Minister of defence Eldbjørg Løwer

Inaugural meeting of the working table on security issues of the stability pact for Southeastern Europe

Oslo, 13 – 14 october

Ladies and gentlemen,

First of all let me welcome you all to Norway and Oslo.

Next month we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Since this event European security has been transformed. The walls which separated nations and peoples for more than fifty years have been torn down. A web of cooperation is now being developed across former dividing lines.

But the end to the East-West confrontation has not brought an end to insecurity. There are attempts to put up new walls of separation. Not least in Southeastern Europe, including the Balkans, we have seen new types of conflict, taking place within nations, and characterized by ethnic, religious and cultural differences.

Security for this region means security for Europe. We must therefore attack the causes of this new instability. Above all we must adopt concrete measures that show the people in the area that we are moving forward. Otherwise the entire process of reform could be endangered.

The Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe forms an essential part of this. The Sarajevo Summit made it clear that the goal is full integration of the countries concerned into the wider Euro-Atlantic framework for cooperation. We must ensure that the Sarajevo vision becomes reality.

It is important to remember the purpose of the Stability Pact. Its function is to serve as a catalyst, a means of coordinating action by institutions and nations. The people and countries of the region own the Pact. The international community can and will assist, but success is dependent on the commitment of those who are directly affected. You must launch concrete projects of cooperation. I am pleased to note that several such projects have already been proposed.

The challenges are complex and time-consuming. It will take time to obtain results. But the Pact must not be allowed to stall because the issues are too difficult. By the time of the OSCE Summit in Istanbul next month we must be able to show tangible progress.

This brings me to the purpose of this meeting. The Working Table on Security Issues is a vital element in the Stability Pact. You must now use the momentum created by the Sarajevo Summit to move forward on the issues assigned to this forum. In my opinion this meeting should produce a realistic list of priority projects. Responsibility for developing and driving them forward should be assigned. The Stability Pact process must be action-oriented. Deeds indeed speak louder than words.

The scope of this Working Table, encompassing traditional security issues as well as new challenges to our joint security, reflects the scope of the problems confronting Europe today. No continent has benefitted more than Europe from confidence building and disarmament. The Vienna document and the CFE Treaty are major contributors to stability on our continent. We need to ensure that the results achieved through these documents and processes, as well as the Dayton arms control measures, have positive ramifications for all of Southeastern Europe.

Following the end of the Cold War organized crime and corruption and illegal migration have emerged as some of the most serious threats to our joint security. Unless we meet this challenge the whole process of economic and social reform could be threatened. The fact that a large number of institutions are already involved in developing a response to these issues underscores the importance of the justice and home affairs element on your agenda. Providing added value to this joint effort should be a goal for you.

Other institutions are also responsible for moving the Stability Pact forward. The Norwegian OSCE chairmanship is determined to promote the process, above all through its missions in the region. The organization is also developing its own regional track in order to reinforce the activities within the framework of the Pact.

I would also like to mention NATO’s South East European Initiative, which was initiated by the Washington Summit last April. The aim of this initiative is to promote stability in Southeastern Europe by encouraging regional cooperation, in the field of security and defence. Thus, NATOs initiative should also serve the objectives of the Stability Pact. The Alliance is now working actively to develop concrete steps towards implementing this initiative. In addition, the Partnership of Peace program offers several mechanisms for planning and coordination of security and defence support for those countries in region taking part in the program.

Ladies and gentlemen,

There is no reason to underestimate the complexity of the task we are now embarking on. But if we succeed the rewards will be considerable. I therefore wish you luck in your deliberations.