UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL OPENS 50TH ANNIVERSARY SESSION OF ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE
22 April 1997
The Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) began this afternoon the work of its
fiftieth anniversary session.
The opening meeting was highlighted by an address by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and by formal statements by a number of ministers and delegates of
ECE member States. All were gathered for the occasion in the Council Chamber of the
Palais des Nations, Geneva.
In his opening statement, the Secretary-General stressed not only the role played by
the ECE during the difficult time of the Cold War and during the period of economic
transition for a number of countries of the region, but also the role to be played by the
Commission in coming years. He especially insisted that it was necessary for the
United Nations to have a regional dimension and lauded the exemplary character of the
reform undertaken by the Commission, saying the reform had demonstrated the ECE's
dynamism.
The Commission also heard addresses from Karoly Lotz, Minister for Transport,
Communication, and Water Management of Hungary, who was elected Chairman of the
"high-level" segment of this week's gathering; and from Yves Berthelot, Executive
Secretary of the ECE.
A roundtable discussion on the topic of "Building cohesion in Europe: Technical
answers to a political aspiration", followed these addresses. Participating were Mr. Lotz;
Valeri Serov, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation;
Volodymyr Khandogii, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine; Luciana Castellina,
Chairwoman of the Committee of External Relations of the European Parliament; and
Janez Stanovnik, former Executive Secretary of the ECE.
In addition, formal statements were delivered by representatives of Malta, the
Netherlands (on behalf of the European Union), Russian Federation, Italy, Estonia,
Switzerland, Norway, Latvia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark (on behalf of the OSCE), Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, and Liechtenstein.
The fiftieth anniversary session of the ECE will reconvene at 10 a.m. Tuesday,
22 April.
Formal addresses
KOFI ANNAN, United Nations Secretary-General, underlined the essential role of the
ECE during the period of the Cold War, both as a forum for dialogue and as a normative
institution which had contributed in its own way to the goals of the United Nations. In the
most difficult moments of this period the Commission had succeeded in maintaining dialogue
between the countries of the region and in furthering the integration of Europe, Mr. ANNAN
said.
He evoked the inherent risks and the delicate dialectic which exists between
globalization and marginalization around the world -- risks which concerned everyone in the
region. To limit these risks, the Secretary-General said, one had to underline the importance
of partnerships between all actors: Governments, businesses, local authorities, non-governmental organizations, and individuals. The role of the United Nations was to support
and foster this movement towards partnership, he said.
In this regard, regionalism was an indispensable element for avoiding marginalization,
since regional interests had the tendency to unite in a pragmatic way all partners involved.
In Europe numerous regional organizations had seen this trend, he said; the challenge was
to find complementarities between the mandates of these diverse groups and for each of
them to concentrate its efforts in the areas where it had a comparative advantage.
Mr. ANNAN reaffirmed the importance of the regional dimension for the
United Nations, not only through the operation of its own regional institutions but through
effective cooperation between the regional and global levels. In this role the UN's regional
commissions possessed unique attributes, he said. First of all, they enabled the countries
of a region to participate in taking decisions of common concern, on an equal footing. That
allowed the best integration of all countries into a common process and helped to avoid
such things as unequal rates of development. A second advantage of regional commissions
lay in the fact that they were very well placed for putting into effect the decisions taken at
the global level by the United Nations, he said. At this point in his address, the Secretary-General paid homage to the regional commissions for their role in the preparation and follow-up to various United Nations world conferences. In addition, he said, effective steps taken
in one region could serve as models for other regions. That had been the case with the UN-EDIFACT system or the agreement on transport of dangerous goods developed by the ECE
which had been adopted by other regional commissions.
Mr. ANNAN then saluted the reform undertaken by the ECE. The changes made
would allow the Commission to respond more effectively to the challenges posed by the
future, he said. He underlined the importance of the cooperation envisaged by the ECE not
only with other regional organizations but with civil society and the private sector. This
effort was completely in line with opinions aired during the World Economic Forum in Davos
that interaction between the private sector and the work of the United Nations would
assume vital importance.
The Secretary-General concluded by saying he was committed to bringing the
United Nations into the twenty-first century on firm footing, and in this perspective
congratulated the Commission which, through its reform, had demonstrated that the UN
system was capable of achieving consensus and moving forward, however difficult this
might be.
