Vilnius, May 7 2008

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

On the 8th of March last year, President Adamkus spoke before the Permanent Council in Vienna. This speech testified to the vision that Lithuania brings and the political will this country injects into the OSCE.

The OSCE cannot survive without vision, and it cannot afford to be left to benign neglect. This is why Lithuania’s Chairmanship of the OSCE in 2011 is so important. I look forward to working with the Lithuanian Government in their preparations.

The OSCE sometimes reminds me of a theatre that brings together all key actors to address the burning challenges of the day -- in Kosovo, Moldova, Georgia and Central Asia. The OSCE is a good vantage point from which to observe the fluctuations occurring in Greater Europe and more widely.

More than this, the OSCE is also an actor on this stage, and an important one.

The OSCE is first a unique forum for tackling complex security issues that are common to the fifty six participating States. The inclusiveness of the Organization is strength unparalleled by other security organizations in Greater Europe. In its composition, the OSCE embraces the notion of a ‘Greater Europe’ that stretches from Vancouver to Vladivostok and where countries co-operate on security within a framework of shared values.

Within the OSCE, States work on the basis of equality with decisions taken by consensus. Building consensus is not easy, but it ensures equal ownership of the Organization as well as equal responsibility in implementing commonly adopted commitments.

Taken together, the commitments taken by States in the OSCE form an approach to security that is comprehensive and indivisible. Comprehensive, because the OSCE recognizes that the three major dimensions of security – politico-military, human, and economic and environmental – are interdependent. And indivisible, because security in one country is recognised as a concern for all 56. 

At the heart of the OSCE lies the principle that security starts with the ‘inherent dignity of the human person’. Security requires political-military co-operation between States, the development of healthy economic and environmental governance, and the protection of basic human rights and fundamental freedoms. This ‘cross-dimensional’ approach is the OSCE signature strength.

This approach is manifest every day in the activities of the OSCE's Institutions -- the Representative on Freedom of the Media, the High Commissioner on National Minorities, and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. With the 19 Field Operations, the OSCE works to help States address difficulties inside their borders and across the OSCE area– from political-military issues and unresolved conflicts to the challenge of embedding stability in volatile regions.

The OSCE is tackling also new threats, the complex and cross-border security challenges that Greater Europe faces. In anti-terrorism and the fight against the trafficking of human beings, the OSCE is building networks for innovative international co-operation. The OSCE is a major actor for raising awareness and fostering common action against intolerance and discrimination.

The same approach is taken to deepen OSCE engagement in Afghanistan. In Madrid, OSCE Foreign Ministers recognised that ‘long term security and stability in Afghanistan is of the utmost importance for the OSCE region, in particular for Central Asia.’ We are working now to take this decision forward – looking in particular to OSCE engagement in the areas of ‘border security and management, policing and the fight against drug trafficking.’ Other areas, such as customs support and training, are also on the table.

In sum, the OSCE is a unique meeting point between the North Atlantic, Europe and Eurasia. There is no other such framework for consultation and co-operation between all major actors, from the United States to the Russian Federation, including the South Caucasus and Central Asia – all brought together to promote common security despite their differences.

Given the challenges that Greater Europe faces, we should not underestimate the importance of having such precisely a place for permanent dialogue. Democratic transformation is far from complete in some countries. Conflicts remain unresolved, and increasingly volatile. Tensions are rising between States in some parts of Greater Europe. Put bluntly, Greater Europe needs the OSCE -- to air differences, to promote change peacefully, and to find common ground for joint action.

The EU and NATO are vital for addressing some of these questions; so is the OSCE, and in different ways. In some respects, the enlargements of NATO and the EU have made the OSCE all the more important, as an organization bridging what appear to some as new dividing lines.

The OSCE also offers an ideal place to connect the dots of the European Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy. This is true for EU relations with Russia and for the European Neighbourhood Policy. The OSCE also provides vital support to EU accession candidates in developing the capability to shoulder the burden of eventual membership. This is particularly important for States that have farther to go than previous candidates or where the promise of EU membership lies on the distant horizon.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Experience shows that the OSCE is an Organization where smaller countries make a big impact. In fact, their contribution acts as a motor driving the OSCE onwards, helping it adapt to new times and react flexibly under myriad pressures. Experience shows also that the Chairmanship is important for countries in terms of raising visibility and for preparing for other international responsibilities. The OSCE is a force multiplier for the values and interests of the country chairing the Organization.

Certainly, chairing the OSCE provides a unique opportunity for a country to take forward the shared values at the heart of the Organization and for tackling some of the most serious challenges facing Greater Europe today.

Lithuania has rich experience to share – its successful democratic transformation, effective European integration and its solid contribution to regional and international security. In preparing for the Chairmanship, Lithuania will have to determine those areas where it wishes to invest, reflecting its own experience and priorities.

There is scope for thinking ahead. The decision on Chairmanships that was taken by Ministers at Madrid has opened a horizon for co-operation between the Quintet of Spain, Finland, Greece, Kazakhstan and Lithuania. This offers new opportunities for multi-year planning and co-ordination.

In a word, Lithuanian priorities can start to be discussed and taken forward now.

Chairing the OSCE is demanding. Forging common approaches to difficult challenges, widening the ground for real political dialogue – these are difficult tasks, especially when major actors and high stakes are at work. The Organization has become once again a forum where the major security actors of Greater Europe air their differences across a wide spectrum of issues, from democratic transformation to arms control. Common ground is often more elusive now than just a few years ago.

In these circumstances, the Chairman-in-Office plays a key role -- as a catalyst of consensus, as a peacemaker and a moderator. A successful Chairman-in-Office is one who works with a good team and has solid support on the home front -- from parliamentarians, from the media, and from the defence establishment.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Chairing the OSCE is demanding but exciting.  The Organization is a community of 56 States that stretches across much of the northern hemisphere. It is based on common strategic interests underpinned by shared values. The result is a delicate Organization, sometimes more akin to a project than an institution.

Implementing shared values in such an inclusive Organization as the OSCE is a demanding process that requires political engagement from all States and, indeed, safe hands at the bar.

The OSCE matters for the security of Greater Europe. The unique value of the OSCE cannot provide all the answers to all challenges at any given moment. However, it can act as a forum where answers may be found over time and in ways that restrain disruptive factors of violence and confrontation.

It is important to have such an Organization, where the EU, the US, Russia and many other States meet -- despite differences and within a framework of values and commitments.

It is worth recalling the words of President Adamkus last March, ‘We should not shy away from difficulties but draw confidence from our shared past and the challenges we have already overcome by our common resolve.’

I agree.