OSCE CiO proposes closer co-operation with EU and NATO on Mediterranean issues

MUNICH, 11 February 2004 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy, urged the OSCE, the European Union and NATO to co-operate more closely on issues related to their Mediterranean partner states.

"We should use all the opportunities and the existing good will for outreach activities and partnerships in Asia and the Mediterranean," he told the annual Munich Conference on Security Policy on Saturday.

"The OSCE, with its own pace and logic, will move towards a more active contribution and engagement in adjacent areas. An example of this is our partnership with Afghanistan and with the Shanghai Co-operation Organization."

The Chairman-in-Office noted that the EU, NATO and the OSCE each had their own formats for co-operation in the Mediterranean. An EU-NATO-OSCE-Mediterranean conference could perhaps provide a good start for intensifying co-operation in the region.

The CiO stressed the importance of the OSCE's 18 field missions, which he said made the OSCE uniquely valuable.

"They represent a long-term presence which can develop real expertise. If these missions are not effective, we risk reducing the OSCE to little more than just one of many international bodies producing paper," Minister Passy added.