THE HON. JOE BORG, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, ADDRESSES THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ENTITLED "SECURITY AND PEACE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN IN THE 21ST CENTURY" ON POLITICAL ASPECTS OF PEACE AND SECURITY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN ? CONTRIBUTION OF MALTA AND RUSSI

It is not easy to define in any scientific manner the political aspects for peace and security in terms of the Mediterranean as a region. We are talking of a region, which is also a sea. It has no distinguishing landmass but its accepted features are made up of twenty odd countries that surround the waters, which in their great majority form part of one of three continents – Europe, Asia and Africa.

There is hardly any other area in the world that is as complex and diverse as this international waterway that hosts a variety of cultures, different systems of governments, and three monotheistic faiths. Several of these countries have seen times of greatness and contributed to the wealth of nations through their architectural prowess, the rich civilisations they introduced and their distinctive cultural heritage. They have also produced many great men of literature, explorers who sailed the oceans and scientists and mathematicians.

A quick look at history will show us however, that in the course of the last century, the north and south banks of the Mediterranean followed somewhat different paths. For the first fifty years, Europe was at war with itself. At that time the southern littoral was under colonisation in one form or another. In the fifties, war-torn Europe started to put its house in order. The Coal and Steel Community gradually led to the European Economic Community and eventually the European Union as we know it today. In the days of the Cold War, the CSCE – the vanguard of d'�tente – led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the reunification of the great continent of Europe.

On the other hand, the emerging independent states of the southern Mediterranean, shorn of the tools of management, had to commit themselves to the east-west struggle for their survival. They very much depended on their alliance towards either of the two superpowers. The end of the Cold War presented them with new challenges that, this time, they had to handle on their own, with little or no help from the outside world.

We, who live in the middle of this waterway, are acutely aware of the disparity that exists between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean. We are also not immune to the challenges and risks that are brought to bear on us through the illegal trafficking of arms, drugs and persons as well as organised crime and clandestine migration.

We also have to bear in mind that the region is once again going through a very difficult moment. Recent developments in the Middle East have all but undone the meticulous work that brought the parties so close in the course of nearly a decade of patient and dedicated efforts. That too weighs very heavily on the prospects of peace, security and stability of the region.

It is for all these reasons that we feel we have a role to play in the betterment of this region. Irrespective of our European belonging we form part of the Mediterranean ensemble. It will be recalled that when Commission President Romano Prodi visited Malta last year, he laid great stress on the role that Malta can play in enhancing the Union's Mediterranean dimension.

We owe it to ourselves and to our neighbours, to search for peace and stability in the region. Aware of our limitations, we nonetheless seek to contribute to the well being of the region through our active participation in all its regional fora. My Ministry is responsible for Malta's participation in the OSCE, the Euro-Mediterranean process and the Mediterranean Forum. We are also looking forward to the relaunching of the 5+5 Dialogue or the Western Mediterranean Forum. The multiple activities that are currently taking place within these several bodies, even if at times overlapping, we consider as a manifest of the region's search for its roots. In the longer perspective we see these initiatives converging into a whole.

To each of these regional dialogues we assign a particular task. Yet taken together, we believe that they provide the political instruments that will lead the Mediterranean towards peace and stability.

We uphold the OSCE as the mechanism for regional security and confidence building. It is within this organisation that, for the first time in the course of the last thirty years, the Mediterranean featured on the international agenda. It was first introduced in the 1975 Helsinki Final Act largely due to Malta's conviction and insistence that there can be no security in Europe without security in the Mediterranean and vice versa.

We did not stop there. In 1994 Malta was the catalyst for the setting up of the Informal Open-Ended Contact Group that represents a framework for regular dialogue between the OSCE and the Non-Participating Mediterranean States. This nomenclature we eventually changed to read Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation. We also hosted several Mediterranean Seminars as we remain convinced – in the words of the Helsinki Final Act - that "the process of improving security should not be confined to Europe but should extend to other parts of the world, and in particular to the Mediterranean area".

Within the Euro-Mediterranean Conference we look for a more comprehensive type of security. The so-called Barcelona process brings together the 15 members of the European Union and 12 Mediterranean states to establish a comprehensive partnership – "through strengthened political dialogue on a regular basis, the development of economic and financial cooperation and greater emphasis on the social, cultural and human dimension…."