(The complete text of the Secretary-General's speech is available in press release
SG/SM/97/70 of 21 April 1997.)
YVES BERTHELOT, Executive Secretary of the ECE, began his address by recalling that
it was a report of the Commission on overproduction of steel in Europe which had inspired
Jean Monnet and had served as an element in the Schuman Plan from which was born the
European Coal and Steel Community, the fore-runner of the European Union. He underlined
that while the Commission could be proud of its past, that would not guarantee its
continued relevance. That was why the ECE had undertaken a process of reflection which
had led to a series of reforms that would be adopted the next day and which had helped
create the constructive atmosphere at this anniversary session. The principal characteristics
of the reform could be summarized as concentration of activities on the ECE's areas of
strength -- environment and habitat; transport; statistics; development of commerce,
industry, and enterprise; timber; sustainable energy -- and flexibility to assure its
programme of work evolved effectively to meet the demands it faced. Still, the Commission
must not rest but continuously invest and innovate.
Mr. BERTHELOT noted with satisfaction that the reform process also had allowed
attainment of other goals. The first of these was greater confidence between the
Secretariat and member States, and in this respect he congratulated Ambassador
Lodewijk Willems of the Commission Bureau who had ably integrated the secretariat into the
ECE's process of reform. The second goal was the confirmation that the ECE had a role to
play in the Europe of the twenty-first century. In analyzing each element of the work
programme and evaluating each for its comparative advantage, the member States of the
Commission had limited the field of activities of the ECE to those it was most qualified and
able to perform.
Mr. BERTHELOT said the Commission's role fit in well with its presence within the
United Nations for three reasons. The first was that its essential role, one of the principal
roles of the United Nations, was to produce what economists called public goods, such as
ideas, information, and rules that could be put into effect for the benefit of the public. The
second was that regional commissions benefited from the guarantee of neutrality that the
United Nations provided. The third reason was that thanks to its association with its global
parent, the Commission was able to diffuse its discoveries and accomplishments outside the
region for the benefit of the rest of the world.
In concluding, Mr. BERTHELOT said he hoped for the future of the Commission an
arrangement where member States, small and large, weak and strong, avoided any master-student, strong-weak, donor-recipient behaviour and instead built together a viable Europe
that could play a constructive role in the world at large.
(The complete text of Mr. BERTHELOT's address is provided in press release
ECE/GEN/97/6 of 21 April 1997.)
KAROLY LOTZ, Chairman of the High-Level Segment of the Commission, and Minister
for Transport, Communication, and Water Management of Hungary, said the session
provided a unique opportunity to take responsible decisions on the future of the ECE, which
represented, after all, a rapidly changing region. He was confident that the ECE, after
implementation of the major reforms envisaged for it, would remain of paramount
importance to all countries of the region, and that guided by its new concepts it would be
able to undertake specific tasks in fostering economic cooperation within and beyond the
region. The great Hungarian reformist and minister of economics in the 19th century,
Count Széchenyi, noted that "Everything is difficult for one, but nothing is impossible for
many", Mr. LOTZ said; he hoped this Jubilee Session of the Commission would work in
such a spirit and be confident that its efforts would be rewarded by improving economic
development in the region.
Statements
GEORGE W. VELLA, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and
Environment of Malta, said the plan of action and draft declaration before the Commission
highlighted in clear terms what the future of the Commission looked like and how it would
continue to be relevant to Europe, the world, and the United Nations system. He wished
to make special reference, however, to the new "Coordinating Unit for Operational
Activities" whose work was to be directed at the needs of specific sub-regions in the ECE,
including the Mediterranean. The political, economic, and social structure of countries there
were under tremendous pressures as a result of new challenges in such forms as illicit arms
and drug trafficking, money laundering, illegal migration, and environmental degradation.
Malta's acceptance of the new ECE mechanisms and activities did not mean that it
foresaw abandonment of the Mediterranean dimension within the Commission, Mr. VELLA
said; on the contrary, he felt Mediterranean concerns would continue to be given careful
and due consideration. He added that for the last 20 years, Malta had pioneered and piloted
a decision related to strengthening economic cooperation in the Mediterranean at every
annual session of the Commission. It was important for the Euro-Mediterranean process --
as exemplified by the recent Second Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Foreign Ministers,
which had been held in Malta -- to address in no small way the matter of reducing the ever-widening economic and social gap which had been one of the destabilizing factors of the
region, Mr. VELLA said.
