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Peace by Cooperation ? The Stability Pact for S.E. Europe-Premisses, Problems, Consequences Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Reinhard Meyers Institut f r Politikwissenschaft ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Peace by Cooperation ?


1
Peace by Cooperation ?
  • The Stability Pact for S.E. Europe
  • -
  • Premisses, Problems, Consequences

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Reinhard Meyers Institut für
Politikwissenschaft - Westfälische Wilhelms-
Universität Münster
2
This file can be downloaded next week from our
Website
  • www.uni-muenster.de/ Politikwissenschaft/Doppeldip
    lom/
  • aktuelles.html
  • There you can also find further material to
    accompany our seminars on International Theory,
    International Politics, and the EU
  • Lost in the maze ??? Send email to
  • meyersr_at_uni-muenster.de

3
Useful Reading
  • Mejlina Modanu The European Union and Conflict
    Prevention in the Balkans Regional Integration
    and the impact of the enlargement process, in
    New Balkan Politics Issue 7/8 to be found under
    www.newbalkanpolitics.org.mk
  • or on the seminar CD under Zusatzinfos
    Nützliche Websites
  • SP website www.stabilitypact.org
  • The new book by Prof.Dr.Rafael Biermann on the
    Stability Pact is to appear with Schöningh
    publishers in Paderborn at the end of April. Dr.
    Biermann is the author of the ZEI discussion
    paper on The Stability Pact for South Eastern
    Europe potential, problems, and perspectives C
    56/1999, downloadable under www.zei.de

4
EU Ostpolitik Aims
  • Support of socioeconomic
  • modernisation


regional security
contribution to/ precondition of stability for
the whole of Europe
Security
international implementation of the rules of
peaceful coexistence and of a regime of conflict
prevention/ conflict resolution between the
nations of Europe
domestic conservation of social peace as
precondition of a successful transformation to a
market economy and a liberal democracy
5
Problem how to break into the vicious circle ?
  • The vicious circle of Balkan politics

domestic/ international security
precondition of
precondition of
conservation of social peace
regionalstability
successful modernisation/ transformation
precondition of
precondition of
6
How to break into the vicious circle ?
  • Develop a strategy of regime change using
    non-military instruments transforming SE Europe
    into a region of
  • sustainable stability
  • growing prosperity
  • firmly established peace
  • Regional cooperation as the main instrument of
    problem solving

7
Regional Cooperation Instruments
  • Matchmaking bringing together donors,
    implementing agencies, and recipient countries
    for joint priority setting
  • Peer review peer pressure as methods to
    advance the reform process
  • Honest brokerage good offices as
    instruments to bring together institutions that
    do not normally cooperate
  • Object to stabilize the S.E.European region
    after the conflicts of the 1990s enhancing
    regional cooperation and supporting ever closer
    integration into European and Euro-Atlantic
    structures

8
Stability Pact for S.E.Europe How it started
  • Problem During the Kosovo crisis,
    decision-makers realised that there had never
    been a coherent, longterm policy of conflict
    prevention in S.E.Europe.
  • Rather, the international approach to the Balkans
    had been piecemeal and country-oriented,
    following the geographical direction Milosevics
    policies chose to take.
  • The transnational character of many regional
  • problems was hardly admitted a predominantly
  • reactive, fire-brigade policy concentrated on
  • managing crisis after crisis, from Slovenia to
    the
  • Kosovo.

