UNUnited Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Press Releases 2000

[Index]      

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. Uvalic’s 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.