Ο Γενικός Γραμματέας του ΟΑΣΕ κ. Μαρκ Περέν ντε Μπρισαμπό ο οποίος ανέβηκε στο βήμα της εκδήλωσης “ Ambassadors ’ Forum ” μετά την Υπουργό Εξωτερικών, κα Ντόρα Μπακογιάννη, τόνισε ότι η Γραμματεία του ΟΑΣΕ θα παράσχει κάθε βοήθεια στην ελληνική Προεδρία, η οποία θα είναι μια "απαιτητική προεδρία" και "θα χρειαστεί στιβαρότητα στο "τιμόνι".

 Ο κ. Γενικός αναφέρθηκε στην τριπλή διάσταση ασφάλειας, πολιτικο-στρατιωτική, οικονομική-περιβαλλοντική (και ενεργειακή) και την ανθρώπινη διάσταση, που καλείται να καλύψει ο ΟΑΣΕ.

 Δεν είναι εύκολο στις μέρες μας να βρεθεί κοινός τόπος μεταξύ 56 κρατών που δρούν ισότιμα, αποφασίζουν με ομοφωνία και έχουν αποστολές σε 19 περιοχές, πρόσθεσε, σημειώνοντας ότι ο ρόλος της προεδρίας είναι "ειρηνοποιός και συντονιστικός".

 Κλείνοντας, ο κ. Μπρισαμπό εξέφρασε την πεποίθηση ότι η Ελλάδα θα ανταποκριθεί στις προκλήσεις, έχοντας μεγάλη εμπειρία από τρεις προεδρίες της ΕΕ, αλλά και από την πρόσφατη προεδρία στο Συμβούλιο Ασφαλείας των Ηνωμένων Εθνών.

Κείμενο ομιλίας ΓΓ ΟΑΣΕ Πρέσβυ κ. Μαρκ Περέν ντε Μπρισαμπό

Minister,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is pleasure to follow you, Minister. Your intervention testifies to the will and vision that Greece brings to the OSCE.

This Organization cannot survive without such vision. The OSCE is a light structure, flexible and often fragile. In some respects, it is more a project than an institution. Certainly, it cannot afford to be left to benign neglect. This is why the energy that Greece will bring next year to the Chairmanship of the OSCE is so important. I look forward to working with the Greek Government to take forward their priorities in Vienna and across the OSCE area.

The OSCE brings together all key actors to address the burning challenges of the day -- in South Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia. In this respect, the Organization is an excellent vantage point from which to observe trends underway in the Euro-Atlantic area.

More than this, the OSCE is an actor in its own right, and an important one.

The OSCE is, first, a unique forum for tackling complex security issues that are common to its fifty six participating States. Its inclusiveness is a strength unparalleled by other security organizations in the Euro-Atlantic area. In its composition, the OSCE embraces a generous notion of ‘Greater Europe’ that stretches from Vancouver to Vladivostok, where countries co-operate on security within a framework of shared values.

Within the OSCE, States work on the basis of equality, with decisions taken by consensus. Building consensus is never easy, but it has the advantage of ensuring equal ownership of the Organization as well as equal responsibility in implementing commonly adopted commitments.

Taken together, the commitments taken by States in the OSCE form an approach to security that is comprehensive and indivisible. Comprehensive, because the OSCE recognizes that the three major dimensions of security – politico-military, human, and economic and environmental – are interdependent. And indivisible, because security in any one country is a common concern for all 56. 

Since 1975, the principle that security starts with the ‘inherent dignity of the human person’ has been at the heart of the OSCE project. Security requires politico-military co-operation between States, the development of healthy economic and environmental governance, and the protection of basic human rights and fundamental freedoms. This ‘cross-dimensional’ approach is the OSCE’s signature strength.

This approach is manifest every day in the activities of the OSCE's Institutions -- the Representative on Freedom of the Media, the High Commissioner on National Minorities, and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights – it’s Vienna-based Secretariat and its 19 Field Operations.  The OSCE works to help States address difficulties inside their borders and across regions – from building the rule of law and supporting media freedoms to politico-military issues such as unresolved conflicts.

The OSCE also helps States tackle new threats. In fight against terrorism and the trafficking of human beings, the OSCE is a catalyst for networks of innovative international co-operation. The OSCE has also become a major actor for raising awareness and fostering common action against intolerance and discrimination.

This same approach is evident in the OSCE’s growing engagement with its eleven Partners for Co-operation. The Mediterranean Partners currently include Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. The Asian Partners are Afghanistan, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia and Thailand. The Partners play an active role in the OSCE, including in Vienna, with the aim of sharing experience and propagating OSCE values and commitments.

