Press Release
ECE/GEN/00/23
Geneva, 4 May 2000
55th Annual Session of the Economic
Commission for Europe
Economic Commission for Europe Discusses Regional
Cooperation
In
his opening statement, Ambassador Harald Kreid, Chairman of the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE), summarized the debate held during
the Informal Seminar on Regenerating the Economies of South-East Europe,
which the Commission had organized the previous day (see press release ECE/GEN/00/22).
In his introductory
remarks, Yves Berthelot, Executive Secretary of UN/ECE, announced his impending
retirement, and introduced his successor, Danuta Hübner, highlighting her
vision of the region as building upon the present directions and being particularly
promising for the future. He spoke of UN/ECE as an organization of diversity
and richness. The work of the Commission had established an atmosphere of
confidence between the secretariat and the different governments, and had
enhanced cooperation with the regional and subregional organizations. However,
Mr Berthelot also expressed concern for the future of a Europe where disparities
were growing, and highlighted the role of UN/ECE in correcting the situation.
He nevertheless ended on a positive note, saying that he was leaving at
a time when UN/ECE is dynamic and well-functioning, which was highly needed
in view of all the challenges faced by the region (for the full statement,
see press release ECE/GEN/00/21).
Ambassador Kreid thanked
Mr Berthelot and said all present should heed his message, since he had so many years of
experience. He applauded the work done by Mr Berthelot during his years in UN/ECE,
and his total and unreserved commitment to the organization during that crucial period.
Under his leadership, UN/ECE had become an organization that could respond to the needs
and requirements of the region. UN/ECE was today a better-focused and more effective
organization, and this was largely owed to the untiring efforts of the Executive
Secretary. He expressed his gratitude and admiration to Mr Berthelot, and extended his
best wishes for the new period that Mr Berthelot would now be entering. He then
congratulated Ms Hubner, both on his own behalf and on that of the Bureau, and assured her
of the cooperation of the member States in her task of moving the organization ahead over
the coming years.
Ms Hübner thanked Mr
Berthelot for his dedication to the ECE and the accomplishments reached under him. She
said that she strongly believed in cooperation between people, and hoped for good team
work, both within the organization and with the outside organizations and governments. She
invited all those who cared for Europe to cooperate with the organization under her
leadership.
The possibilities for
increasing regional cooperation within UN/ECE region, taking into account the experience
of the transition process, was then taken up by the fifty-fifth session of the
Economic Commission for Europe. The debate focused on how the work of the regional
entities and subregional groupings could be further developed and made more coherent, so
as to contribute to economic development throughout Europe.
Professor Milica Uvalic
introduced her paper on this topic, which was used as a focus for the debate, which
included reactions from governments, representatives of OSCE, the Council of Europe,
subregional groupings, initiatives, and programmes. She spoke of the key issues of
regional cooperation. Her main conclusion was that the experiences of transition had been
very different across the region. There was no doubt that the cooperation initiatives
among transition economies had been extremely important in developing networks; but they
had not necessarily been sufficient to stimulate regional growth, for example. There was
much room for further cooperation between regional economies, and this should be
encouraged.
Complementary between the
Council of Europe, OSCE and UN/ECE was highlighted, with the latter having the role of
providing economic expertise. The collaboration of UN/ECE with the various subregional
European organizations needed to be further strengthened, and some forms of cooperation
maybe even institutionalized. The extensive collaboration of UN/ECE with the European
Union could be further improved, perhaps with more direct links between the two, since
there was a great degree of complementarity.
Mr Berthelot thanked Prof.
Uvalic, and appreciated her conclusions. He stressed that there was a need for clear
divisions of labour, in the cases where complementarity existed, as the Professor had
indicated. There was also a need for a better integration of the economic and social
aspects. Cooperation with OSCE was moving smoothly, and was a source of inspiration for
both organizations. Cooperation with subregional organizations needed to be improved, on
the basis of reciprocity.
The Representative of
Portugal then took the floor, on behalf of the EU, stressing that the EU was cooperating
with UN/ECE. The EU was particularly concerned about the progress of the transition
economies, and hoped that the Stability Pact would lead to the economic and demographic
regeneration of the region. The role of UN/ECE in South-East Europe was important, and
would help to bring this part of the region back to stability. The EU was prepared to
move to a new era of dynamic competition. It was ready to meet the challenges, including
that of enlargement, and looked forward to cooperation with all partners at the global
level. The EU supported all efforts undertaken to strengthen cooperation within its area.
The Representative of
Turkey spoke of three cooperation organizations. Turkey had made a valuable contribution
to the South-East Cooperation Process (SECP), which was a useful tool for enhancing peace
and stability in the region. This scheme was an institutionalized political umbrella that
included all the political organizations of the area. The second initiative was the
Stability Pact. Without its financial element to realize the projects to integrate the
countries of the region into European structures no progress could be made. The third
initiative was SECI. It had achieved impressive results in a very short period, promoting
trade between the countries. There were other initiatives, but these three complemented
each other. UN/ECE was a very useful platform to discuss the relationships between these
initiatives.
The Representative of
Hungary said that markets in south-eastern Europe were highly fragmented and characterized
by the difficulty of trading across borders. Trade within the region was minimal, and
revealed the potential for greater integration, as illustrated by the success of the
Central European Free Trade Agreement. The Agreement had had many positive side effects,
including the growth of markets and the starting of exports and imports generated by SMEs.
