Roumanie

Né en 1948, Ion Pascu a fait des études de commerce extérieur à l'Académie d'Etudes Economiques de Bucarest, dont il a été par la suite Maître-assistant, puis a suivi des cours de spécialisation en économie mondiale à l'Université Washington de Seattle (USA).

Son activité au Ministère des Affaires étrangères a débuté en 1974, d'abord comme Référant de relations, puis comme Attaché et enfin comme troisième Secrétaire à la centrale du Ministère. Entre 1979 et 1998, il est successivement nommé Chargé d'affaires au Yémen, premier Secrétaire d'Ambassade en Grèce et en Suède, puis Directeur du protocole du Ministère des Affaires étrangères, avant d'occuper la fonction de Ministre Conseiller à l'Ambassade de Roumanie à Londres.

En 1998, Ion Pascu est chargé de la Direction Générale pour l'Europe et l'Amérique du Nord et, depuis juin 1999, il est Secrétaire d'Etat au Ministère des Affaires étrangères. A ce titre, il expose la politique européenne de la Roumanie.

Thank you very much for giving me the great privilege of addressing this third Coudenhove-Kalergi Meeting, an intellectual forum which has done so much over many decades to encourage discussion on the current and future integration of Europe.

In that spirit, I would like to share with you some views about the future of that corner of Europe where the Balkans meet the Carpathians, and South Eastern Europe merges into Central Europe. That is the place where my country is located for both her best and worst of luck. And, in this context, I shall also try to focus on the major political options of my country and the reasons of her solidarity with the values and operational practices of the greater Euro-Atlantic Community.

I am also particularly grateful for the privilege to speak about these issues on Swiss soil where Nicolae Titulescu, a distinguished Romanian diplomat and one of the founders of the Paneuropean Movement said : "Statesmen coming from so many countries of the world try to construct this home of humanity in which each of our countries should find its place, without losing its personality, in order to create the great universal harmony. This may be an ambitious dream, but is also such an active reality that no disillusion should discourage us, for the light of tomorrow is so strong in us that it shines over our thoughts and our hearts".

After World War II, a large part of Europe managed, mainly by means of political and economic integration through NATO and the European Union, to keep under control the nostalgic impulses of passed history which might have otherwise triggered civil strife and border conflicts. Those were the forces that have devastated the Balkans and threatened the peace of Europe time and again. That lesson is now more relevant than ever. The Balkan States, Yugoslavia included, where multi-ethnicity represents, for historical reasons, a fact of life, are now in a position to benefit from those trends that have characterised West European politics for the past several decades : open borders, open societies, protection of minorities, empowerment of regions and the pursuit of trans-national co-operation.

Taking advantage of that opportunity is, first and foremost, a challenge for us, the countries and nations of the South Eastern Europe, but it is also a challenge for the Europeans in general. It is my firm conviction that stability and a peaceful future cannot be achieved without economic security, which means at least decent living standards and fair prospects of prosperity for all the people. That is why the recently launched Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe - which has put together a comprehensive package of measures on international security, domestic democratisation and institution building and economic co-operation for development - seems to be by far the most coherent joint European answer to the actual needs in our region and a new firm step ahead towards the united Europe of tomorrow.

In a region where historical memories of ethnic and/or religious conflicts are still very much a component of current political thinking and decision making, where past or present dictatorial or authoritarian regimes have kept alive territorial claims and dreams of revenge, Romania is a country where pluralistic democracy and respect for human rights are already deeply rooted. Despite her sometimes unfairly exclusive black-and-white image abroad, Romania is a country where democratic debate on the domestic scene is a routine political conduct, where market reforms are advancing, where the European and Euro-Atlantic priorities of foreign policy enjoy broad consensus across the political spectrum and where, last but not least, the consistent promotion of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities represents a self-evident success story in South Eastern Europe.

All these achievements entitle Romania to be a primary contributor in sharing with other countries in the region, within the framework of the Stability Pact and other existing co-operation structures and mechanisms, the benefit of her long-standing relevant democratic experience. In our view, confidence building and co-operation based on the values and institutions of democracy are the mainstay of a solid regional architecture.

