Speech
OSCE, Permanent Council No 554: EU Statement in response to the Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, Ambassador Markus Müller

Date of Speech : 05-05-2005

Place : Vienna

Speaker : Jacques Reuter, permanent representative of Luxembourg to the OSCE

Policy area : General Affairs and External Relations

The European Union warmly welcomes the Head of OSCE Centre in Bishkek, Ambassador Markus Müller, to the Permanent Council and we thank him for his comprehensive report which concentrates on the recent developments in Kyrgyzstan. 

The European Union welcomes the approval by the Kyrgyz government of the OSCE work plan with short, medium and long-term programs encompassing all three dimensions of the OSCE. We look forward to its implementation in close cooperation between the Kyrgyz government and the OSCE and in coordination with the activities of other key international actors.

We fully support the priorities outlined in the report by Ambassador Müller. We share the assessment that it is now of crucial importance to set up, maintain and support the political dialogue, to prepare the upcoming presidential elections with a view to ensure that they are free and fair, to assist the authorities on key issues such as stopping land seizures and improving security and safety of citizens including the ethnic minorities in Kyrgyzstan which also are a prerequisite for a positive economical development of the country. In this regard, the EU stresses the urgent necessity for reinforcing the assistance programme to the Kyrgyz police whose capacity to ensure Law and Order will be pivotal for the incoming events.

These efforts should be pursued against the background of regional cooperation which remains the basis for further enhancing peace, security and sustainable development in Central Asia. The future development in the Kyrgyz Republic will be an important signal for democratization in the region.

For the European Union close co-operation with ODIHR, the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media in the implementation of the work plan is of utmost importance.

The European Union takes note of and recognizes the need to strengthen the capacities of the Centre. We therefore support Ambassador Müller’s request for adequate financial means through the Unified Budget as well as through extra budgetary contributions. We fully support his request for additional staff, especially for the speedy recruitment of a capable Deputy Head of Centre to help manage the heavy workload on the Centre in this demanding situation.

In conclusion, we would like to emphasize our high appreciation for the work done by Ambassador Müller and his team under extremely difficult circumstances. We once again thank them for their dedicated work in establishing excellent co-operation and partnership with the concerned authorities, the representatives of the civil society, the political parties, the parliament and the main political leaders. We appreciate the Centre’s close co-operation with the Personal representative of the Chairman of the OSCE, Mr. Peterle, and underline the leading role the OSCE plays in international efforts relating to conflict management in Kyrgyzstan.

The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania and the Candidate Countries Turkey and Croatia¹  align themselves with this statement.

¹Croatia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.