Finnish Chairman calls on OSCE ministers to strengthen Organization

HELSINKI, 4 December 2008 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, called on the 50 foreign ministers attending the OSCE Ministerial Council to work together to strengthen the Organization at a crucial time.

"Let's get the spirit of Helsinki going again," he said in a speech at today's opening of the two-day event, referring to the co-operative atmosphere that enabled leaders in 1975 to agree to the Helsinki Accords, which created the Conference that later would become the OSCE.

"I hope as Chairman-in-Office that, at the end of the day, we come out with a reinvigorated, stronger OSCE. Because I firmly believe that those principles that were created here in Helsinki in 1975 ... are still very valid."

Stubb described the August conflict in Georgia as a "ferocious" war.

"It is something I never want to see again. It was the first time in my life that I saw war close up and this already gives me enough faith that we are here to try to solve these kinds of conflicts," he said.

Stubb told the foreign ministers he looked forward to discussions on proposals to review Euro-Atlantic security under the auspices of the OSCE and called on participants to take existing OSCE agreements into account.

"They contain great elements for international relations. Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. Let's stick to our work on democracy, human rights and the rule of law," he said.

He called on participants to help renew and refresh the OSCE to respond to the challenges of today.

Finnish President Tarja Halonen also touched upon those proposals in her speech at the opening plenary.

"The participants of this OSCE Ministerial Council should use the opportunity to look beyond the burning issues of the day and share views on the future of security in Europe," she said.

"We should not assume that current practices of co-operation will continue forever unchanged. In discussing our future co-operation we should, however, build on the solid foundation of our common values and commitments. They have enabled Europe to broaden democracy, strengthen the rule of law and bring universal human rights and fundamental freedoms to its people."

OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut noted that the value of the OSCE is set by its participating States.

"For the OSCE to achieve its full potential, it is up to you, the Ministers gathered here today, to work as closely as possible with the Organization the States you represent helped to create. The OSCE is here to serve you. It is up to you to infuse it with political will and energy in order to make it more than the sum of its parts," he said.