OSCE Magazine October-November 2009
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Issue Number 3/2009 From Corfu to Athens: A fresh beginning for security co-operation in Europe? OSCE toolbox offers capacity to innovate Building trust and confidence in Moldova: The Transdniestrian conflict settlement process The OSCE Magazine, which is also avail- able online, is published in English and Message from the Head Russian by the Press and Public Informa- tion Section of the Organization for Secu- of Greece’s OSCE rity and Co-operation in Europe. The views Chairmanship Task Force expressed in the articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the OSCE and reece assumed the Chairman- its participating States. Gship of the OSCE more than Editor: Patricia N. Sutter nine months ago with a pledge to Designer: Nona Reuter do its fair share to alleviate ten- Printed by Manz Crossmedia sion and mistrust within the wider Please send comments and contributions to: Europe. Less than three months [email protected] before concluding our mandate, I Press and Public Information Section believe we have made progress, as OSCE Secretariat is confirmed by several articles in Wallnerstrasse 6 this issue of the OSCE Magazine. OSCE A-1010 Vienna, Austria We are determined to stay the course. Indeed, the Tel.: (+43-1) 514 36-6278 Fax: (+43-1) 514 36-6105 need to restore trust between States is imperative, espe- cially after the August 2008 events in Georgia, in order to confront today’s challenges to our common security The Organization for Security and Co-operation in effectively. Europe works for stability, prosperity and democracy With respect to security, we are all closely interlinked. in 56 States through political dialogue about shared We all share the feeling of unease about the fact that values and through practical work that makes a lasting difference. the CFE Treaty remains in a state of limbo at a time when regional conflicts, ethnic tensions, border disputes and OSCE Chairmanship 2009: Greece unstable relations between neighbours threaten to dete- riorate into open crises. Furthermore, energy insecurity, OSCE Structures and Institutions improperly managed migration, trafficking in human be- Permanent Council (Vienna) ings, terrorism, violent fundamentalism and cybercrime Forum for Security Co-operation (Vienna) Secretariat (Vienna) give us serious cause for concern and reflection. OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (Vienna) Against this backdrop, the Greek Chairmanship has Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights launched a groundbreaking concrete initiative to restore (Warsaw) trust: the “Corfu Process”. Through a series of informal High Commissioner on National Minorities (The Hague) weekly ambassadorial-level meetings at the OSCE — the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (Copenhagen) natural forum for these discussions — the Chairmanship is making it possible for participating States to engage Field Operations in a structured but open dialogue. Our hope is that the South Caucasus results of these deliberations can be submitted to the OSCE Office in Baku Ministerial Council meeting in Athens in December and OSCE Office in Yerevan pave the way for a robust collective response to today’s The Personal Representative of the Chairman-in-Office security threats and challenges. on the Conflict Dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference Working towards Athens, everyone agrees that the Hel- Central Asia sinki Final Act and other landmark OSCE documents pro- OSCE Centre in Ashgabat vide a solid foundation on which to proceed. Other key OSCE Centre in Astana OSCE mechanisms, such as the Platform for Co-operative OSCE Centre in Bishkek OSCE Office in Tajikistan Security, will also take pride of place. OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan The quintessence of the Corfu Process is our joint politi- cal will to preserve and strengthen co-operative and indi- Eastern Europe OSCE Office in Minsk visible security in Europe and beyond. Working in tandem OSCE Mission to Moldova with the OSCE participating States, the Secretariat, field OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine operations and institutions, the Greek Chairmanship will South-eastern Europe do its utmost to demonstrate its abiding faith in our OSCE Presence in Albania common destiny and its desire for the peaceful co-exis- OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina tence of States. OSCE Mission in Kosovo OSCE Mission to Montenegro Ambassador Nikolaos Kalantzianos OSCE Mission to Serbia Athens, 1 October 2009 OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje OSCE Office in Zagreb 2 OSCE Magazine October – November 2009 October – November 2009 In this issue INFORMAL MEETinG OF OSCE FOREIGN 12 The Corfu Process: BUILDING TRUST AND CONFIDENCE MINISTERS OSCE toolbox offers capacity in MOLDOVA to innovate 4 Lessons from ancient Corfu: 18 The Wienerwald plays host to both “Joint odyssey towards European OSCE Secretary General Marc sides of the Dniester/Nistru river security” Perrin de Brichambaut Kenneth Pickles Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis and OSCE 14 From Corfu to Athens: Chairperson-in-Office, Foreign A fresh beginning for security APPOINTMENTS Minister Dora Bakoyannis co-operation in Europe? 