formally opened.  Also, a regional Secretariat on Education and Youth is scheduled to open by the end of the year, while the Network of Local Authorities will also operate a secretariat in the region in the future, on a rotational basis.  All of these developments have moved the process towards increased regional ownership, but can only be a success if the increased responsibility is taken seriously.

Without wanting to go into too many details about the developments in the work of three Working Tables – which the Chairs are about to report on – I would like draw your attention to some key areas of progress.   I am pleased to tell you that tangible progress has been achieved both on the level of political collaboration as well as in most areas of Stability Pact activities, particularly in the fields of trade, energy, infrastructure, and border management.  

• The past six months have witnessed the signing of three additional bilateral free trade agreements in the region, bringing the total number to 28, thereby finalising the network of FTAs.  By now, 19 of these bilateral agreements have entered into force.  

• The European Commission has finally received a go-ahead from the Council to negotiate a legally binding agreement in connection with the Regional Energy Market.   We were very pleased to support this process and will continue to work closely together with the Commission.  It is hoped that negotiations will commence very shortly.  A legally binding agreement will solidify the legal framework for this sector and will make the sector more attractive for investors.  

• In the area of transport infrastructure, the Memorandum of Understanding on a Core Transport Network between the Commission and the Western Balkans has been finalised and will be signed in Luxembourg later this week.  Following signature, the implementing mechanisms should be put in place as soon as possible to facilitate improved planning and execution of projects.  This is an important commitment by the countries of South Eastern Europe to regional priority setting.

• Due to the strong interest shown by the International Financial Institutions, the mandate of the Infrastructure Steering Group, which was created under the auspices of the Stability Pact and is chaired by the European Commission, has been extended to accommodate projects in the field of environmental infrastructure, in particular water and water management projects. 

• A recent Entrepreneurship and Employment Conference in Bucharest – which was co-organised with the OECD, the Irish EU Presidency and the Romanian SEECP Presidency – was successful in reinforcing and promoting synergies between existing Stability Pact initiatives to improve the business climate, particularly for Small and Medium Enterprises, and employment conditions.  

·        I am also pleased to report that the Ohrid Border Process has moved forward significantly in the past six months.  Following the delivery of the first reports by participating states last November, the process entered into the implementation phase and the year 2004 has seen a clear intensification of political and expert-level dialogue in this most sensitive area.

• Recognising that more attention should be paid to building legislative capacity and to enhancing parliamentary cooperation between countries, the Stability Pact has recently asked Ms. Petra Bläss, former Vice-President of the German Bundestag, to perform an assessment of regional problems and needs in this area, and to develop a concept for enhanced parliamentary cooperation activities.  Her findings confirmed that there is a strong regional demand for support mechanisms to be put in place in order to increase the efficiency of parliaments – an issue that the Stability Pact aims to address in a more focused manner in the future.

• In the autumn, the Local democracy and Cross-border Cooperation Task Force Together will co-organise a ministerial meeting with the Council of Europe, on the theme of building local and regional democratic institutions and strengthening local authorities.  This will be a crucial step in raising awareness about issues of local democracy and about facilitating further cooperation.

• The Stability Pact has also continued to cooperate with UNMIK and the Provisional Institutions of Self-government in Kosovo, in order to further engage the province in Stability Pact activities.   I believe that the Stability Pact has provided a key forum for UNMIK and Kosovo’s PISG representatives for the negotiation of their new terms of cooperation with their neighbours.  

As you all know, the violent events in Kosovo have been a setback for the whole region.   One of the essential conclusions for all of us, who gather under the auspices of the Stability Pact, is that the work of the international community is far from being complete.  The efforts need to be sustained to make sure that the seeds that we have sown in the past would be protected.  

I would also like to use this forum to condemn the recent murder of Dusko Jovanovic,a leading journalist in Montenegro.  His murder has to be interpreted both as a direct attack on press freedom and as a development which seriously undermines the political dialogue of transition.  

Finally, I would like to wholeheartedly congratulate Helga Konrad, who has recently been appointed Special Representative on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings of the OSCE.  Her appointment implies a high-level endorsement of the Stability Pact’s activities in this field and further raises the profile of this very important issue.  The Stability Pact will, of course, continue to cooperate with the OSCE on matters related to human trafficking, and will support Helga Konrad’s work in all possible ways, including using a cross-table approach in addressing this complex issue.  I am pleased to report that we have already started a dialogue with Helga Konrad and the respective partner organisations on how to construct the appropriate division of labour in the future.

I would like to express my personal gratitude to Elisabeth Rehn for her tireless efforts and outstanding contribution as the Chair of Working Table I to the overall work of the Stability Pact.  She has kindly agreed to stay involved until her position is filled.  She will be greatly missed and I wish her the best in the future.  

I would also wish to extend my thanks to Per Sjörgen, the parting Chair of Working Table III’s Sub-table on Justice and Home Affairs, who has also provided an indispensable contribution to our work.  I would kindly like to ask Ambassador Janez Premoze, the Chair of the Working Table on Security Issues, to take over the responsibility for both Justice and Home Affairs and Security and Defence Issues after Per Sjögren’s departure.  For this, I would like to ask the Regional Table for formal approval.

After the broader discussion this morning on the Stability Pact as such, this afternoon session is devoted to our actual work – I am looking forward to the presentations of our three Chairs on the meetings yesterday and a fruitful discussion.

Thank you.