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The speech of the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Václav Klaus at the OSCE Summit

English Pages, 2. 12. 1996

Mr. Chairman, Heads of States, Heads of Governments, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends,

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to address this meeting. I have to start with saying that, unfortunately, the President of the Czech Republic, Mr. Václav Havel, is at this very moment, undergoing a surgery and therefore cannot be here with us today. I would like to pass to all of you his best personal regards.

The agenda of our organization and our common - and I am sure undisputed - goal is security in and outside Europe. We will have enough opportunity to discuss many aspects of this here, especially in connection with the debate concerning the future tasks of our organization.

The Czech Republic is not only interested in but also dependent on stability within the European region as well as outside this area. Our historical experience and our location in the heart of Europe motivate us to be both very cautious and active in this respect. We know that the international efforts and activities are extremely important. I wish, however, to stress one point which is, I believe, of even greater importance. Our security and stability are not and should not be based on effective or mighty international bodies.They should be derived from stability and prosperity of individual countries, they should be derived from democratic freedoms and respects to human rights inside the countries, they should be derived from responsible and prudent economic and social policies, they should be derived from the quality of life the citizens enjoy.

I have mentioned these - perhaps trivial - things so strongly because the lessons we could have learned from the conflicts and human tragedies during this century, show that whenever the domestic, internal solutions fail, it becomes very difficult to restore the stability from outside. The key to our common security lies, therefore, inside our countries, at homes of our citizens. The difficult task is, therefore, how to influence it from outside without violating the sovereignty of individual members of our organization.

We are facing in this respect an unprecedented challenge and opportunity. The developments within the last couple of years after the collapse of communism have resulted in a promising situation and we have to make use of it, to make European security firm, stable and sustainable.

The European security model should be, in our opinion, based on the mutually reinforcing cooperation of organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Western European Union (WEU), the European Union (EU), the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. We strongly believe that subordination of further OSCE activities to the interaction of these organizations will actually strengthen the specific role of the forum which meets here today. The attempts to make one or another organization superior or dominant, just because of the size of its membership, would be counterproductive.

The OSCE, the only Pan-European organization with a transatlantic link, should continue to be an important forum for discussions on security-related issues involving all the countries in the region but it should not be transformed into a decision-making body connected with direct use of military forces.

In this respect, more active and more effective preventive diplomacy with both its aspirations and limits is of key importance. The OSCE has already become a significant factor in this field and its role should be further strengthened.

We note with satisfaction the successful OSCE engagement in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This example shows that we are able to cooperate effectively with other organizations.

Having said that, and considering existing efforts to solve problems of the Balkan region, let me bring forward clearly one issue that is still to be resolved. We do not understand how the relevant issues of confidence-building, arms controls and reconciliation can be tackled effectively without the participation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia at this table. Let us move on that, as soon as possible.

The Lisbon Summit takes place at the time when the two key organizations - NATO and EU - are in the process of their internal and external adaptation to the new European realities. The Czech Republic is convinced that these changes, in particular NATO and EU enlargement, will further strengthen the security of all of us. We intend to be members of both of them and are prepared to participate fully in their activities.

We are very pleased to be here, to meet with all of you and to strengthen our friendly, productive and mutually respectful relations.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank the organizers of the forum, the Portuguese Government, for the hospitality they offered us here in Lisbon that contributed to the success of our undertaking.

Václav Klaus, Lisbon, 2. December 1996