Ladies and gentlemen,
Than you for the invitation to attend this Conference and to make a small contribution at the time when my country has just assumed the Presidency of the European Union for the forthcoming 6 months.
Today and together we are facing challenges in the form of global financial recession, global climate change and even the risk of a new global pandemic.
But this is also why European cooperation is more important than ever. The world around is rapidly changing and these challenges must be dealt with not only at the global but at the regional level.
Since we are all Europeans we need to work together for a Europe that takes responsibility for economy, welfare, environment, security and peace. And European cooperation must be developed where it provides added value and at the levels where it becomes more efficient.
There is no doubt that regional cooperation - including cooperation between municipalities and cities - plays a major role in these efforts.
The current Swedish EU Presidency intends to work to strengthen the EU's role as a global actor with a clear agenda for peace, development, democracy and human rights. We believe that the most successful way to contribute to peace, democracy and prosperity in Europe is through enlargement. And work on enlargement is continuing.
For my Government, the Western Balkans have a definite place within the European Union. This is a perspective confirmed by a series of European Union commitments, ranging from the Zagreb Summit in 2000, the Thessaloniki agenda of 2003 and many subsequent conclusions adopted by the European Council and its Foreign ministers, most recently the General Affairs & External Relations Council of 15-16 June this year when it "reconfirmed its full support for the European perspective of Bosnia and Herzegovina and stressed that increased willingness to reform and readiness to compromise are of pivotal importance on this country's way towards the European Union".
The pace of the EU integration process will of course be determined by the progress of reform in each country and on fulfilling the conditions for membership.
Since it is a question of top priority for the citizens of this country, let me recall that this is something that also applies to the visa liberalisation issue, where - unfortunately and wrongly - a lot of blame has been placed on the EU and the international community when in fact the fulfilment of the so called road map is essentially a responsibility for the government and parliament of this country. And as a matter of fact, fulfilling the road map is a small matter compared to what the government and parliament of BiH will face when it comes to real membership negotiations with the EU. So, let us now concentrate on what remain to be done, hope that this is achieved without much delay and that irrelevant and false information is not allowed to poison the political climate needed to take those last steps of the road map!
But, back to the focus of this conference: The EU and its many regions mutually strengthen one another. The Swedish Presidency's ambition is to develop the EU's macro-regional cooperation. And one of our objectives - which may provide good experience for others - is the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea which will contribute to a cleaner sea and make the region more economically dynamic. The background to the strategy is that the Baltic Sea region is struggling with major challenges that are best met jointly.
One of the major challenges is environmental degradation in and around the Baltic Sea. Algae blooms, overfishing and pollution cannot be dealt with by one single country.
A second challenge is that full use is not being made of the region's growth potential and the financial crisis has had a major negative impact on the area surrounding the Baltic Sea region. As with other areas, better coordination would benefit that region.
A third problem which must be handled together is cross-border crime. Better cooperation to combat trafficking in human beings and other organised crime is necessary so as to increase security in the region.
We therefore hope that the EU Baltic Sea Strategy will be a tool with concrete measures that can have a real impact on people's everyday lives. It is possible that the model can serve as a source of inspiration for other EU regions especially since the problems I mentioned are also present down here.
Cross-border/territorial cooperation needs to be maintained as a political priority in our continent since it clearly contributes to the European integration when concrete results can be seen by ordinary people. If Europe doesn't grow together at its borders, then we can really doubt whether there will actually be a European integration process in the future. So we should invest more in cooperation on the appropriate levels - which is what you are also doing.
And we should remember that cross-border cooperation has not always been a national priority. But it is certainly a European objective and a political priority of the European Union.
In any event, the Balkans was always a regional matter, especially from a historical perspective. Developing regional cooperation is of utmost importance, not the least because so many different issues can be solved this way. The way to reconciliation and development in the region - as well as to Brussels - goes through regional cooperation. This dimension is also the core fundament of EU - no other characteristic is more pronounced. It is an effective, although sometimes difficult, way to discover what the EU is all about. Regional cooperation makes demands on all sides and calls for compromise - a task both new and challenging for many Balkan countries. But the lesson is how to be able to see the interest of the particular in the context of the common good.
It's therefore encouraging to see that a regionally owned structure for cooperation has been put in operation - the Regional Cooperation Council with its HQ here in Sarajevo - having taken over the operational responsibility from the defunct Stability Pact.
The more the inhabitants in border regions move over those borders, the quicker border cooperation must develop. We also know that there is a link between economic growth and the size of the labour market of local regions. All interlocutors, at the national, regional and local level have an important task in this development, be it in the form of synchronised legislation, increased awareness at regional and local levels allowing for practical solutions and enhanced cross-border infrastructures to meet the daily questions of people and enterprises. As we have seen, unsolved border issues may also cause serious problems for EU as well as potential EU-members of this region.
Let me conclude by referring to a Swedish sponsored three year project, the "Monitoring of the BiH European Integration Process" - which is carried out by the "Foreign Policy Initiative" over three years. The rational for this project is to "demystify" the EU integration process and make it more concrete for both politicians and ordinary people. The first semi-annual report was presented a week ago in the Parliament "Blue Room" by the FPI, the chairman of the Presidency Zeljko Komsic, the European Commission and myself.
Basically, FPI:s studies aim to see how BiH follows up on its obligations under the European Partnership and Stabilization and Accession Agreement.
This means that they also look at progress made regarding regional cooperation. As can be seen from the report's chapter 3 some progress was made with the ratification of the RCC:s headquarters agreement and the adoption of an action plan for the implementation of the CEFTA agreement. But no progress was made on solving outstanding border issues with Croatia and Serbia or regarding dual citizenship law with Montenegro.
So, there are things which remain to be done. Some matters will require more time and more effort. EU membership is not a quick fix. I was reminded recently that Hungary signed its SAA agreement in 1991 and became a member of the EU in 2004. But, we should remember that, as you move forward, this country and its citizens will gradually begin to enjoy the various benefits of European Union standards in such diverse areas as consumer protection, food safety and the internal market. Working for the final goal it is our joint and common responsibility to continue towards EU integration, including the fundamental elements of regional and cross-border integration and cooperation.
Thank you very much for your attention.