9
Stability Pact for S.E. Europe How it started
(2)
  • The previous policy of the international
    community vis-a-vis former Yugoslavia had two
    severe deficits It concentrated on the
    consequences instead of on the sources of
    conflict, and it tackled the problems of the
    region individually and separately from the ones
    in other parts of Europe.
  • Joschka Fischer, Cologne, June 1o, 1999

10
Stability Pact for S. E. Europe Precursors
  • a) EU Regional Approach adopted on February 27,
    1996, as part of the Royaumont process following
    the Dayton Agreement
  • cooperation agreements with Albania
    Macedoniatrade preferences for
    Bosnia/Hercegovina Croatia more than 7 bn.
    expenditure since 1991 on strict, regularly
    monitored conditions
  • b) EU Common Strategy for the Western Balkans,
    commissioned by the Vienna European Council in
    December 1998
  • The Unions Regional Aproach of 1996 encouraged
    closer political and economic ties among the
    Balkan countries, but appeared late, with vague
    goals, and little incentives for the countries to
    actually carry out the proposed objectives.
    Differential bilateral EU approaches to
    individual countries undermined much of the
    Regional Approach in the second half of the 90s.

11
Stability Pact for S.E.Europe Precursors (2)
  • Problems
  • Main focus on bilateral relations
  • Not enough attention paid to the Eastern Balkans,
    i.e. neglecting the stabilisation potential of
    Romania and Bulgaria for the region
  • No coordination of competing numerous initiatives
  • Main actors lacked political will and resolve to
    make a real difference
  • From todays point of view, all Balkan
    initiatives prior to the Stability Pact are
    perceived as ill-conceived and unsufficient

12
On 10 June 1999, at the EU's initiative, the
Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe was
adopted in Cologne. Its main aim is to strengthen
the countries of South Eastern Europe "in their
efforts to foster peace, democracy, respect for
human rights and economic prosperity in order to
achieve stability in the whole region". The
Stability Pact is a political declaration of
commitment and a framework agreement on
international co-operation to develop a shared
strategy among all partners for stability and
growth in South Eastern Europe. It is not a new
international organisation nor does it have any
independent financial resources or implementing
structures. It is a co-ordinating mechanism which
matches requests from the region with offers from
participating nations and organisations and
co-ordinates political and economic reforms and
reconstruction in the region. It seeks to provide
a forum to stimulate change in the region.
13
The Stability Pact Partners are
  • The European Union Member States and the European
    Commission
  • The countries of the region and their neighbours
    Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria,
    Croatia, Czech Republic, FYR Macedonia,
    Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia,
    Yugoslavia (Serbia Montenegro), Turkey and
    Moldova
  • Non EU-members of the G8 USA, Canada, Japan and
    Russia
  • Other countries Norway and Switzerland
  • International organisations UN, OSCE, Council of
    Europe, UNHCR, NATO and OECD
  • International financial institutions World Bank,
    International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Bank
    for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD),
    European Investment Bank (EIB) and Council of
    Europe Development Bank (CEB)
  • Regional initiatives Black Sea Economic
    Co-operation (BSEC), Central European Initiative
    (CEI), South East European Co-operative
    Initiative (SECI) and South East Europe
    Co-operation Process (SEECP).

14
Stability Pact for S.E.EuropeCharacteristics
  • SP an example for a general trend in
    international politics regionalization replacing
    bipolarity
  • SP based on lessons from international crisis
    management and conflict prevention, stressing the
    need for
  • a secure environment
  • promotion of sustainable democratic
    systems
  • economic and social well-being
  • reconstruction of intra- and
    intersocietal relations based on agreed rules,
    legitimacy and public authority
  • as preconditions for successful conflict
    prevention and sustainable peace.
  • SP also incorporates the CSCE process experiences
    trust in the power of confidence-building
    measures, coherence of approach to problems in a
    number of baskets, insistence on peaceful change,
    compromise, and package deals as means of
    inter-national (re)conciliation, emphasis on
    local ownership of policies

15
Stability Pact for S.E.Europe Working Mechanism
  • Premiss CSCE concept of conflict
    transformation through an open-ended process of
    increasing cooperation that will unfold over time
  • Mechanism

