SARAJEVO SUMMIT 30 july 1999

Opening Presentation by President Martti Ahtisaari

We have gathered in Sarajevo to mark a turning point in the recent history of the region. You all know the symbolic value of this venue. The Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe was launched to ensure that the horrors that this city suffered in recent years will definitely belong to the past. The horrors that have been suffered elsewhere in this region must likewise be consigned to history. The Stability Pact marks a common awareness that a patchwork of solutions for specific crises will not suffice if the region is to look forward to a future of peace, prosperity and good governance together with the rest of the continent. Something more comprehensive and durable is needed.

South-Eastern Europe has been in the focus of international attention because of the crises and tensions associated with it in the past decade. Everyone has felt the destabilising and demoralising effects of practising ideologies of hatred, intolerance and violence.

It is high time for the region to make up for lost time. Under the Stability Pact we shall try to bind the region into European and international structures through wider integration processes. The challenges of integration are extraordinary, but so are the potential rewards. The strength of the concept of Europe is that it embraces an integrated political and economic unit reflecting common values: stability, democratic accountability, good governance, free trade and market economies based on sound macro-economic policies. These are the principles and practices that must take root in the Stability Pact countries if they are to achieve their goal of closer integration with the rest of Europe. These are also the elements of the stabilisation and association process undertaken by the European Union.

The commitment and active participation of the countries of the region is of crucial importance for the stabilisation process. Sustainable ideas and initiatives can only come from those with an intimate knowledge of the region. I will shortly call upon them to present their views on the way ahead.

It is no coincidence that today’s summit meeting is being held here in Sarajevo. This city, which has taken its place in the history of our century, is now being called upon to help launch a new millennium. The democratic and economic reforms to which the countries of the region have committed themselves will form a basis on which other partners within the Stability Pact can build their support. The Stability Pact envisions a Europe at long last undivided, prosperous and free. A Europe where war becomes unthinkable. Let this vision guide our talks here today.