Madam Chairwoman, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a real pleasure for me to participate, on behalf of Minister Nikolaos Kotzias, at the 32nd Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the BSEC Member States and to convey you his warmest regards.
I want to thank our Chairwoman for her kind invitation and warm welcome in the beautiful city of Chisinau, as well as the Republic of Moldova for hosting this meeting.
Dear Colleagues, Distinguished Friends,
Over the past years, the Black Sea region has attracted considerable attention, regionally and internationally, as an important energy, trade and transport hub, connecting Asia with Europe.
A culturally and historically rich area of nearly 350 million people and of 2 million square kilometers, the wider Black Sea area plays a prominent role in international political, strategic and economic relations.
In 1992, the Member States, conscious of the growing role and importance of regional cooperation in promoting progress and shaping international life, established BSEC and declared their determination to join efforts in order to achieve the constant improvement of the well-being of their peoples. This willingness and commitment are still strong and guiding BSEC cooperation to this date. BSEC is the “authentic voice” of the family of nations in our region: a mature and representative economic regional organization, providing a framework for enhanced regional cooperation in a wide array of sectors.
Nonetheless, as BSEC gears up to celebrate its 25th Anniversary, in 2017, the need to review and update its functioning, taking into account actual trends and future needs, is intensely felt all around the wider Black Sea area. As we had the opportunity to state during our Chairmanship, we deem the moment appropriate to proceed in a coherent and sustained way, to an in-depth and focused exchange of views on all issues related to the institutional framework and modalities of work of this Organization. In this context, Greece will strongly support all initiatives for ensuring the appropriate follow-up for BSEC’s reforming process.
This discussion, organized within a given timetable, should have the objective of strengthening the BSEC Organization, by increasing its effectiveness and efficiency and should deal with such issues as providing more resources to the Organization for the realization of concrete projects, simplifying the decision-taking mechanisms and introducing effective monitoring mechanisms for the activity of BSEC.
Under this perspective, the importance to enrich the BSEC mechanism with the appropriate capacity building has been widely acknowledged, especially through the establishment of its Project Management Unit, so as to render BSEC a project oriented organization. We also need to focus on better coordinating the work among the BSEC mechanisms, PERMIS and Related Bodies, together with the Member States.
The Republic of Moldova, during its Chairmanship- in- Office, built upon the achievements of the previous BSEC Chairmanships-in-Office, Bulgarian and Hellenic, under the motto “Bringing Stability, Ensuring Consensus“, in order to fulfil the objectives set forth in the “Economic Agenda towards an Enhanced BSEC Partnership”.
We want to congratulate the Moldovan Chairmanship-in-Office for her coordinated efforts to support an ambitious calendar of events, especially for the successful organization, in Chisinau, of the Ministerial Meetings on Transport, Economy and Health.
We want also to thank the Chairmanship for the high priority you put on enhancing BSEC–EU interaction, including by scheduling high-level consultations on the issue with the European Commission.
The moment is indeed appropriate for taking advantage of the strong motivation of both parties and of the existing enhanced political dialogue between them, in order to give to BSEC-EU cooperation a concrete, flexible and project-oriented content.
In the framework of such a mutually advantageous relationship, BSEC could jointly identify with the EU shared priorities, many of which are already reflected in BSEC’s Economic Agenda. It is our belief that an increased BSEC-EU interaction would have positive results for BSEC and produce tangible gains for regional cooperation in our area.
Therefore, Greece will continue to support BSEC-EU cooperation both within BSEC, as well as within the EU, along with Bulgaria and Romania, in particular in the context of the review of the European Neighbourhood Policy and, more specifically, in the context of the necessary enhancement and streamlining of the Black Sea Synergy initiative of the EU.
Dear Colleagues,
Today it is crucial, more than ever, to safeguard the economic character of the BSEC Organization and pave the way for enhancing our cooperation. We need to help BSEC live up to its promise as a true reference for regional economic cooperation in the wider Black Sea area.
We need, more than ever, to revive the BSEC spirit, this common initiative of the Member States, which has not lost neither its relevance, nor its urgency for the region. We need to render our Organization a more efficient, effective and result-oriented International Organization, for its Member States and beyond.
We have discussed many times, over and over again, these issues, repeating statements which, while positively assessed, remain ineffectual. But re-launching the BSEC process is not just about words. It also means managing BSEC activities in a more positive and productive way, insisting more on the essence and less on procedures; it means showing goodwill, a spirit of cooperation and a willingness to discover, propose and implement the best available solutions, in a spirit of constructiveness and good neighbourliness; and, most concretely, it means providing to BSEC the tools for achieving our common objectives, the necessary resources and human capital to be effective.
Greece, which over the years had many occasions to prove its support to our Organization, despite the many challenges we face, will approach this process in a constructive way. We appeal to all to also do their fair share.
Concluding, let me, once more, commend the Chairmanship for its conscientious efforts to generate consensus among the Member States and for its significant results in furthering BSEC objectives. Let me also thank the BSEC PERMIS for its valuable contribution and, in particular, Ambassador Tvircun for his positive record as BSEC PERMIS Secretary General during the last three years. We wish to the next Secretary General, Ambassador Christides, every success in his important duties and we assure him of our continuous and solid assistance. We hope and trust that, under his guidance, the BSEC PERMIS will be able to carry through effectively and efficiently its mandate and support the BSEC reforming process.
With these words, let me finish by also extending to Romania our warmest wishes for every success upon the assumption of the BSEC Chairmanship, during the next semester. You can be assured, your Excellency, of the staunch support of this Delegation to all your endeavors.
Thank you very much for your attention.
June 18, 2015