  • S.E.Europe Regional Table
    meets on Foreign

  • Steering Body acting as Clearing
    Minister
    level

  • House for all matters of

  • Principle

  • Chair Special Coordinator
    appointed by

  • Coordinates all activities of and among
    the European

  • the working tables, meets regularly with
    Union

  • the chairs of the working tables, and re-

  • ports periodically to the OSCE
  • Working Table
    Working Table
    Working Table
  • on democratisation on economic
    reconstruction, on security
    issues
  • and human rights development,
    and cooperation

16
Regional TableChair Erhard Busek
Working Table I DEMOCRACYChair Goran
Svilanovic
Working Table II ECONOMYChair Fabrizio
Saccomanni
Working Table III SECURITYChair Janez
Premoze
Sub TableSecurity Defence
Sub TableJustice Home Affairs
17
  • The Stability Pact was launched in a manner which
    raised exaggerated expectations of what it might
    achieve. Since then, it has been viewed mostly
    with indifference if not scepticism. It could,
    and should, have been better explained at the
    start that it was not a new international funding
    organisation with financial resources of its own
    and an operational mandate. It is a forum
    bringing together 35 countries and 16
    international organisations, financial
    institutions and regional initiatives committed
    to working within a common framework to promote
    stability and growth in the region. In that role
    it has sought with some modest success to promote
    regional co-operation and intra-Balkan trade to
    focus non-EU donors on the needs of the region
    and to achieve better co-ordination amongst the
    plethora of donors. We welcome the consensus
    which emerged at the Bucharest Regional
    Conference that the Stability Pact's role and
    activities should be given a focus more clearly
    in line with its status as a generator of
    international political commitment to the region
    and a catalyst for greater co-operation within
    it.
  • House of Lords, Select Cttee.on the EU, 20th
    report,para.154

18
Stability Pact Achievements
  • Through the Stability Pact for South Eastern
    Europe the EU, for the first time in history,
    undertook to draw South Eastern Europe closer to
    the perspective of full integration into its
    structures. All Southeast European countries have
    been recognised as potential candidates for EU
    membership

19
Stability Pact Achievements (2)
  • The European perspective has proved to be
    the most powerful incentive for reconciliation,
    co-operation and internal reforms in the region.
    Countries in the region view the Pact as the
    primary instrument of political and institutional
    support for the EU integration of SEE countries.
    More important The Stability Pact has succeeded
    in giving life to regional co-operation. For the
    first time in history, SEE countries perceive
    such co-operation as a building block, not a
    stumbling block for European integration.

20
How could the Stability Pact make a difference ?
  • First, the Pact has made it clear that
    regional co-operation is an indispensable
    component and a precondition for Euro-Atlantic
    integration. It is the fast track to full EU
    membership. The EU, on its part, has recognised
    that it should not reward a race towards
    membership. If countries want to join the
    European Union, they have to demonstrate that
    they can develop regional co-operation and can
    solve their problems in co-operation with their
    neighbours, Commissioner Verheugen once stated.
    People in the region should have by now
    understood that such co-operation is one of the
    founding principles of the European Union itself.

21
How could the Stability Pact make a difference ?
(2)
  • Secondly, the Stability Pact has given
    evidence that co-operation serves the mutual
    interests of all participating countries.
    Against this background, the Pact has been
    engaged in facilitating the resolution of
    transnational issues, using the tool of regional
    co-operation as a catalyst for reconciliation,
    good-neighbourliness and improved political
    relations.

22
Stability Pact Criticisms Problems
  • As the prospect of full integration has proven to
    be a powerful incentive for reconciliation,
    cooperation and internal reforms in SEE, the EU
    needs to live up to its full commitment that SEE
    countries will be welcomed as full and equal
    members once the necessary conditions are
    fulfilled. Yet, the engagement of major donors in
    the Balkans has fallen dramatically. The
    Stability Pact community, including the EU, does
    not have appropriate instruments to promote
    social cohesion, private investment and
    sustainable growth in the region. Complicated
    bureaucratic procedures create difficulties to
    spend the money available efficiently and create
    disappointment among recipient countries. Thus,
    the credibility of donors is at stake. The SP has
    been given the difficult task to coordinate
    partners who sometimes resist to such
    coordination. For greater efficiency, SEE
    partners should be granted greater ownership in
    the design and management of external assistance.
    (Bodo Hombach, 2004)

