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Plassnik: “EU and OSCE working together for security and democratic development”

Foreign Minister chairs EU-OSCE Troika in Brussels

“The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the EU have a lot in common and their aims overlap to a considerable degree. Despite their differences, both are values-based societies”, said Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik during the meeting of the EU and OSCE Troika on the fringe of the External Affairs Council in Brussels. The OSCE Troika was presided over by the OSCE Chairman, the Belgian Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht.

“We are therefore endeavouring to deepen our cooperation, to which we want to add extra weight through a ‘joint declaration’”, stated Plassnik.

The EU supported the OSCE’s efforts aimed at improving its efficiency in accordance with the mandate of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Ljubljana. “At the same time, however, we attach great importance to ensuring the political obligations of the participant countries are not undermined. In particular, the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) must fully maintain its freedom to act”, emphasised Plassnik.

The Minister stressed that the future status of Kosovo was inextricably linked to European prospects for the whole region. “The EU is also preparing to play a more prominent role with regard to the rule of law, police matters and justice, as well as the economy. We appreciate the contribution the OSCE mission is making towards strengthening democratic structures and a multi-ethnic society in Kosovo, and therefore welcome the OSCE’s willingness to continue, and possibly extend, the full range of its activities, adapted to the new challenges” she said.

Further discussion topics at the OSCE-EU meeting included the fight against people trafficking, the human rights situation in Uzbekistan and the ‘frozen conflicts’ in Moldova (Transnistria) and in the South Caucasus (South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh). “A peaceful solution to these conflicts is dependent upon securing democracy and the rule of law in the whole OSCE area. Both are key common aims of the OSCE and the EU. Anchoring democracy is a basic prerequisite for creating lasting peace and stability in our environment”, concluded Plassnik.