RECONNECTING THE SOUTH EAST OF EUROPE

The conference held on 20 March in Brdo kod Kranja in Slovenia, which was jointly organised by our two countries, represents a new beginning of cooperation in the South East of Europe. The heads of former Yugoslav republics met at the same place - - Brdo kod Kranja – 20 years ago for one of the last attempts to try and reach a consensus on the reorganisation of the joint state or its peaceful disintegration. However, none of the offered proposals was acceptable to Slobodan Milošević and the Serbian leadership of that time. The failure of this last attempt to preserve Yugoslavia resulted in violence and bloody wars which, unfortunately, created a long-lasting negative perception of our region in the eyes of the European public. For that reason, the region we live in is constantly viewed as a centre of constant confrontations and instability, and of latent conflicts which might escalate at any moment.
Today, after two decades, our true intention is to create a different image and convey a different message about this region to Europe. The message is the following:

• that heads of former Yugoslav countries and Albania may sit together at the same table and have common goals;
• that these countries may overcome their disagreements and historical conflicts and work together towards the building of peace and a more prosperous future of the region;
• that all countries are prepared to cooperate on their path towards the EU.

Everyone regretted the absence of the Serbian President Boris Tadić. We thought that our invitation to an informal meeting in the so-called Gymnich format would be enough for all invited participants, without exception, to sit down at the same table, including representatives of Serbia and Kosovo. This format, on the basis of which heads may meet without displaying any national or other symbols, has already been successfully applied several times.

The most important result of the conference is that this was not a one-time event but the beginning of the “Brdo process“. This is a process which expects the participation of Serbia and which opens a new chapter in the history of our mutual relations. Such a commitment has been expressed in an unanimously adopted declaration, which, among other things, states that all participants (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovenia) shall "support each other and exchange experiences acquired in the integration process” and “promote good neighbourly relations through continuous work on projects of joint interest, and invest greatest efforts in order to resolve open bilateral issues in the European spirit”.

The so-called Visegrad Group (V-4) was taken as a model for cooperation in the “Brdo process”, and such cooperation means that neither of the countries takes the leading or prevailing role in the region. We believe that prevailing roles and regional leadership are concepts of the past. The existing and future challenges may be efficiently faced only by dialogue and cooperation on equal footing and, in the first place, it implies mutual respect. Mutual acceptance and respect in addition to personal trust between Prime Ministers of Croatia and Slovenia, Jadranka Kosor and Borut Pahor, made possible a step forward in the relations between Croatia and Slovenia and the resolution of the border dispute. A positive message of this experience is now transferred to the entire region based on a firm conviction that good neighbourly relations create a basis for peace and security in the entire region. This is a lesson that we have learnt.

In the days to come, the organisational and logistical aspects of the next conference will be defined, and it is expected that the meeting of transport ministers from the entire region will take place before the summer. There will be only one item on the agenda: the evaluation of the possibility to create a joint plan for the reconstruction of the road and railway infrastructure in the region that will replace individual plans of countries and receive support of the EU and of financial institutions competent for joint projects. Our priority is the renewal of cooperation in the region - not only in the political sense but also in the sense of physically connecting our countries. We are strongly convinced that reconnecting the South East of Europe will help the recovery of economies in the region, and in the first place people who deserve to finally live in peace and prosperity after everything they have been through. The liberalisation of visas for Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia represents a big step forward. We expect that they will soon be joined by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo – our goal is the liberalisation of the entire region. We hope and are ready to use every opportunity that presents itself in order to achieve these goals, and we also count of the continued support and a constructive approach by the EU.