Anneke VAN DOK VAN WEELE, Minister for Foreign Trade of the Netherlands,
speaking on behalf of the European Union, said it was a time when choices had to be made
to mark the end of the century; in making those choices, all had to look for possibilities to
cooperate to enhance security, stability, democracy, and welfare for all European peoples.
The ECE, with its own strengths and expertise, could play a significant role in that process,
and its reform process had been reassuring in that consensus had been reached that the
ECE's work should be concentrated on what it did best. It would do fewer things, but do
them better; that implied, as well, that certain activities had to be discontinued, either as
no longer relevant or because they were carried out by others. As reform was a continuing
process, it was encouraging that a consultative mechanism had been put in place to
examine the Commission's activities on a regular basis.
The EU welcomed ideas that would further improve the productivity of the
Commission's sessions and that might further streamline its governance structure,
Mrs. VAN DOK VAN WEELE said. For the secretariat to be able to respond more effectively
to tasks assigned to the ECE, a higher degree of delegation of authority in financial
management and personnel management might be necessary. The Commission would
continue to play a significant role in the political landscape of Europe provided it was able
to respond to European changes effectively, she said.
V.M. SERVOV, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, said
the broad spectrum and multi-faceted nature of the tasks European countries faced clearly
demonstrated that the ECE had a weighty role to play. Changing geopolitical and economic
realities called for serious adjustment of the activities of all international organizations, and
that fully applied as well to the ECE, the only pan-European economic forum at the time of
the Cold War, and one which over the last 20 years had gradually become part of the
extended family of international organizations of the region. Efficiently using its competitive
advantages, the Commission had been successful in adapting to the changing political and
economic requirements of member States. Its activities in the case of Russia, which was
not at the final stage of transition to a market economy, were of major importance. In
particular the Commission helped the country to take advantage of other countries'
experience, which helped a great deal with Russia's own transformations. It also benefitted
greatly from ECE research activities. The Russian Federation felt that in the future the
Commission should focus its activity on further supporting the transition economies to
integrate into the European and world economies.
Patrizia TOIA, Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Italy, said the ECE
continued to play an important role in the region; the plan of action and new declaration
for the future strategy of the ECE were an appealing and effective response to changing
times. Harmonization carried out by the ECE, meanwhile, was of great use to European
nations in a number of fields, including transportation and the environment. It was to be
hoped that the new reforms would make the ECE even more effective, and that it would
serve as a model for other UN agencies. It was laudable that the review and analysis
leading to the reform package had led to a decision for the ECE to focus its time and
energies on certain specific subjects which it did best; that, all told, was the best approach
to take; and it had to be accepted that in times of limited resources some activities had to
be curtailed as others were emphasized. It also was important that the ECE had made
progress in making its activities and statistics better available through computer networks,
Ms. TOIA said. Italy would fully support the reform process and contribute to further
strengthening of the ECE.
JAAK LEIMANN, Minister of Economic Affairs of Estonia, said the importance of
economic cooperation in Europe could not be underestimated, and the ECE's work,
especially during reforms under way throughout the region, was vital. It was a significant
accomplishment that the ECE had reformed its approach to fit changing situations; now,
to go with the reform decision, practical efforts were needed to implement it. Economic
cooperation among the Baltic countries, meanwhile, could serve as a good example of how
economic cooperation could result in better understanding and improved well-being for
citizens. Estonia had always encouraged competition and entrepreneurial spirit, and had
shown a non-discriminatory trade policy and placed emphasis on opening the country to
foreign investment and foreign exchange; implementing these policies and participating in
various cooperation programmes had enabled Estonia to gain a position where it could
declare its readiness to take more responsibility for securing the same results in reform
policies elsewhere, Mr. LEIMANN said. The country believed that learning by doing and
"trade, not aid" were the best ways to transform national economies from command-based
systems to democracy and free markets.
Franz BLANKART, Secretary of State for Foreign Economic Affairs of Switzerland, said
the ECE's early activities had been somewhat hampered by the Cold War; it had served as
a platform for a kind of dialogue between two antagonistic systems; it had been trapped
into dealing only with matters to do with the technical integration of the economies of its
member States, as political activities in a practical sense were not really possible. But the
ECE nonetheless had allowed a good deal of cooperative work; and a remarkable body of
knowledge on harmonization of standards had been built up. In addition, the Commission's
economic publications indicated that the ECE had a remarkable analytical ability and role to
play. The plan of action to be adopted at this session justified the efforts of member States
and the hopes for the future in the role of the ECE; the new strategy and working methods
to be adopted would improve the quality of the ECE's work and were a good illustration of
careful, effective rationalization of the UN system.