The partnership is based on a number of association agreements concluded between the Mediterranean partner countries and the European Union. These agreements provide for basic principles – respect for human rights, good governance and democratic practices in addition to promoting support for the economic and social restructuring that will gradually lead towards the establishment of a free trade area. The partnership is also endowed with a funding mechanism amounting to 4.6 billion euros and a similar amount in EIB loans.

Among the participants of the process however there are neighbours harbouring differences as well as nations who are at war with each other.

At the first Ministerial meeting in Barcelona in 1995 Malta proposed the conclusion of a stability pact for the Mediterranean. This is now taking the form of a Euro-Mediterranean charter whereby a set of guidelines are being transformed into the text of a EuroMediterranean Charter for Peace and Stability. The Charter as we see it, should be based on the joint responsibility of the partners, that is equal responsibility for joint decision-taking and implementation thereof, and for the realisation of peace and stability within the Euro-Mediterranean space. It should be the instrument that will enable us together to examine and defuse potential risks that are likely to play havoc with d'�tente and inevitably lead to conflicts, be they political, economic or social.

Through the Mediterranean Academy for Diplomatic Studies, Malta hosts a seminar twice a year that enables mid-career diplomats to come together and express themselves on the working of the process. At the same time, this year Malta was the venue for the training of experts in marine risks. Last month the Foundation for International Studies at the University of Malta launched a Masters' Scholarship in Human Rights and Democratisation. In 1997 welcomed the Foreign Ministers of the 27 partners for the Second Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference. This was followed by a number of preparatory meetings intended to set up programmes or fora to deal with energy, transport, water and a parliamentary dialogue. Last year, in collaboration with Wilton Park we held a conference to examine the social impact of free trade, which was followed by the first Youth Conference within the Euro-Mediterranean process.

In the Inter Parliamentary Union we were among those that in the early nineties proposed to have a CSCM process which is the OSCE equivalent for the Mediterranean. The success of this initiative encouraged us to propose the institutionalisation of this process and we are now endeavouring to transform the process into a Parliamentary Assembly for Mediterranean States.

We hold that the Inter Parliamentary Union is a very appropriate institution for the setting up of a parliamentary assembly. We consider the establishment of a Parliamentary Assembly of Mediterranean States, to be a quality leap forward – from a process to an assembly – giving to the region a unique political setting, bringing together all the states of the Mediterranean on an equal footing, in a regional forum of their own.

There are also two sub regional fora to which we attach importance. The Mediterranean Forum, set up in 1994, is made up of eleven like-minded states that meet regularly to discuss issues of regional importance in an informal manner. The Forum holds an annual Ministerial meeting, the conclusions of which often influence decisions in other regional fora.

I also mentioned earlier our interest in the relaunching of the Western Mediterranean Forum, the 5+5, which was one of the first sub-regional arrangements in the early nineties. At a time when sub-regional cooperation is being encouraged we hope to see the 5+5 in action early next year. We are of the view that in relation to the other regional dialogues, the 5+5 can avoid the heavy political issues and concentrate on more focussed themes intended to promote cooperation among its ten members.

Mr. President,

I would like to stress that for us, the political aspects of peace and security in the Mediterranean, can only be pursued in unison with our neighbours with full respect for the aspirations, beliefs and specificities of individual states. I am sure that our partners and neighbours in this region, like ourselves, are ready to work for the consolidation of the process of regional integration.

Finally, Mr President, we want to ensure that all the partners of the region lend an even hand towards regional development. This equation should not be based on the Cold War diplomacy of the last fifty years, the ‘us and them' approach. This bipolar mode, clustering neighbours into competing groups, in today's perspective will only slow down the process of change.

Our final aim should be to consolidate the wealth and heritage with which the region is endowed in order to face up to the fair and healthy competition that comes our way from other regions of the world.

You may be tempted to ask what will Malta's role be once it joins the European Union. Will it abandon the Mediterranean? I can assure you that we will be going into the Union with the experiences we have gained while actively interacting with our Mediterranean neighbours. That is what makes Malta relevant both within and outside the European Union. We see ourselves, working with our European partners, in the realisation of this great undertaking – a partnership that should gradually bring about a quality change in the relationship that exists among the members of the vast Euro-Mediterranean space.

I look forward to the outcome of this conference, together with any recommendations it may bring to light. I wish you every success in your deliberations.

Thank you.