Malta Minister Foreign Affairs George W. Vella calls upon OSCE Chairmanship to appoint Special Representative for the Mediterranean Region

Vienna, 4 June 2015 – Recalling Malta’s call, during the negotiations that led to the signing of the Helsinki Final Act in 1975, that “without peace in the Mediterranean, there can never be peace in Europe”, Malta Minister for Foreign Affairs George W. Vella stressed today in his address to the OSCE Permanent Council that recent developments in the Southern OSCE region confirm that the Mediterranean was, and remains a major concern to the security of Europe.

“We cannot close our eyes to the security challenges that are just at the Southern border of this Organization.  Today’s unprecedented levels of interconnectivity lead us to believe that peace in the Mediterranean is a prerequisite for global stability”, Vella said.

In his address to the Permanent Council, among the challenges that the OSCE needs to address, Minister Vella highlighted the rising global threat of terrorism and extremism, which no country is immune to and which therefore requires greater collective efforts.  The proposal to set up a Centrex-Med in Malta, to serve as an OSCE command and Senior Staff Centre for Excellence in Justice and Security, would further contribute in the fight against terrorism and extremism he said. 

Vella identified irregular migration as another major challenge: “It is not just a Maltese or European Union problem, but a challenge that affects the entire OSCE region”.   The OSCE can play a vital role in combatting irregular migration in a comprehensive and cross dimensional manner, he stated.

Referring to the security situation in Libya, Minister Vella expressed the view that only mediation, as one of the OSCE’s powerful tools, could bring about positive change in that country.   Stressing that we cannot risk having another failed state, one which would become a haven for extremists, Vella called on the Chairmanship in Office to consider appointing a Special Representative for the Mediterranean region, who could be tasked with updating the Permanent Council and proposing ways to increase the OSCE’s role in its Southern region.

“The Helsinki Final act describes the Mediterranean as “region as a whole” and therefore we should not limit the security discussions as if they were discussions between ‘two sides’ – between ‘us and them’ – the Mediterranean partners.  We need to do more, to move beyond this approach and address collectively Mediterranean security challenges to the OSCE”, said Vella.  “We call on the participating States to include the Euro-Mediterranean dimension as an integral part of the OSCE framework, together with the Euro-Atlantic and Euro-Asian dimensions.”

Reaffirming Malta’s belief in the work of the OSCE, Minister Vella concluded: “One of our major assets is our historical vocation for peace, security and stability in our region and beyond.  During such testing times, our determination and our resolve grow stronger every day”.