In this respect, I should say a word about Afghanistan. I have just returned from a successful OSCE Asian Partners Conference in Kabul. Last year, at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Madrid, OSCE Foreign Ministers recognised that ‘long term security and stability in Afghanistan is of the utmost importance for the OSCE region, in particular for Central Asia.’ They agreed to deepen our engagement with the Afghan authorities in the areas of ‘border security and management, policing and the fight against drug trafficking,’ and we are working hard to implement this decision with concrete projects. Other areas, such as customs support and training, are also being explored.

In sum, the OSCE is a unique meeting point between North America, Europe and Eurasia. There is no other such framework for consultation and co-operation between all major actors, from the United States to the Russian Federation, and including all members of the European Union, Turkey, the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

Given the challenges the Euro-Atlantic area faces, we should not underestimate the importance of having such a place for permanent dialogue. Democratic transformation is far from complete in some countries. Conflicts remain volatile as we have seen with the recent outbreak of hostilities in Georgia. Tensions are rising between States in some regions. Put bluntly, the OSCE area needs the OSCE -- to air differences, to promote peaceful change, and to find common ground for joint action.

No doubt, the EU and NATO are vital for addressing some of these questions; but so is the OSCE, in different ways. In some respects, the enlargements of NATO and the EU have made the OSCE all the more important, as a forum to bridge what appear to some to be new dividing lines.

The OSCE offers also an ideal place to connect the dots of the European Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy. This is true for EU relations with Russia and for the European Neighbourhood Policy. The Organization’s work in the field also provides vital support to EU accession candidates in developing the capability to shoulder the burden of eventual membership. This is particularly important for States that have farther to go than previous candidates or where the promise of EU membership lies on the distant horizon.

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Chairmanships are vital for the good health of the OSCE. They are the motor that drives the Organization forward, helping it adapt to new times and react flexibly under difficult pressures. Experience shows also that the OSCE can be a force multiplier for the values and interests of the country chairing the Organization. Certainly, the OSCE Chairmanship provides a unique opportunity for a country to take forward the shared values at the heart of the Organization, while tackling some of the most serious challenges facing Greater Europe today.

Greece has rich experience to share, including, I would note, successful leadership of the EU on three occasions as well as effective leadership of the UN Security Council. A founding State of the Helsinki process, Greece brings a strong global and regional perspective to the Organization and it will bring vital expertise and skills.

The Organization is already benefiting from this rich experience. Greece has led the OSCE’s relations with the Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation this year, including the successful OSCE Conference in Amman just a few weeks ago. Greek leadership is also showcased in the Second Dimension – the Economic and Environmental Dimension. The first preparatory meeting of the OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum was held in Prague in October on the theme of ‘Migration management and its linkages with economic, social and environmental policies to the benefit of stability and security in the OSCE region.’ This will culminate in the meeting of the Forum itself in Athens on 18-20 May, 2009.

Chairing the OSCE is demanding. Forging common approaches to difficult challenges, widening the ground for real political dialogue – these are not easy, especially when the Organization’s major actors and high stakes are taken into account. Today, the Organization has become once again a forum where the major security actors air their differences across a wide spectrum of issues, from democratic transformation to arms control. Common ground is often more elusive now than just a few years ago.

In these circumstances, the Chair-in-Office plays a key role -- as a catalyst of consensus, as a peacemaker and a moderator. A successful Chair-in-Office is one who works with a good team and has solid support on the home front -- from parliamentarians, from the media, and from the defence establishment.

In this respect, Greece may rest assured that the OSCE Secretariat, the Institutions, and the Field Operations will do everything they can to provide support. Embodying continuity and institutional memory, our primary objective will be to help Greece achieve its priorities and to support it in the challenges of keeping the Organization on track.

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let us also not forget: chairing the OSCE is exciting. The Organization is a community of 56 States that stretches across much of the northern hemisphere. There is nothing quite like it.

Implementing shared values in such an inclusive Organization is a demanding process that requires political engagement from all States and, indeed, safe hands at the wheel.

The OSCE matters for the security of the Euro-Atlantic area. The Organization cannot provide all the answers to all challenges at any given moment. However, it can act as a forum where answers may be found over time and in ways that restrain disruptive factors of violence and confrontation.

In difficult times, it is important to have precisely such an instrument, where the EU, the US, Russia and many other States meet -- despite different perspectives and within a framework of shared values and commitments.