Perspectives For Southeast Europe Conference - Opening Session

Esteemed colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,

At the outset I would like to thank our friends from Germany, Austria and the United States for their initiative to organise this gathering.

Opportunities such as this one create a platform to deepen our dialogue and contribute to finding ways for strengthening the EU and NATO perspective of individual countries in South East Europe.

Around this time ten years ago at the Zagreb summit (November 24, 2000), marking a turning point in the recent history of this region, we defined a framework envisaging the European future of South East Europe.

Allow me therefore to use the symbolism of this anniversary to give a brief outline on the decade behind us and the decade ahead.

When reading the Final Declaration of the 2000 Zagreb Summit today, we can see how significant were the challenges we were faced with.

The Declaration called for creating a stable, secure and prosperous area in South East Europe, through the application of principles of good neighbourliness, regional cooperation and reconciliation, and the establishment of a regional free trade area.

It also defined the Stabilisation and Association Process as a process which should be enfolded on an individual basis and which should lead to EU Accession.  

The confirmation of the EU perspective served as a strong impetus to embark on the path of reforms.

However, the extent of the positive developments that followed can not be linked exclusively to the integration process, but to the commitment of each individual country and the region as a whole.

Even as the beginnings of the cooperation might have been induced from the outside, the region has gradually assumed the ownership of the process and its part of the responsibility for its own future.

The initiation of the Regional Cooperation Council and the launching of the Brdo process clearly show that the SEE countries are genuinely building their own cooperation framework.

This framework is fortified by a successful economic cooperation within CEFTA, and a number of bilateral and regional agreements in the fields of police, judiciary and defence cooperation.

We also proved capable of identifying common regional needs and in translating those into concrete projects.

These are for instance the establishment of the Transport as well as of the Energy community of SEE, or the joint management of the railway infrastructure on corridor X between Ljubljana, Zagreb and Belgrade.

I am aware that tangible results of these and similar projects put clear contours on the picture of our intensified regional cooperation.

But we have to go beyond mere facts and figures to make this picture complete. 

And that is the strong political will of the countries themselves to create an atmosphere of trust, dialogue and mutual understanding.

As a country which has always been dedicated to following such an approach, Croatia welcomes the new winds it has brought about in addressing the remaining open issues and challenges.

Be it in solving border issues, combating organized crime and corruption, processing war crimes, putting the issue of refugee return into a humanitarian domain, or speaking on a more general note, making a full circle of reconciliation in this region.

I am glad that this atmosphere and the spirit of optimism are leading us into the next decade.

We expect further developments in the region, building on the successes of Croatia and Albania already being NATO Member States, and Croatia standing at the very doorstep of the European Union.

Croatia is now in the final phase of its accession negotiations with the EU and we are determined to follow the scenario envisaged by the Hungarian EU Presidency, namely concluding the negotiations in the first half of 2011.

Realizing this scenario will also help sustain the positive momentum needed in order to undertake those steps which will finalize the project we have initiated in Zagreb ten years ago.

Following the elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we hope that the new government will create a political atmosphere conducive to constitutional changes.
Of outmost importance towards a European future of Bosnia and Herzegovina are firstly, establishing a functional state and society, and secondly, guaranteeing the equality and equal representation of all three constitutive peoples.

Here I would like to reiterate that Croatia has and will continue to support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Croatia is prepared to cooperate with all relevant international actors in ensuring that Bosnia and Herzegovina gains new momentum necessary for undertaking reforms and making much needed progress on its European path.

Another important step in completing our joint project is a stable and democratic Kosovo successfully following the same path.

Equally important is that Belgrade and Priština as well as Skopje and Athens engage in a constructive dialogue and find common ground on which to build good-neighbourly relations. 

The fact that there are challenges still to be addressed does not mean that South East Europe is not on the right way.

On the contrary.

But in outlining these challenges I wanted to draw your attention to one crucial element necessary to sustain the perseverance of each individual country and the whole region.
And that is the focused support of our European and Trans-Atlantic partners.

We have to join forces, as envisaged at the Zagreb Summit, and spare no effort to see the end of the next decade with all the countries of this region being partners in the European community of nations.

Thank you for your attention!