Permanent Mission of Greece to the OSCE Wohllebengasse 9/12, 1040 Vienna Tel: + 43 1 503 39 30 Fax: +43 1 503 39 20 / 24 E-mail: greece.osce@chello.at

EU Statement
In response to Mr. George Soros

The European Union welcomes Mr Soros to the Permanent Council. We have listened with interest to his thought-provoking and substantial remarks.

The EU appreciates the work done by organisations established by Mr Soros, in particular the Open Society Institute and the Soros Foundations Network, to promote the transformation of formerly closed societies in the OSCE area into open ones. The close relationship between the goals of Mr Soros and those of the OSCE is reflected in the cooperation between OSCE Institutions, field operations and the OSI or local Soros Foundations, and in the extra-budgetary contributions made by these bodies to OSCE projects.

The EU attaches great importance to the connection between the Human Dimension and the other Dimensions of the OSCE. It is no coincidence that the countries where the rule of law is most firmly established, where the rights of citizens are respected and where governments are freely and fairly elected, are also those where the market economy has brought prosperity to the people, and where they are most likely to live in conditions of security.

The Union also attaches particular importance to good governance, transparency and the fight against corruption. We support the work of the OSCE and its field operations in combating this phenomenon. We also support the OSCE's important work in conflict prevention and resolution, in South Eastern Europe and the Caucasus in particular.

The EU hopes that the question of drugs trafficking and HIV/AIDS can be explored further at the Economic Forum in Prague next month, as well as in our discussions here on a strategy to address threats to security and stability in the 21st Century.

Mr Soros has expressed his concerns about the situation in Central Asia, South Caucasus and a number of individual countries in the OSCE area. The EU has raised similar concerns in the Permanent Council on a number of occasions. In particular, the EU attaches great importance to recent progress towards a political settlement in Moldova, on the basis of some kind of federal arrangement. The Union supports the efforts of the Chairman in Office, his Personal Representative, and the OSCE Mission in Moldova, and will consider carefully how best to assist them.

The EU will not reduce the attention, which it pays to the Western Balkans. The Stabilisation and Association Process, the CARDS programme, Operation Concordia and other instruments all show the high priority attached by the EU to the continuing development of the region and its integration with Europe. The EU Summit with the countries of the region, to be held in Thessaloniki in June, will be a clear public sign of the significance of our relationship with these countries.

In conclusion, the EU looks forward to continuing fruitful cooperation between organisations established by Mr Soros and the OSCE.

The Acceding Countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia and the Associated Countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey align themselves with this statement.