Athens, 25 November 2009
Mr. Secretary General,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am grateful for the invitation to address the North Atlantic Council and honoured to be here today. In a few days, in Athens, the OSCE Foreign Ministers will be called upon to take a number of decisions that will have an impact on our ability to deal effectively with a growing range of contemporary security challenges within the broader Euro – Atlantic and Eurasian community.
Last April, in Strasbourg-Kehl, NATO Heads of State and Government indicated that they were “open to dialogue on a broad, cooperative approach to Euro-Atlantic security, for which the OSCE provides an appropriate, inclusive format.” Beginning with the informal meeting of OSCE Foreign Ministers in Corfu at the end of June, the Greek Chairmanship has sought to lend substance and structure to this dialogue, while keeping it firmly rooted in the traditions, values and commitments that bind the OSCE community.
Greece sees this process as a unique opportunity for a renewed, inclusive and long overdue strategic dialogue on outstanding security issues in Europe and common challenges in ensuring the security of Europe. Our common goal is to restore trust and a sense of shared purpose among all members of the OSCE community, and to solve the concrete problems that continue to cast a shadow over our co-operation.
At the heart of this endeavour lie the ideas born in Helsinki in 1975 – that security begins with the inherent dignity of the individual and is sustainable only when it encompasses politico-military transparency and co-operation, healthy economic and environmental governance and respect for the rule of law and fundamental freedoms. The debates we conducted at Ministers’ level in Helsinki last December, and in Corfu last June, as well as the series of Corfu discussions at Ambassadors’ level that we wrapped-up yesterday in Vienna, have witnessed a rediscovery of the wisdom of the Helsinki Process, and a renewed sense of our shared responsibility to live up to the high standards set by our predecessors in overcoming Cold War divisions. Next week in Athens, we will seek to consolidate this process further, through a Ministerial declaration and a decision outlining the modalities and substance of future discussions.
The member states of NATO have contributed greatly to this process. Beginning at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Helsinki last December, they have stood firm in adhering to a comprehensive, multi-dimensional approach to security, and in focusing on substance over form. The Greek Chairmanship remains convinced that what we need is the courage to review, renovate and reconfirm our commitments. We also need the openness to understand each other’s perspectives and interests, and the political will to make better use of existing institutions and mechanisms to resolve remaining problems.
Just as importantly, as our Alliance debates a new Strategic Concept aimed at dealing more effectively with 21st century challenges, can NATO and its member states find creative ways to put its relationship with the OSCE into good use, in order to complement its own efforts?
The OSCE has served the interests of the Alliance in concrete ways:
¨ The OSCE has established a long tradition of assistance in democratic institution-building in States that aspire to eventual NATO and EU membership, assistance which has directly benefited many of the states now represented around this table.
¨ The OSCE has developed an effective toolbox of training resources and expert advice in “soft security” areas. One need only to be reminded of the Organization’s efforts in building the capacities of the Kosovo Police Service to imagine what might be accomplished if we can muster the political will to move forward with training projects for the Afghan border and customs services, which can be based also in any of the adjacent OSCE participating States.
¨ At a time when restoring the viability of the CFE Treaty and bringing into force the Adapted CFE is at the top of our agenda, the OSCE offers a proven framework for the negotiation of conventional arms control and confidence-building measures. More broadly, we might use this experience as a useful model for the development of confidence-building measures or codes of conduct in other areas of direct interest to and a direct impact on Allied security, where effective solutions will require broad-based engagement with all states of our region.
¨ The OSCE offers an effective mechanism for developing broad-based co-operation against transnational threats and challenges, such as trafficking in persons, narcotics and weapons, organized crime, terrorism and proliferation, and for promoting the ratification of relevant UN conventions and implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions (such as 1540 of 2004, asking states to prevent proliferation of mass destruction weapons) throughout the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian region. Again, success in this effort can yield direct benefits for Allied security.
¨ Finally, the OSCE offers an inclusive forum of 56 participating States, rooted in democratic values that find expression in a freely accepted acquis of commitments, for engagement with regional partners. This can usefully complement NATO’s own partnership structures in building broad understanding of, and support for, Alliance activities.
The OSCE, like the CSCE before it, was designed to provide a forum for pan-European security in its broadest sense. It can serve as a natural anchor for a broad-based strategic dialogue, but only if we are prepared to use it as such.
The Alliance’s 1991 and 1999 Strategic Concepts were explicit about NATO’s strong commitment to the CSCE and the OSCE. They spelled out the Alliance’s vision of the Organization’s role in the Euro-Atlantic security architecture. The OSCE was recognized as a key forum for the development and negotiation of pan-European arms control and confidence-building arrangements
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The period ahead offers a unique opportunity to develop, in a complementary and convergent way, the work of the different security organizations across the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian security space. If it is to succeed, the Corfu process must reach out beyond the confines of the OSCE, involving also other existing channels of dialogue with Russia, in a complementary and mutually reinforcing way
Based on our experience in the initial phase of the Corfu process, I believe there is real potential for a new spirit of co-operation that can extend to all existing fora, allowing states from Vancouver to Vladivostok through Vienna to find new resolve in addressing outstanding issues pertaining to their security.
Let us test this spirit in the coming days and months. The 1st of December a landmark Treaty on yet another phase of European integration will enter into force. The same day, in Athens, we will seek to launch the second phase of the Corfu process by initiating a structured dialogue adressing key issues across the three dimensions covered by the OSCE. The following two days, in Brussels, the Foreign Ministers of NATO will meet to advance the work of the Alliance. The 1st of December Greece will chair for four months the Forum for Security Cooperation and by the end of next year, in Lisbon, the work on NATO’s strategic Concept will have been completed. On these occasions, we can take significant steps to help revive a sense of shared security throughout our region.
A new era in the life of the OSCE, will be opened with Kazakhstan’s assumption of the OSCE Chairmanship for 2010. The Kazakh Chairmanship will not be without its challenges. But it also opens tremendous opportunities for strengthening security and democracy in Central Asia and across the OSCE area, and for strengthening the Organization’s engagement with and support to Afghanistan, which Astana has identified as one of its top priorities. It is also a clear signal of the rise of a new, indivisible Europe, in line with the processes set in motion two decades ago with the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Greece looks forward to working with Kazakhstan, as a friend and as a partner in the OSCE Troika, in order to meet this challenge and manage the formidable responsibilities of the OSCE Chairmanship. The OSCE community will be counting on your help as well.
Thank you very much for your attention.