Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter makes the case in Vienna for a comprehensive commitment to strengthening security in Europe
Bern, 17.06.2015 - At the Munich Security Conference Core Group Meeting today in Vienna, the Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), Didier Burkhalter, emphasised that the search for a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine is closely related to the joint undertaking by all states to promote future security in Europe. Mr Burkhalter believes that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) can play key roles in both cases.
Mr Burkhalter asserted that the crisis in Ukraine has highlighted the crisis in European security, adding that the post-Cold War order has been anything but stable for some time. In his speech today at the Munich Security Conference Core Group Meeting, Mr Burkhalter argued that the two processes should not be viewed in isolation. “The Ukraine crisis and the crisis of European security can only be overcome if we consider how they are related,” he said.
Mr Burkhalter recalled the spirit of partnership between the West and Russia, citing the NATO-Russia Founding Act (1997) and the Charter for European Security (1999) – but noted that this spirit has long since eroded. Any joint undertaking to restore security in Europe must therefore include a discussion on Russia’s role in Europe, in addition to clarifying the situation of Russia’s and the EU's neighbouring countries in the region of the former Soviet Union. The OSCE could play an important role in implementing confidence-building measures, he concluded.
Referring to current developments in Ukraine, Mr Burkhalter warned that the logic of de-escalation could revert back to the logic of escalation. To prevent this from happening, he called for the measures agreed in Minsk to contain the conflict – e.g. observance of the ceasefire and monitoring thereof by the OSCE, monitoring on the Russian-Ukrainian border by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, and dialogue on political reforms – to be rigorously implemented.
The interim report by the Panel of Eminent Persons on European Security as a Common Project, which was presented to Mr Burkhalter today in Vienna, makes further recommendations to the OSCE regarding involvement in Ukraine. Composed of 15 experts from the OSCE area, the Panel of Eminent Persons on European Security as a Common Project was set up by Switzerland, Serbia and Germany at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Basel in December 2014 for the purpose of initiating a broad dialogue on future security in Europe. The Panel’s interim report and recommendations are “an important contribution to furthering the discussion on future security in Europe,” said Mr Burkhalter.
On the margins of the conference, Mr Burkhalter met Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić, who is chairing the OSCE this year. One of the matters they discussed was the work of the Trilateral Contact Group that comprises the OSCE in addition to Ukraine and Russia. Mr Burkhalter also had talks with Montenegro’s Minister of Defence Milica Pejanović-Durišić on promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Western Balkans.
Focusing on security
Mr Burkhalter’s attendance at the Munich Security Conference Core Group Meeting in Vienna revolved around various meetings on aspects of security in which he has been involved this year. Such issues include cooperative security, which he advocated at the Munich Security Conference at the beginning of February, and the possibility of strengthening collaboration between the OSCE and its Asian partner states, a subject that Mr Burkhalter broached at the beginning of June at two security conferences in Asia – the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore and the OSCE Asian Conference in Seoul – where he emphasised the importance of cooperative security in a region such as the South China Sea that is now the scene of increasing tensions. Furthermore, security issues were the focus of talks at the Washington Summit on Countering Violent Extremism (19 February 2015) and the Global Conference on Cyberspace in The Hague (16 April 2015).
This evening, Mr Burkhalter will also speak about the reasons for the crisis of European security and ways of strengthening Europe’s security at a Swiss Association for Foreign Policy event in Bern.
Address for enquiries
FDFA Communication
Federal Palace West Wing
CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland
Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55
E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch
Twitter: @SwissMFA
Links
- Closing statement by Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter at the Munich Security Conference “Core Group Meeting”
- Interim report of the Panel of Eminent Persons on European Security as a Common Project
- FDFA Media release on Mr Burkhalter’s attendance at the Munich Security Conference
- FDFA Media release on Mr Burkhalter’s attendance at the Summit on Countering Violent Extremism (Washington)
- FDFA Media release on Mr Burkhalter’s attendance at the Global Conference on Cyberspace (The Hague)
- FDFA Media release on Mr Burkhalter’s attendance at the Shangri-La Dialogue (Singapore)
- FDFA Media release on Mr Burkhalter’s attendance at the OSCE Asian Conference (Seoul)
Publisher
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html