PER LUDVIG MAGNUS, Assistant Secretary General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Norway, said the ECE reform process was necessary not only because of budgetary
constraints; it was just as much a result of the need for the ECE to review its role and
functions within a changing political and institutional framework. Norway firmly believed
that the reform process and plan of action adopted at this session would take the ECE a
long way in the right direction, but these paper reforms had to be implemented to be truly
effective.
Norway was pleased that the environment had been identified as a key area of ECE
work, Mr. MAGNUS said; active participation in the international debate on energy also was
rightly given high priority under the ECE's reforms; cooperation in the statistical field was
still of great importance; as were initiatives taken to implement Electronic Data Interface
(EDI) and electronic commerce. He also wished to emphasize the value of the work done
by the Timber Committee and its secretariat, Mr. MAGNUS said.
GUNTARS KRASTS, Minister of the Economy of Latvia, said the ECE remained for the
country one of the major intergovernmental policy forums; it helped to articulate a
European vision of sustainable development, something that could be communicated with
and coordinated with similar activities elsewhere in the world. The ECE reform policy was
a laudable effort, and should make the organization's operations more efficient and
effective; it also should enhance dialogue between Governments. Latvia had undertaken
major reforms, and the adjustment, especially in terms of trade, had been painful; the
predominance of trade had shifted from the countries of the former Soviet Union to the
countries of the West; massive privatization had been only one of the challenges faced by
the Latvian Government. It also was striving to seize the opportunities offered by the
international economic situation; it was implementing bilateral and regional trade
agreements. Private-sector communication was important, and Latvia approved of the
ECE's greater emphasis on private-sector matters; it also approved of the ECE's support to
transition countries and of its focus on transportation issues. Further ECE cooperation and
assistance to transition countries was welcomed.
Jan PEETERS, Secretary of State for Social Integration, Security, and the Environment
of Belgium, said the ECE was the most long-standing of UN economic commissions; it
continued to be relevant; it was extremely alert and had proved it by adopting ambitious
reforms; it appeared to be rooted in the present and capable of meeting the challenges of
the future. The success achieved by the ECE during its first 50 years had been deservedly
praised; it had been, among other things, a forum for the exchange of valuable ideas --
almost the only such forum -- during the period of the Cold War. Now it was serving as a
valuable clearinghouse for information and advice to countries undergoing economic
transition. Another current and future challenge was economic globalization; the process
of globalization seemed, if anything, to be accelerating. The ECE could help create a more
integrated and cooperative structure to help meet the challenges posed by globalization;
to protect the environment; and to improve transport, Mr. PEETERS said.
VALENTIN DOBREV, First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, said Bulgaria
had taken part in and had contributed to the increased scope and intensity of the
Commission's work over the past decades, and had benefitted substantially from its
participation in ECE bodies and operational activities. Unprecedented historic developments
had required substantial evolution in the forms and methods of ECE activities recently, and
the Bulgarian Government appreciated the outcome of the negotiations on the reform
package devised for the Commission. Implementation of this package would streamline and
strengthen the activities of the Commission, would further assist countries in central and
eastern Europe in their transitions to market economies, and would introduce a more
homogeneous, transparent, and cost-effective structure for the ECE.
Membership in the European Union and NATO was a priority of Bulgarian foreign
policy, Mr. DOBREV said; the Government expected soon that after the successful
conclusion of the EU Intergovernmental Conference in Torino, Bulgaria would be in a
position to commence, simultaneously with other countries of the region, negotiations on
accession to the EU. Bulgaria also had launched a new process of multilateral cooperation
among countries of South-Eastern Europe with the signing last July of the Sofia Declaration
on Good-Neighbourly Relations, Stability, Security, and Cooperation.
