EU backs continued OSCE work in Georgia, Czech Foreign Minister says

VIENNA, 29 January 2009 - The European Union supports efforts by the OSCE to find ways to enable the Organization to continue its important work in Georgia, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg told the OSCE Permanent Council today.

The 56 participating States did not reach consensus in December to renew the mandate of the OSCE Mission to Georgia, but the Greek OSCE Chairmanship is leading negotiations on the Organization's presence in Georgia.

"The EU intends to continue its engagement in Georgia but this engagement cannot replace the valuable OSCE presence. We see both missions as complementary and mutually reinforcing," said Schwarzenberg, whose country holds the EU Presidency.

Schwarzenberg also called for "urgent progress" in relation to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, saying it should be viewed as a key confidence- and security- building measure in the OSCE area.

"We regret the persisting unilateral suspension of the implementation of the CFE Treaty by the Russian Federation. We promote the effort of all CFE State Parties to find a balanced way out from the current stalemate," he said.

Regarding discussions on the future of European security, Schwarzenberg said that the discussions should not be limited to hard security and emphasized that the "OSCE is the main and only platform where any outcomes of the preparation talks should be finalized."

Noting that the EU and the OSCE share the goals of securing peace and deepening co-operation, Schwarzenberg said that the Czech EU Presidency would seek to extend the close co-operation between the two groups.

"The OSCE is making an invaluable contribution towards security, stability and the rule law also today, although several developments in recent years have put at stake the basic principles of this Organization and have created an atmosphere of mistrust among us," he said.

"We will try to contribute to finding ways to overcome this situation. Focusing on future co-operation, however, must not be misunderstood as our resignation on the commitments and respect for values we all espoused in the past."

The Permanent Council, one of the OSCE's main regular decision-making bodies, convenes weekly in Vienna to discuss developments in the OSCE area and to make appropriate decisions.