Austrian Foreign Minister calls for closer OSCE-EU co-operation in fighting terrorism, organized crime

VIENNA, 2 February 2006 - Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik called in a speech today for closer and more efficient co-operation between the 55-nation OSCE and the 25-nation European Union.

The two organizations share many of the same values and could achieve more if they increased co-operation in fields such as fighting terrorism, organized crime and human trafficking, Minister Plassnik told a special meeting of the Permanent Council, the OSCE's main regular decision-making body.

Minister Plassnik, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, noted that the OSCE and the EU have both adopted strategies to fight terrorism. All 25 EU member States participate in the OSCE.

"I believe that the OSCE and the EU should use this basis to co-operate closer, making both partners' contributions to fighting terrorism more effective," she said.

Other fields that would benefit from closer co-operation included efforts to resolve protracted conflicts, to cut the availability of small and light weapons and to promote tolerance, she said.

She also noted that Belgium, which holds the 2006 OSCE Chairmanship, is "particularly devoted to the fight against organized crime. Here the EU, the OSCE and other organizations such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime have several common interests."

Turning to the economic and environmental dimension of the OSCE, Minister Plassnik said that the main theme of this year's OSCE Economic Forum, transport, had sparked great interest, particularly in Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as in south-eastern Europe.

"I believe ... that it is in the interest of both the EU and the OSCE to continue a concerted co-operation - in the Balkans, in the Caucasus, in Central Asia - while of course also co-operating closely with the rest of the international community," Plassnik said.

She added that the bodies have so much in common that first steps could be undertaken to craft a document addressing issues of co-operation.