Opening Message
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Opening Message Dear Readers, You have in your hands the fifth Report on the Foreign Policy of the Czech Republic, which was prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and summarises the Czech foreign policy in 2003. You can see how the Czech diplomacy put into practice the Concept of Foreign Policy of the Czech Republic for 2003 – 2006, which the government approved in March 2003, and how it conducted itself in the overall context of international affairs. On 17 April 2003 the Czech Republic signed the Treaty of Accession to the European Union. In the following referendum, the majority of citizens of the country supported EU accession. One of the priority tasks of Czech foreign policy since the 1989 revolution is thus nearing fruition. Our active participation in sessions of the Council of the European Union and in the preparation of the European Union’s Constitutional Treaty and our constructive work at sessions of the Intergovernmental Conference in 2003 have already demonstrated that we would be a worthy member of the EU. We have also been working on two other foreign policy priorities: strengthening Euro- Atlantic ties and furthering friendly relations with our neighbours; these relations are indeed very positive and friendly. The Czech Republic honoured its commitments stemming from NATO membership and put great effort into the war the international community is waging on international terrorism. On the multilateral forum, the Czech Republic successfully completed its presidency of the 57th General Assembly of the United Nations. This publication brings information on these and many other aspects of Czech foreign policy during 2003. Cyril Svoboda Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic CONTENTS Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 6 I. MULTILATERAL CO-OPERATION........................................................................... 20 1. The Czech Republic and the European Union............................................................ 20 The European Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy................................. 31 European Security and Defence Policy..................................................................... 33 2. The Czech Republic and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)............... 36 3. The Czech Republic and Regional Co-operation ....................................................... 40 Visegrad Co-operation.............................................................................................. 40 Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) ................................................. 42 Central European Initiative (CEI) ............................................................................. 43 Regional Partnership................................................................................................. 44 Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe (SP)............................................................ 45 4. The Czech Republic and Other European Forums ..................................................... 47 Czech Republic and the OSCE ................................................................................. 47 Council of Europe ..................................................................................................... 52 5. The Czech Republic and International Organizations ................................................ 55 United Nations Organization (UN) ........................................................................... 55 Principal UN Bodies ................................................................................................. 55 UN International Conferences .................................................................................. 59 UN Programmes, Funds and Other Specialised Bodies ........................................... 61 Specialized Organizations in the UN System............................................................ 65 The Czech Republic and International Organizations .............................................. 68 The Czech Republic and the World Economy (OECD, WTO, IMF, WB, CEB, IBEC, IIB)..68 The Czech Republic’s Membership of Certain Other International Organizations .72 6. Non-proliferation of Weapons, Arms Control and Disarmament............................... 75 7. The Czech Republic in the Fight against International Terrorism.............................. 82 8. Foreign Development and Humanitarian Aid............................................................. 88 II. THE CZECH REPUBLIC’S BILATERAL RELATIONS ............................................ 91 Arab Republic of Egypt .................................................................................................. 91 Argentine Republic ........................................................................................................92 Armenia .......................................................................................................................... 94 Belarus ............................................................................................................................ 95 Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ................................................................................. 96 Bosnia and Herzegovina................................................................................................. 98 Canada ............................................................................................................................ 99 Commonwealth of Australia ........................................................................................ 100 Costa Rica..................................................................................................................... 101 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ..................................................................... 102 Democratic Republic of the Congo .............................................................................. 103 Eastern Republic of Uruguay........................................................................................ 105 Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia ................................................................... 105 Federal Republic of Germany....................................................................................... 106 Federal Republic of Nigeria.......................................................................................... 110 Federation of Malaysia ................................................................................................. 110 Federative Republic of Brazil ...................................................................................... 112 Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.................................................................... 113 French Republic ...........................................................................................................114 Georgia.......................................................................................................................... 116 Grand Duchy of Luxembourg....................................................................................... 117 Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya......................................................... 119 Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan ..................................................................................... 119 Hellenic Republic ........................................................................................................120 Holy See........................................................................................................................ 122 Islamic Republic of Iran .............................................................................................. 123 Islamic Republic of Pakistan ........................................................................................ 124 Islamic State of Afghanistan ........................................................................................ 125 Japan ............................................................................................................................. 126 Kingdom of Belgium.................................................................................................... 127 Kingdom of Denmark ................................................................................................... 128 Kingdom of Morocco....................................................................................................130 Kingdom of Norway..................................................................................................... 131 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia............................................................................................. 132 Kingdom of Spain......................................................................................................... 133 Kingdom of Sweden..................................................................................................... 135 Kingdom of Thailand.................................................................................................... 137 Kingdom of the Netherlands......................................................................................... 138 Mongolia ...................................................................................................................... 139 New Zealand................................................................................................................