Ministerial meeting SEECP

Dear Mr. chairman,

Thank You for all your efforts and for conveneing us together here in Ohrid successfully.

Commissioner Fuele,

Secretary general of RCC Svilanović,

Dear coleagues

Ladies and gentlemen,

As we have seen it in Croatia,  this is a critical moment for the region. It is also critical for as acountries of the region. We are all, or most of us, faced with an important and in my view - third transition of the countries of the region. Our transition from being post war or post conflict countries to being pre-EU or EU countries, and in many ways, this transition goes more easier than any of previous transition we´ve been through before.
Reaching Europe, or European union however, for our countries doesn´t mean going anywhere. On the contrary, it means bringing something to our region. And in this moment, just to go very fast through the countries of the region – there is Montenegro started negotiations, Belgrade and Priština has reached the agreement  which we see as the extremely important step forward that was facilitated by the European commission and with the great role of Cathy Ashton. And reaching this agreement was very important and it certainly increased and hopefully realises Serbia´s chances to get the date to start the negotiations. In our opinion Macedonia sholud also get the date to start the negotiations at the last european meeting before Croatia enters the EU.

Kosovo is on the way and hopefully will start the negotiations on Stabilisation and Association Agreement. Albania hopefully will get the candidacy status, and Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to move. And I think we all have to cooperate on this project because it is our common project, and of everybodys interest.

From our point of view this moving towards membership, moving towards starting the negotiations has to do with, primarily with, taking the responsibility and being in charge. We, countries of the region, have to resume responsibility first of all for our own countries, and then for our region. Athough it is sometimes in this part of Europe is assumed that European union or the membership in the EU is the intrinsic value, something positive in itself, let me say why we think this is positive for the countries in this region, starting from what we´ve been through and Croatias experiences in the process.

The process itself we see as - as valuable as membership. In the process you go through institution building excercise, through a state building excercise which is important for all countries, of at least for the most of the countries. And it is also a facilitating mechanism for the social reconciliation and for rebuilding of our societies. It rebuilts regional relations and this is conected with EU association and accession. And it is useful because it creates no controvesis among us. Especially when you start cooperation working on EU partnership and EU relations it is something that is extremely positive and create basis for develeping cooperation in other areas. And I´d like to mention here, right after our meeting Croatia and Republic of Macedonia will sign bilateral Agreement on euroatlantic cooperation precisely to enhance this type of exchange this type of experience. And finally the EU membership, to the extends to reach any guarantees in politics, gives countries of our region guarantees for longterm stability. 
This is certainly how we have saw it in Croatia, and what we have saw as some of the major benefits of the accession process. All of the countries in this region want to become the EU members and have the EU perspective. Most of the countries also wants to become NATO members.
As I´ve said, the process is as important as the goal. The process means reforms, the goal means functioning within the new context, functioning as the member.

Something that I also see as an important element of this process, is developing within the countries of the region, developing political culture of selfconfidence without arrogance. Contrary to something that has been known in this part of the world  and this is selfconciousness with arogance usually pointed towards weakest actors. In that respect, swithching our political culture towards knowing our strength and weaknesses but also knowing that in the end it would be our responsibility to move forward and it certainly give us a strength to proceede along this road that sometimes can be complicated, tricky and sometimes as we have encountered we got obstacles we didn´t expected. And we had to learn that the road to Europe means being able to solve a problem that you have encountered and not the problems that you forsee.

There are no first rate and second rate countries and nations in this region and there should not be frst rate and second rate members of the EU. It is very dangerous threat to think in this terms and  we as a countries of the region shouldn´t fall into this trap. Not because it doesn´t exist in the world, this is a very common notion around the world, but because by excepting that division within our small region, where we are basically small nations and small countries, that might influence the region. There are players, and important players in our region and could have and will have, if we succeed important role in stabilising our region, and making it the region of a peace and a region that can export the peace and stability rather then, to put it mildely, instability, as was the case ocasionally in the past.

In that sence our South East European Cooperation Prosess has been treated in various manners over the years and over the time. Sometimes as less important, sometimes as more important. But one of the important things is that this is indigeneous cooperation project and in that sense we should develope it, we should cherish it and work on it and maintain it as a cooperation mechanism. This meeting is one illustration of why it is important and in this particular point of time both RCC and SEECP are an extremely important vehicles for actualy further stabilise and implement further cooperation. I see this meeting in some ways also very important element of support for implementation of Serbia and Kosovo agreement and, I must say, I want to use this opportunity to thank minister for foreign affairs of Serbia Mr. Mrkić and minister for foreign affairs of Kosovo Mr. Hoxai for the efforts thay have put into in these meeting and this meetinig happening in his way. We know and undesrstand how complicated it is sometimes, even with a best intentions, and it requires wisdom and political courage. So colleagues - chapeau!

Croatia also supports Kosovo´s membership in SEECP because it enables us to further our cooperation in the region. Because if we do not respect each other and if we do not respect our region I don´t think that we can expect than anybody else would respect us. So it is extremely important to recognise the importance of this forum and getting together and cooperate.

And I must say I am particularly glad that we are all here today. With an emphasise on ALL.