23
Stability Pact Criticisms Problems (2)
  • The Stability Pact for SEE is not as efficient as
    it could be. The economic development in the
    region is still unsatisfactory, the population is
    unaware of the existence of the pact and its
    extensive programmes. The main problem is the
    lack of coordination. The single donor states
    even do not know which projects are funded by
    other countries. (Rainer Stinner, 2004)
  • The record of the international involvement and
    that of the Stability Pact in particular is
    mixed. This is partly due to the fact that the
    Stability Pact has mainly a coordinating
    function, while much more active involvement is
    necessary because the regional will is weak.
    (Vladimir Gligorov, 2004)
  • Note the Special Coordinator only has about 30
    staff !!

24
Stability Pact Criticisms Problems (3)
  • Main problem
  • Inconsistencies perhaps even competition
    between Stability Pact and Stabilization and
    Association Process
  • SP emphasizes regional cooperation and judges
    progress made by SEE states on this basis.
  • SAP establishes competition among the candidates
    for a Stabilization and Accession agreement, as
    their chances to enter the EU later on are judged
    on the basis of their individual progress towards
    the goals and qualifications agreed on. In this
    context, achievements in regional cooperation are
    regarded as marginal.

25
Future Prospects
  • The Stability Pact provides a superstructural
    framework between Romania Bulgaria as accession
    countries, the SEE states as potential accession
    countries, and Moldowa. Thus, it will be needed
    at least until the SEE accession process is
    successfully resolved.
  • The Stability Pact also binds Kosovo into
    regional cooperation via UNMIK. Thus, it will be
    needed as long as the Kosovo status problem is
    not resolved.
  • The development of regional cooperation is an
    open-ended continuing process. This means that at
    last in the immediate and medium term future the
    Stability Pact will have enough work to do. Any
    obituaries therefore are decidedly premature.

26
Thank you for your attention !
27
The Stabilisation and Association Process for
South-Eastern Europe
  • Recipients
  • Albania, Bosnia Hercegovina, Croatia, Federal
    Republic of Yugoslavia, former Yugoslav Republic
    of Macedonia
  • Size
  • 4,5 bn Euro 1991 1999 on part of EU
  • 17 bn Euro including humanitarian assistance
    contributions of member states

28
The Stabilisation and Association Process for
South-Eastern Europe
  • Definition
  • EUs main contribution to the stability pact
  • Enhancement of the Regional Approach
  • Stronger incentives for the region, but also an
    element of conditionality regarding political and
    economic development and regional cooperation
  • Tailor-made approach taking into account the
    needs of each country
  • Goal
  • bring peace, stability, and economic development
    to the region and open the long-term perspective
    of EU membership

29
151. We heard from many of our witnesses that the
Stability Pact, in particular the Quick Start
Package, was announced with a great deal of
fanfare which led to high expectations of it.
Stephen Wordsworth from the FCO told us that
these expectations were overblown (Q 34). Clare
Short went one step further and indicated that
the grandiose promises made at its inception were
a cause for concern because they were seen by
many as too ambitious (Q 252). Chris Patten
believed that "the expectations were less
than coherently explained or analysed and that
it is unfair to blame those who run the Pact
for the gap between the initial rhetoric and what
the Pact has usefully been able to do." (Q
65) 152. Gary Titley MEP made a similar point
when he explained that the Pact had been
established as a reaction to the problem of a
perceived lack of co-ordination of aid efforts in
the Balkan region. He thought that the Pact
itself needed to be more streamlined and focused
and given specific yearly tasks to achieve (Q
177).
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