22 Ali Bilge Cankorel, Baku Wolfgang Zellner Dimitrios Kypreos, Serbia 6 Search for common solutions José-Enrique Horcajada Schwartz, injects “new dynamism” into 16 Looking back, moving forward: Zagreb security dialogue: How the European security Ivar Kristian Vikki, Tajikistan Excerpts from the Corfu dialogue began discussions Thomas Fischer Front cover: The Ionian island of Corfu was the setting for a historic informal meeting of www.osce.org OSCE foreign ministers on 27 and 28 June 2009. Photo: OSCE/George Kontarinis October – November 2009 OSCE Magazine 3 Corfu, 28 June 2009. OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut (left), Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, at the informal meeting of OSCE foreign ministers. IS N I AR T N O K GE R EO OSCE/G Lessons from ancient Corfu: “Joint odyssey towards European security” Its relaxed ambience and verdant beauty were not the only qualities that made Corfu (Kérkyra) off Greece’s north-west coast the perfect setting for an informal but serious and no-holds-barred discussion on European security held in late June. The Ionian island’s deep connections with Greek mythology also served as a source of encouragement and inspiration for the foreign min- isters as they embarked on a marathon debate over two days. The following are excerpts from the welcoming remarks of Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis and the OSCE Chairperson-in- Office, Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis: I warmly welcome you to this island with its to remind us that much work remains to be great symbolism of renewed hope and fresh done. The vision of a united continent built on beginnings. In Homer’s Odyssey, Corfu is the last universal principles and indivisible security, as stop before Ulysses reaches Ithaca, his final des- embodied in the 1975 Helsinki Final Act and the tination. Although Corfu serves as a comfortable 1990 Charter of Paris, has not yet been trans- resting place for Ulysses after a long and adven- formed into reality for the whole of Europe. turous journey, it also proves to be a treacherous We have come a long way, but we have not yet one, as he is constantly tempted to forget that reached our destination. he is not yet home and still has a few miles to Foreign Ministers and representatives of the go. It is on Corfu that Ulysses taps into his last 56 OSCE participating States, along with the ounce of strength and finds the resolve to finish heads of major regional organizations operating the final stretch. in the OSCE area spanning Vancouver to Vladi- This year, which marks the twentieth anni- vostok, have travelled to Corfu to make a fresh versary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, is indeed a beginning. Their hope is to continue a journey time to celebrate the remarkable progress that that started 35 years ago in Helsinki and to reach we have achieved together over the past two the final destination: a Europe free and united decades. We on the continent of Europe have and at peace with itself. enjoyed a relatively long period of unprecedent- ed peace, security and stability. Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis of Greece But the challenges we continue to face serve 28 June 2009 4 OSCE Magazine October – November 2009 In the year 433 B.C., the battle of Sybota broke out across the sea channel that lies Corfu Process meetings: between Corfu and the Epirus mainland. At the time, it was by far the largest naval battle fought Guiding themes by two Greek city-states. It was the immediate catalyst of what was later called the Peloponne- Following the debate in Corfu, the Greek Chairmanship proposed the following sian War — an all-out struggle between Athens main themes for discussion — subject to review — at weekly informal meetings in and Sparta that over 27 years destroyed Athens, Vienna within the framework of the European security dialogue. The “Corfu Process corrupted Sparta and wrecked Greece. meetings”, which are at ambassadorial level, started on 8 September and will last Thucydides, an Athenian general and histo- until the final days leading to the Ministerial Council meeting on 1 and 2 December rian who fought during the war, set out to write in Athens. about what happens when human societies find Common foundations and Common challenges related themselves in an all-out struggle against each commitments in the OSCE area to the economic and other. But he did not limit his account to what • Implementation of norms and environmental dimension took place on the battlefield; he also described principles of international law • Energy security the devastation of the environment, the abuse in the OSCE area • Security-related implications of fellow human beings and the collapse of the • Co-operative security versus of climate change and other economy.