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Sixth Ministerial Session of the CBSS

Riga on 2 - 3 July 1997

Statement by Mr. Bjørn Tore Godal, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway

Mr. Chairman,

First, permit me to join the other members of the Council of Baltic Sea States in expressing our gratitude to the Latvian Presidency for its warm hospitality.

Regional cooperation consists of the building of networks between states, regions and peoples. For centuries the Baltic Sea was at the centre of extensive cultural and economic exchanges. This proud tradition has now been revived in the shape of modern regional cooperation within the framework of the CBSS. The Baltic Sea regional cooperation brings together governments as well as communities and peoples across our borders. This is a significant contribution to the integration across the former East-West divide in Europe.

This year we are going through an important phase in the process of change and integration in Europe. The internal reforms and future enlargement of NATO and the EU are highly significant for us as individual states and for the CBSS as a regional structure.

Since the end of the Cold War, we have been facing a new set of challenges. A new understanding is emerging that democracy, welfare and environmental protection are essential to global security. In line with the expanded security concept, all the European organizations and institutions have important parts to play in the development of a new European security architecture. Cooperation is the essential element in this process, and regional arrangements are important building blocks in the new European security architecture. The cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region is a leading example of the merits of regional cooperation across the former divide in Europe.

One of the factors which has a direct bearing on the security of our states and the well-being of our populations is the common battle against organized crime in the Baltic Sea Region. Organized crime is a problem for the authorities, the business community and the ordinary citizen alike, and deserves serious attention. The establishment by the Prime Ministers in Visby last year of a task force to combat organized crime has already yielded significant results. Cooperation in this important field must continue to be one of the priority areas of the CBSS as well as the individual member states.

At the heart of the cooperation in the Baltic Sea area is the building of networks, development of confidence and promotion of mutual respect and understanding. Confidence comes with the establishment of personal ties and the identification of common interests and problems.

Mr. Chairman,

The establishment of networks and building of confidence can be facilitated by abolishing obstacles to free travel in the region. This is one of the priorities of the CBSS, and significant progress has been made in this area in recent years. This very afternoon I had the pleasure of signing, together with the Chairman, the bilateral agreement on a visa-free regime between Norway and Latvia. This is one example of how the cooperation of governments can contribute in a tangible way to facilitating contacts between peoples.

As for the CBSS, our common efforts should not only facilitate, but actively stimulate the involvement of the population in the process of integration. This is why people-to-people cooperation deserves our special attention, educational cooperation being a case in point. Resources spent on education are a long-term investment. Education is one of the priorities set out in the CBSS Action Programmes, and our efforts could be coordinated with initiatives in other regions to produce the best results. One possibility is for national governments to establish an international foundation for exchange programmes involving high-school students. I believe that this would contribute to mutual understanding and the transfer of knowledge across the former East-West divide.

A solid local foundation is needed for the implementation of people-to-people cooperation. In all the CBSS member countries, the local government authorities have autonomous responsibility in a number of fields, such as health and social welfare, transport, culture and education. Thus, it is important to ensure that local authorities participate actively within the broader framework of cooperation between the Baltic Sea states.

The Baltic Sea States Sub-Regional Conference (BSSSC) has established itself as the primary channel for local participation in the regional Baltic Sea Cooperation. The conference is developing its own capabilities in this field by gradually adapting its structures to the tasks before it. The decisions taken at the last session of the Conference in Vaasa in October last year to establish permanent working groups and a rotating secretariat were a significant step in that direction.

The bottom-up approach of the Baltic Sea Cooperation is essential for the building of confidence across the borders of our countries. At a seminar on regional cooperation in Oslo in March this year, I introduced the idea of exploring how the sub-regional dimension of the Baltic Sea Cooperation could be developed further. I was pleased to note that the Committee of Senior Officials of the CBSS and the Board of the Sub-Regional Conference have responded favourably to this idea and entered into a dialogue to look into the matter.

Strengthening the local foundations of our cooperation would improve our opportunities of feeding the views and priorities of ordinary people in communities and countries into the cooperation process at the government level. In particular, it is important to engage the population on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea in the integration process. It seems to be a good start to explore ways of stimulating the participation of local authorities in the eastern CBSS member countries through existing or new structures. This must be done within the framework of the CBSS, and the firm support of all the member governments is decisive for its success. I believe that a strengthening of the local foundations of our cooperation along these lines would enhance the practical cross-border cooperation and contribute to the building of confidence and stability in our region.

Mr. Chairman,

The CBSS Action Programmes were not intended to be implemented in the course of one year only. Instead, they should be regarded as guidelines for our work for many years to come. Thus, while taking note of the progress made, we must look ahead and continue to move forward.

The success of implementation inevitably hinges on the structures available for action and coordination. Experience has shown that there is a need for permanent working structures to assist inter-governmental cooperation. The goals we have set for our work are ambitious. The establishment of a permanent secretariat will undoubtedly improve the prospects for achieving them. Therefore, Norway supports the idea of establishing a permanent secretariat of the CBSS.

Permit me to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Latvian Presidency for its firm commitment to ensuring the implementation of the CBSS Action Programmes. The impressive report on the implementation process shows that much has been and is being done, but more importantly, it shows that there is much more for us to do.

We are impressed by the implementation measures already taken by the member states. However, the increased realism and awareness of the challenges and opportunities we are facing is perhaps the single most important success of the first year of implementation of the CBSS Action Programmes. With the Action Programmes as our guides, I am confident that the wisdom gained during the past year will enable us to intensify our cooperation in the years to come.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.