Regional cooperation in the form of trade liberalization worked, bringing economic
benefits as well as political gains.
The Representative of
Georgia said, on behalf of the Countries of the South Caucuses (CSC), that the
possibilities for increasing regional cooperation implied an improvement of the work of
the regional and subregional groupings, under the impetus of UN/ECE. One example was the
endeavour of these countries to be fully integrated into European structures, and steps
had already been taken in this direction. Progress had been observed in the process, and
these countries were involved in many different regional groupings, covering such fields
as trade, environment, transport and energy. However, this could be improved by ensuring
economic growth in the region, and the area deserved greater attention from the World
Community in view of its geostrategic and economic importance. The CSC sought greater
cooperation with UN/ECE, and looked forward to the creation of a special agreement with
ECE for that part of the region.
The Representative of OSCE
said cooperation between UN/ECE and OSCE had flourished over the past few years.
Concretely, much progress had been accomplished by the two organizations, and UN/ECE had
helped OSCE to forge its thinking on economic and scientific matters more than once.
Economic, environmental and social factors had a great deal to do with the development of
security and cooperation in Europe, and thus the importance of cooperation with UN/ECE
could not be over-estimated. OSCE could not do its work if it did not have the help of
UN/ECE. OSCE depended on this complementarity to achieve its mandate.
The Representative of
Belarus said that the Government of Belarus highly appreciated the work of UN/ECE to
improve cooperation within the region. It was satisfied with the way the work was being
implemented, and interested in contributing to the continuation of this work. It
appreciated the intention to help the countries in transition, and hoped that this work
would continue. Belarus was interested in the implementation of programmes such as the
SPECA programme within the area.
The Representative of
Kazakhstan said that the discussions so far had shown that many countries shared similar
features of economic transition. Kazakhstan was one of the initiators of the CIS customs
union, and had unceasingly favoured closer cooperation with regional and subregional
organizations, as well as from a more global perspective. It was also undertaking efforts
to build security and confidence within the region. Cooperation with economic
organizations of the UN system was very important. Kazakhstan was committed to the
successful economic development of the region.
The Representative of
Canada said that the important challenge of economic regeneration in South-East Europe was
a vital issue. It was impossible to separate this from the challenge of improving peace
and security in the region. Human security was the fundamental challenge, since until it
was ensured, sustainable development was practically impossible. The lack of integration
of the region made this process very difficult. Sustainable economic growth required
integration. In this regard, UN/ECE and the various subregional initiatives to which it
contributed played a very valuable role. The countries of the region needed to become
strong democracies, under the rule of law, so as to become economically viable.
The Representative of
Switzerland said that Prof. Uvalics paper showed the large amount of regional
cooperation that did exist in Europe. The issue was to link the beneficial effects of the
various agreements with what has already been created in Europe. WTO left the door open to
regional initiatives and subregional liberalization on the grounds that this might
encourage the process of multilateral liberalization and encourage prosperity.
The Representative of the
Russian Federation said the social costs of transition were very high, sometimes too high,
and worsening social problems could not be tolerated. The emergence of a gulf in the
development of various categories of countries with transition economies was worrying,
since new demarcation lines should be avoided within Europe. There were now economic and
social dividing lines among the countries of the region. The task of UN/ECE was to provide
assistance to those countries with the most problems during the transition process. The
transition process should go forward in a consistent manner, thanks to external
assistance, and open economies should be established.
The Representative of the
European Community said that the efforts made by UN/ECE to contribute to the work of the
regional cooperation agreements were welcomed. Within the framework of these agreements,
it was felt important to adopt a selective approach in designing and implementing
projects, reflecting the needs of, and developments in the regions concerned. The
usefulness and dynamism of the SECI initiative and the Royaumont process were underlined,
as well as the need to articulate them with the relevant round-tables of the Stability
Pact. The EU continued to cooperate with the UN/ECE initiatives in South-East Europe, and
looked forward to continuing this cooperation.
The Representative of the
Central European Initiative (CEI) said that the initiative was progressing in a positive
manner, and all areas of cooperation were included within the Stability Pact. The CEI
would wish to continue this cooperation and was pleased by its success.
The Representative of
Poland said the economic strengthening of the transition region required ever more work,
and that Poland followed the efforts made in the area with sympathy and hope. It fully
supported the Stability Pact. In order to avoid duplication of work, coordination between
the organizations needed to be further stressed. Economic cooperation was a positive
element in growth and success.
The Representative of the
CIS said UN/ECE was a distinctive organization, reflecting the needs of the countries in
the region. The CIS fully cooperated in building effective structures within the region
and improving development cooperation. Trade was important, and its development would help
cooperation. If CIS countries were to participate in the global market, they would become
stronger. The experience gained by UN/ECE in developing instruments to improve cooperation
and strengthen economies had proven to be of exceptional interest, notably for the
countries in transition. There was a need for further study, particularly on the
methodologies of this process.
In order to provide you with a better service, we would appreciate it if you
would send a copy of your article to: Information Unit, United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE), Palais des Nations, Room 356, CH - 1211
Geneva 10, Switzerland,
Tel: +(41 22) 917 44 44, Fax: +(41 22) 917
05 05, E-mail: [email protected],
Thank you. |