As I already said, peace and stability in the South Eastern Europe – as, in fact, in any other region - cannot be achieved without economic security. No empty rhetoric or vague promises can replace firm guarantees and meaningful facilities based on mutual interest. Encouraging trade with foreign direct investments in our countries could make a valuable contribution in this direction. This should be seen both as a mean to compensate the considerable losses incurred by the countries in the region over the past few years, as a result of the conflicts in former Yugoslavia and as a prerequisite of healthy economic recovery, with obvious positive effects at the level of European and even global economy.

We believe that action-oriented projects are required in this respect, with clear targets and proper financing, meant to encourage the countries in the region to co-operate and to contribute with their own resources and local expertise. It is most encouraging to know that the dynamic private sector in Romania has taken their lead in preparing a comprehensive offer of goods and services, which are available and relevant for the post-conflict rehabilitation and reconstruction of South Eastern Europe. The offer, worth about one billion, is posted on a special web site and has been sent to the main donor organisations and individual countries. In very practical terms, it provides the material bases for enhanced commercial exchanges and for the preparation of Romanian companies in tenders for publicly funded regional projects as main contractors, subcontractors or suppliers.

Switzerland, with her intrepid businesspeople and recognised experience, could easily assume, alongside the established EU framework, an important role, particularly in relation to a country like Romania, where farming and tourism, manufacturing industries and banking are among the most promising economic sectors and where everything has to be working as well as a Swiss watch.

South Eastern Europe strongly needs the support and solidarity of all European countries and structures to achieve the targets of steady and sustainable development in a stable peaceful environment :

We all know that Switzerland is among the neutral countries with the longest record in the world and that the Swiss people are still proudly attached to the values of neutrality. But it is also true that few countries in the world have contributed to peace and stability of Europe and the world to a larger extend than Switzerland has done. It is not just an exaggeration to say that, during the Second World War, the Allied Nations won the fight for democracy on Swiss soil. That is why I do not feel too shy when I say a few words about Romania's objective to get full integrated with the North-Atlantic Alliance and to seek formal acknowledgement as a member of a family to which, at least de facto, Romania already belongs.

From a Romanian perspective, NATO is the key player for generating positive trends in strengthening stability in the region. NATO has already managed, or at least is doing its best, to solve the very complex crises in our neighbourhood, like those of Bosnia and Kosovo, which have a high spillover potential. NATO also keeps an eye on contiguous zones, which may project instability across Europe; those areas, not far away from my country, just across the Black Sea or the Mediterranean one. Equally important, NATO has started to address trans-national and non-conventional risks, such as organised crime, trans-border criminality and corruption, illegal migration, money-laundering and so on, which jeopardise stability and economic development of younger and older democracies alike no less than the conventional, Cold War-type threats.

As recent developments in Kosovo have demonstrated, it is obvious that countries that are placed in the geographical proximity of troubled areas that may generate security risks can play an important part in preventing the infection from spreading. Regular political consultations on security among countries that border such areas and NATO member countries, or other interested countries, which could make valuable contributions, will bring us closer to timely and peaceful solutions, saving numberless human lives and huge resources and turning the past humanitarian catastrophes triggered by such crises into mere bad memories.

In our view, the tragic events that we recently witnessed in South Eastern Europe prove the pertinence of the North Atlantic Alliance's policy of keeping its door open for all those who, like Romania, share its values, already meet the political and military prerequisites of the accession and are prepared to pass this threshold.

I cannot think a better end of my contribution than to recall once again some of Nicolae Titulescu's words. Considering his long experience in dealing with League of Nations affairs in Geneva, he proudly used to introduce himself as a "Swiss citizen by right". As Titulescu said, the diplomats of his time were called upon the Swiss soil "to learn to organise and strengthen this second loyalty, which must uphold and discipline the loyalty we owe to our countries and which I shall call 'patriotism for the international community'. This is a concept which is about to make a sensational appearance as a real and constructive force or which, if past miseries have not been sufficient to prepare its coming, should indicate by its very absence that the future is only made of darkness and that the human race must still suffer..."