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Statement
by Dr. Johannes Kyrle
Secretary General of the Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Republic of Austria
at the
Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
NATO/ PfP- Balkans
• In the past few years, the Balkans have proven the viability
and importance of Partnership for Peace. Cooperating with NATO in the
NATO-led missions
in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, Western European partners have
rendered an important contribution to SFOR and KFOR. Thereby they
also improved the interoperability of their armed forces with those of
NATO-member
states.
• Moreover, the Balkans are also a region in which the strategic
partnership between NATO and EU is functioning successfully, as
the take-over by
the EU from NATO under Berlin-plus has shown last week in Bosnia.
Austrian engagement in the Balkans
• For Austria security cooperation with the Western Balkans is and
will remain a key priority.
• We are present with up to 600 soldiers in KFOR in Kosovo, thus
being one of the main contributors to this mission. Moreover, we
have dispatched
300 soldiers to EUFOR ALTHEA. The Austrian contribution to securing
peace and stability in this region thus is important.
• In addition, together with Canada we have decided to take the co-lead
in a trust fund project in Serbia and Montenegro which will provide
for the destruction of all remaining stockpiled anti-personnel landmines.
It is the first time that a partner country assumes the role of a
lead-nation. With your contributions we shall be able to launch this
project by
the
end of this year.
Kosovo, main concern in 2005
• Our main concern in the coming year is Kosovo.
• The unrest in March has shown a permanent risk of sudden violence
in Kosovo.
• There is a high expectation among Kosovo-Albanians that after
the evaluation of standards the international Community will
move on
to negotiations
on the determination of the future status of Kosovo in mid 2005.
Until then it can be expected that tensions will increase and
might get even
more troublesome during the negotiation phase.
• These are major security challenges. Therefore a troop reduction
has to be ruled out for the coming months. On the contrary, Austria
has increased
its participation in KFOR this year and improved the operational
capacities of its troops.
• We also face significant political challenges. In the fields
of protection of minority rights and return of refugees, for
example, major progress
will be necessary in the coming months. We see the reform of
local self-government - in other words decentralization - as
the key
to
a multiethnic Kosovo.
We therefore have to make sure that the concept which is worked
out now - including pilot projects - will be suitable for all
ethnic groups.
Other Balkan countries:
• Austria would like to welcome Bosnia and Herzegovina as
well as Serbia and Montenegro soon in the PfP and EAPC. We hope
that they
will meet
the remaining conditions in the coming months. We stand ready
to continue to support their process of democratisation of
the armed
forces as
we did together with Slovenia, the United Kingdom and the
International Secretariat by holding a seminar on democratic control
of armed
forces last December in Belgrade.
Let me conclude on a positive note. The countries in the
region aspire Euro-Atlantic integration. Some of them are
ready for
it. Others
are well on track. Others again still have to meet the well-known
conditions.
In any case the future of these countries lies within the
European Union and the Euro-Atlantic community.
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