Address by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Slovenia Dr Danilo Türk to the Foreign Diplomatic Corps

Brdo by Kranj, 4.2.2008  |  speech

Your Excellency, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Guests,

It is my pleasure to welcome you warmly to this traditional New Year’s Meeting. Allow me to greet you all on behalf of the hosts of this meeting, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia and Ms Urška Bačovnik, on behalf of my wife Barbara and on my own behalf.

I am especially pleased to be able to address you today as the President of the Republic and the President of the country that has just taken over the European Union Presidency for this semester. Every beginning is exciting and brings hope, good will and new energy. Such is the beginning of this year and such is the symbolism of our meeting this year.

At the beginning of the year, we look back at the results and efforts of the past year. For Slovenia, 2007 was a successful year, a period of economic growth and dynamic political life in the spirit of pluralism. Last year’s presidential elections, too, were held in the same spirit, in the spirit of competition between candidates, with confrontation between views and genuine choices.

We have joined the eurozone and the Schengen area. Thus, Slovenia has built even stronger ties within the European Union.

Slovenia last year shared the experience of the larger part of Europe and the luckier part of our planet. The problems we had – such as the rising inflation and related social issues - are natural in conditions of our rate of economic growth and progress, in a situation characterized by international peace and political stability. We understand them and we manage them. At the same time, however, we know that we are part of the global world, which is linked by multiple ties of interdependence. We are well aware of our common responsibilities at a time characterised by such global phenomena as worldwide connectedness in terms of communication and security, and global warming.

Slovenia is devoting itself to those global challenges and responsibilities particularly actively now, during its Presidency of the European Union. The European Union is a global actor which understands that its perspective is assured only in the global context. We give high priority to such issues as global warming. The European Union has already adopted a package of measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This was done because of an awareness that time for action is running out fast and that it is possible to lead only by example. Ahead of us lie serious tasks in the negotiations on implementation of the Road Map adopted at Bali in December last year. It is of vital importance that we understand the urgent nature of those negotiations. Any further delay takes us further along the path to the risk of global ecological catastrophe. This year’s objectives must be met this year if we want to conclude the negotiations in full on time and replace the Kyoto Protocol with a new efficient international instrument.

These warnings might seem too grave for today’s meeting. Their urgency is indisputable and no international event is an inappropriate venue for repeating them. The recent visit of the UN Secretary-General confirmed this. Next week Slovenia – as the presiding country of the European Union – will participate in discussions held at the UN headquarters in New York with a view to speeding up the international action to preserve our planet.

The perception of urgency and necessity for swift action also leads us to address many other international issues. Our most urgent tasks include efforts to meet the millennium development goals, to ensure more efficient aid to Africa and its development, to provide safe drinking water, to successfully continue world trade negotiations and much more.

They also include addressing the crisis areas of our planet. The European Union is fully committed to resolving the issue of Kosovo and a great deal of our efforts this year will be dedicated to that. In this context, an appropriate regional policy on the South Eastern European region will have to be developed. All the countries in the region must have realistic prospects of participating in the process of European integration and of being included among the Member States of the European Union. Only a stable regional framework can guarantee the successful resolution of the problems of individual countries of the region.

The European Union is also committed to action in other neighbouring regions, in the Middle East, in Central Asia, in Africa and elsewhere. This year, efforts to resolve the issues of Palestine and peace in the Middle East must be stepped up. An effective strategy to assist Afghanistan will have to be determined. In other international matters, too, the European Union must be active and affirm its role as an international factor in the first rank, significantly contributing, in partnership with others, to resolving global problems. The economic and financial instruments available to the European Union must be continuously supplemented with increased political commitment and development of the common Foreign and Security Policy. We have to develop the institutional strength and efficiency of the European Union. It is therefore important that the process of ratification of the Lisbon Treaty be brought to a conclusion this year and a basis for continuing the institutional development of the European Union in 2009 made ready. It is equally important to strengthen efforts to implement the Lisbon Strategy aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the European economy while taking into consideration the European social model and protection of the environment.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is understandable that Slovenia pays particular attention to the tasks involved in its Presidency of the European Union. We take Europe as our common home providing for a better future for our immediate neighbours and assuring successful development in the globalised world. At the same time, we are interested in the progress of all the other international institutions with which we have been cooperating. We actively participate in the UN operations. In addition to environmental issues, we dedicate our efforts to the improvement in the field of human rights, faster economic and social development and to the strengthening of global security. Slovenia is a member of the UN Human Rights Council and actively involved in building of the mechanisms of this new and very important UN body. Slovenia takes an active part in peace-keeping operations not only in Kosovo but also in Lebanon, Afghanistan and elsewhere; we are also preparing to participate in the peace-keeping operation in Chad. We hope that the UN efforts in Africa will be successful. The stagnation in development has lasted too long, social disintegration has proceeded too far, and there is too much instability, too many armed conflicts and too much ethnic cleansing. It’s time to make a change for the better. We support the efforts of the UN Secretary-General, who plans to convene a special summit meeting this autumn aimed at speeding up aid to Africa.


We are committed to the reforms of the UN. Some of the reforms, such as the Security Council reform, have slowed down for understandable reasons. Nevertheless, the reform efforts must not be brought to a standstill. We should bear in mind that the United Nations Organisation is the only global organisation in the world, necessary more than ever before. Its goals will be achieved merely if its mechanisms are tailored to suit the needs of the present time.

This also applies to other international institutions in which we participate – NATO, OSCE and others. These organisations, too, have undergone significant changes resulting in a modified structure and tailored activities. The cold war is long over, and the necessity to adapt security structures to new needs is great. The reforms undertaken within this framework make us stand firmer in our belief that international system will be capable of responding to contemporary security issues.


At the same time we know that prevention is better than cure. Addressing issues relating to the economic and social development, accelerated development of developing countries, strengthening of human rights and progress in democracy, as well as peaceful international cooperation are conditions essential for lasting stability and peace in the world. These are the aims that the diplomatic efforts are focused on.

Greeting you today, at this traditional New Year's Meeting, I would like to express my appreciation for your contributions towards creating conditions for a better, more just, and above all, safer world where international cooperation is increasingly enhanced, more developed and more accomplished. And, your contributions to this aim, distinguished members of the Diplomatic Corps, are valuable. In appreciation to your work and expressing my thanks, I wish you every success in the New Year, and as Slovenes like to emphasise, good health and personal happiness.
Thank you.