EU Presidency Statement - Peace and security

Mr. President,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the European Union. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe associated with the European Union - Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Associated Countries - Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, align themselves with this statement.

Mr. President,

Allow me to congratulate the Presidency of the Council on convening this open session in the Security Council on the strengthening of cooperation between the United Nations system and Central Africa in the maintenance of peace and security. I would also like to thank you, Mr. President, for giving me the opportunity to speak on behalf of the European Union.

The European Union supports the view that there is a need to look closer at the opportunities for strengthening regional integration and cooperation in the Central African region. Regional integration and cooperation would contribute to the integration of the Central African countries into the world economy and play a decisive role in consolidating peace and preventing conflict. This would enable the countries involved to face cross-border challenges, in particular in the field of the environment and the use and management of natural resources.

The sub-regional organisations in the Central African region could be important building blocks for regional political and economic integration and could contribute in securing peace and prosperity. But an important prerequisite for consolidating regional peace, democracy and economic stability is the existence of a genuine political will among the Central African states to cooperate. In this regard the EU is happy to note that there is evidence of an increasing feeling of collective responsibility for securing peace and stability in the Central African region.

At the regional level the recent establishment of the African Union and the adoption of NEPAD are positive steps towards building Africa's capacity to prevent and manage all aspects of conflicts through the strengthening of existing regional and sub-regional initiatives.

If this growing sense of regional responsibility and "ownership" continues to grow and is expressed in a genuine political will of cooperation, then other countries and the United Nations should help to enhance the institutional capacities of the region and closely cooperate with them. The European Union is fully committed to working closely and at all levels with the UN and the region.

In the Cotonou Agreement the European Union has established long-term contractual partnerships with the countries in the Central African region. One of the priority areas of the Agreement is that of supporting regional integration and cooperation. We have, among other things, entered into negotiations for regional economic partnership agreements. These will strengthen the relations between the European Union and the Central African states in full conformity with WTO rules and foster regional integration.

Apart from the Cotonou Agreement it should also be noted that the European Union has launched or contributed to a number of other initiatives in the area of conflict prevention and management in Africa. Furthermore the EU member countries have contributed to peace keeping in Africa both financially and though participation in UN peacekeeping operations.

Let me just add that the European Union follows the developments in the Great Lakes region closely and is studying the possibility to organize an international conference on peace, security, democracy and development in the region.

Allow me to conclude by reaffirming the commitment of the European Union to help strengthening the regional capacities in Central Africa in order to secure peace, democracy and economic stability. The EU is ready to cooperate fully in this endeavour with the UN system and Central Africa.

Thank you, Mr. President.

| Arriba |

• Speech by Commissioner Lamy on NEPAD (9/10/2002)
• EU Presidency Statement - NEPAD (25/9/2002)
• EU Presidency Statement - NEPAD (16/9/2002)
• European Commission Statement on NEPAD (16/9/2002)