R. THORNING-PETERSEN, Ambassador, Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office, and member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, said the
OSCE was a security organization, and its approach to economic issues must therefore be
seen against a background featuring the economic aspects of security. The task of the
OSCE was to give political impulse to enhance economic cooperation between participating
States; it also was the organization's intention to stimulate relevant work by specialized
international organizations. It was gratifying to note the ever-increasing cooperation
between OSCE and the ECE, Mr. THORNING-PETERSEN said; the ECE had contributed to
a number of OSCE activities under the OSCE's Economic Dimension -- one example was an
Economic Forum which had greatly benefitted from active ECE participation. It was OSCE's
wish to further strengthen this cooperation not only to the benefit of the organizations but
to contribute to the building of a secure and stable environment for economic growth and
prosperity in Europe.
JADRANKO PRLIC, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said the
Government of the country was happy today because, after all, peace had been achieved
with the help of the international community after five years of unprecedented tragedy.
However, the consequences of the aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina were enormous;
to great loss of human life had been added destruction of the economic foundation of the
country. Where the ECE was concerned, the country's first priority was to establish as soon
as possible full participation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in various ECE activities. The ECE
was seen as one of the most important vehicles for economic development for the country,
particularly in matters related to the transition process; ECE expertise and support would
certainly have a positive impact and serve as a spur for moving ahead with reconstruction
activities.
Mr. PRLIC said he wished to appeal to all countries present today to speed up
preparation and convince without further delay the planned Donors Conference for Bosnia
and Herzegovina; the importance of this conference for the recovery of the country and for
success of the peace process was crucial. Yet he felt compelled to add that what was
expected from the Donors Conference represented only a fraction, if an essential one, of
what had been estimated as the cost of rebuilding Bosnia and Herzegovina. The country's
commitment to regional cooperation was illustrated by its chairmanship of the Central
European Initiative, which represented 16 countries of the region, Mr. PRLIC added.
S. CEK, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia, said the ECE had achieved
notable results over the past 50 years; now Croatia wished to emphasize the importance
of the ECE's ongoing reform, as a part of the overall reform of the UN. Croatia welcomed
the new structure proposed for the Commission, as well as its proposed plan of action.
Croatia and other countries in transition supported the ECE's renewed focus on transition
nations, and hoped further support would be forthcoming to Croatia, given that it was not
only in economic transition, but also had been severely affected by war. Major economic
reforms had been taken by the Government; inflation had been kept to the lowest level
among transition countries; growth of the GDP was expected to increase. Croatia's major
trade partners now included members of the EU, Mrs. CEK said; it was felt that as the
economic reforms took hold, the country would become still more attractive to foreign
investors. Croatia felt that the Commission should devote more time and effort to
increasing cooperation and activities with other UN and regional organizations, and serve
the interests of European countries in its work with such other organizations. Croatia
continued to attach great importance to the ECE's work.
Cyril SVOBODA, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, said Europe
looked very different than it had in 1947, the year of its inception; it had come into
existence when some countries, including his own, were being put aside while post-war
Europe was progressing. At that painful time the ECE was an effective forum where all
countries, regardless of their political orientation, could participate in discussion and
decision-making. Since, Europe had changed, and so had the ECE; these changes had not
been automatic or smooth, but luckily Europe and the ECE had tended to survive together
and help each other through the difficult moments. Many inhabitants of Europe did not
suspect the extent of the ECE's influence on their lives, Mr. SVOBODA said; but the
member States had to admit that it had yielded tangible results. Now there were new
challenges: budgetary constraints, reorientation of targets, and reform of working methods,
along with increased cooperation with other regional organizations. From the
Czech Republic's point of view, the ECE belonged among such institutions; it had proved
to be reformable, flexible, effective, and efficient, and its new reforms could be expected
to give it a fresh impetus at the dawn of a new century.
Andrea WILLI, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein, said the ECE had enjoyed
50 years of success; it had been an important organization for expression of views and
problems, and as a source of cooperation within the UN system; the States of Europe were
linked by common histories and common objectives; now they faced the future together.
It was vital for the ECE at this time to assist central and eastern European countries in
rebuilding their economies; the norms and standards developed by the ECE also had been
of great help to all countries of Europe. The plan of action to bring the Commission into the
next century was a well-designed document, and Liechtenstein welcomed the principles and
aims of the plan. Strengthening of cooperation with other bodies in the region also was
welcomed as a way of ensuring that all operations were more efficient and that each
focused its own strengths. Membership within the ECE had proved useful over the years
to Liechtenstein, Ms. WILLI said; it was to be hoped that the ECE's plan of action would
be implemented with vigour and conviction.