Vienna, 26/09/2002 (Agence Europe) - Speaking at the meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, in Vienna on Wednesday, the High Representative for CFSP, Javier Solana underscored the role played by the OSCE, especially on the basis of the Charter for European Security, adopted at the 1999 Istanbul Summit. Mr. Solana said he was convinced that, as ESDP developed, "our relationship will deepen even further". Then, considering that in this EU/OSCE relationship, "pragmatism should be our starting point", he placed emphasis on exchanging information and expertise in developing crisis management instruments, co-operation on the ground and between administrations, as well as in developing compatible methods and standards for action.
Mr. Solana turned especially to concrete co-operation between the EU and the OSCE in the Balkans, whereas he noted that, in the Southern Caucasus, "limits have been placed on developing the potential of our relations, notably by "frozen" conflicts in the region". The EU is currently exploring how to enhance co-operation with the OSCE in that region, in particular in fields such as border management and migration, combating illegal immigration and crime, Solana recalled. He paid tribute to the work accomplished by the OSCE in Central Asia, noting that the EU was envisaging increasing its support for the action. Almost half of the projects of the Office for Human Rights and Democratic Institutions of the OSCE are EU funded, he stipulated. And in Central Asia the two joint EU-OSCE programmes for Advancing Human Rights and Democratisation have so far been granted a total amount of EURO 850,000.