REVISED 18.11.2011

KEY NOTE SPEECH BY MR MEVLÜT ÇAVUŞOĞLU,

PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY,

AT THE BLACK SEA ENERGY AND ECONOMIC FORUM

ISTANBUL, 18 November 2011, 12h20

Key regional perspectives: Europe’s Southeast and Pan-European Values

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

I am very honoured to be addressing you. Peace, stability and democratic development in South-East Europe and the Black Sea Region are priorities of the Council of Europe and of our Parliamentary Assembly which I represent here today.

Ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues,

South-East Europe and the Black Sea is an extremely diverse region. Yet, there is one thing that all the countries of this region have in common: this is the European perspective.

All countries of the region are members of the Council of Europe. They are all engaged with the European Union. Some are members already; others will be joining sooner or later. Therefore, the role of Pan-European institutions is to support the European aspirations of the countries of the region by promoting political stability, fostering economic growth and supporting social cohesion.

In the past fifteen years, the countries of the region have achieved a lot in implementing democratic reforms. Yet, the pace of these reforms was not always even and, in some countries, further progress is still required.

Of course, the situation in each country is specific and I do not aim at making comparisons. Therefore, let me highlight a couple of common challenges.

In a number of countries, insufficient political pluralism, shortcomings in the electoral process, as well as violations of the freedom of expression and assembly, do not always provide for an inclusive political environment. Moreover, the lack of dialogue between the majority and the opposition has triggered political deadlocks in several countries. These crisis situations can only be resolved by political means. But, constitutional and legal reforms are also needed to prevent the repetition of similar deadlocks in future.

Rule of law-related reforms are urgently needed: independence of the judiciary and fight against corruption must be strengthened; effective domestic remedies against human rights violations should be established.

And these are just domestic challenges. We should not forget about the frozen conflicts in the region, as well as about the need for reconciliation, confidence-building and dialogue following the conflicts after the fall of the Soviet Union and of the former Yugoslavia.

What could be the Pan-European response to these challenges? Of course, international organisations cannot “impose” “universal” solutions. Our efforts can only complement domestic actions of governments and parliaments concerned.

Over the years, the Council of Europe has adopted a huge number of conventions and recommendations which now form the core of a common European legal space.

The enforcement of these standards is ensured by independent monitoring bodies, under the political authority of the Committee of Ministers and of the Parliamentary Assembly – quite a unique case in Europe and in the world!

Our Assembly has its own monitoring mechanism which covers all countries of the region. We do not duplicate the work of experts but make political assessments of the reforms in order to support democratic changes.

Moreover, we provide support in the organisation of free and fair elections, through election observation in co-operation with our international partners.

But, in fact, in the first place, the Council of Europe and our Assembly provide a platform for political dialogue and co-operation between members. By working together parliamentarians from the region share their experiences and mutually support each other’s efforts on the path to European integration.

Moreover, through parliamentary diplomacy, our Assembly supports international efforts to resolve frozen conflicts in the region: we have set up ad hoc committees to promote dialogue between parliamentarians from Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as from Georgia and Russia. Through our monitoring procedure, our rapporteurs follow closely the negotiations on the Transnistrian settlement, within the framework of the “5+2” format. We invite the members of the Kosovo Assembly to the meetings of our Committees, whenever we discuss issues which directly concern them, in order to ensure that our standards of democracy, rule of law and human rights are implemented there as well. We actively support the process of dialogue and reconciliation in the Balkans and our recent resolution on this issue provides a lot of recommendations in this respect.

Dear colleagues, dear friends,

Let me finish on a wider international note: the winds of democratic change that are blowing in our neighbourhood represent a great opportunity for Europe! The Council of Europe and our Assembly were among the first to offer support to ongoing democratic changes in the region, including through the status of Partnership for Democracy with the Assembly which we have already granted to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Morocco and to the Palestinian National Council. Now, we are working with our partners in Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt to promote this status.

Moreover, interest in the partnership status is also growing in Central Asia: last week, we received an official request from the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic. I also hope that our Kazakh colleagues, as well as other Parliaments from the region, would apply as well, when they feel ready.

In this context, I believe that the countries of South-East Europe and of the Black Sea region should play an active role in sharing their own experiences of democratic transformations with our neighbours, thus building the bridge between Europe and the wider Euro-Asian and Euro-Mediterranean region. By sharing their own good practices, as well as by learning from our neighbours’ experiences, they could make a concrete contribution to making our region even more politically stable and prosperous.

Dear colleagues, I thank you for your attention and look forward to an interesting exchange of views with you.