Address at the scientific conference dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the Treaty of Osimo

Ljubljana, 6.12.2010  |  speech

Opening address of the President of the Republic of Slovenia Dr Danilo Türk at the scientific conference dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the Treaty of Osimo
Ljubljana, 6 December 2010


Thank you for your kind greeting and for reminding me of my career as a professor and a diplomat. It is a pleasure to be here today because of this significant anniversary of an important international agreement, and because it gives me an opportunity to introduce a discussion that will shed light on a number of subjects that are important for life in Slovenia and for coexistence between Slovenia and Italy.

The Treaty of Osimo is significant for a number of reasons related to history, international law, diplomacy and the current political moment. Allow me to reflect briefly on each of those aspects.

First, history. Nation states emerged relatively late in the territories discussed here today, which has led to all kinds of political conflicts, violent acts and even long periods of violence. It suffices to remember the cruel and long period of fascist pressure on a large part of the Slovenian people. It does not take much in Slovenia to bring back memories of that period, to remember the violence suffered by the Slovenian people that marked a large part of the 20th century. It was not just a period of few years. It was a period of several decades and the traumas from that time have stayed with us to the day.

It is right, however, to be aware of history in its entirety today and to overcome the traumas inherited from the past. One should also understand that violence also left a mark on others. Perhaps the following will suffice here. Italy merged into a nation state relatively late and the process, the "Risorgimento", was a violent one. Historians estimate that roughly 10,000 died in the process. If we compare this to the Isonzo-Soèa front, the most brutal attempt to move the border to the east, which cost around 700,000 lives on the Italian side, then we see that the Risorgimento was far from the highest point of violence in this part of Europe.

The following periods brought even greater suffering to Slovenes, Croats and Italians. This violent history left such a strong mark on this part of the world that we have yet to be released from all the memories. And we need not be released from all of them. We have painful memories and we have to respect each other with those memories. We must make the effort to ensure that such memories do not become the topic of unnecessary political discussions today and that they do not burden too much our work towards a better future.

The Treaty of Osimo was a successful example of working for a better future. It was concluded at a time of reduced tensions after one of a number of political crises that played out between the former Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia and the Italian Republic. Political leaders in both countries realised that the international climate was right and that the time had come to secure a bilateral agreement and achieve permanent solutions as the foundations of a better future. The treaty that came as a result of the efforts made during the 70s, and which was signed on 10 November 1975, is interesting for reasons of diplomacy and of international law.

Let me begin with international law. The main agreement, the treaty between the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia and the Italian Republic, was relatively short – only nine articles – but was supplemented by ten annexes determining in detail the border, approving it where it had been previously established and specifying it anew in the Gulf of Trieste, where the border had previously been undetermined. This was a great achievement, though far from the only one.

The Treaty of Osimo was also linked with a separate economic agreement, and several letters were exchanged dealing with various issues between the two countries. It was an extensive and intriguing package. Some solutions were experimental, for example the solutions concerning the industrial zone in the Karst. Others related to issues known in international law from previous attempts made to regulate them, which were not very clearly set out in the treaty itself. In particular, I refer to Article 8, concerning minorities. The article is not an example of a clear provision of international law but does provide an adequate framework which, by bona fide interpretation, allows positive results in regulation of the position of Slovenes in Italy and Italians in Slovenia and Croatia.

The treaty and its annexes as an instrument of international law can be a topic of permanent interest to international-law experts, subject to interpretation and most of all reflection on what should be done to give complete substance and full effect to those provisions of the treaty that have not yet been fully effective.

The diplomatic achievement of the Treaty of Osimo should also be noted today. The treaty was negotiated confidentially. The negotiations took several years. Remember how many people knew about them. The negotiations were confidential, taking place directly within a small group of people, yet a larger number of people on both sides of the border were aware that they were taking place. Nevertheless, no force stood up and tried to undermine the process or to stop it by a nationalistic public campaign. This did not happen. The very fact that successful confidential negotiations could take place and yield results meant that the two countries had reached a high level of political maturity and confidence, and possessed the will for a true settlement of the issues agreed in the treaty. They were able to achieve results in a diplomatic process that was entirely under their control.

Unlike earlier territorial arrangements, which were determined by international conferences, the Treaty of Osimo was determined bilaterally. No mediator, no peace conference or any other mechanism involving third-party help was needed. It was an important achievement, well appreciated in Europe and the world. It was appreciated as the first major achievement since the signing of the Helsinki Accords on Security and Cooperation in Europe and it was no surprise that after this achievement Yugoslavia could credibly bid to host the first follow-up meeting on security and cooperation in Europe, which took place two years after the signing of the Treaty of Osimo and roughly at the time of its entry into force.

Besides memories and an assessment of the work and the value of the achievements from 1975, an issue of particular relevance today is the lessons that the treaty and related activities hold for the present and the future. Today, Slovenia and Italy are friendly and cooperative countries with an excellent relationship, and both are members of the European Union and NATO and have many views in common within those organisations. This is a sound foundation for further fruitful development of bilateral relations and resolution of those issues that have not yet been resolved or require additional efforts.

An interesting event took place in Trieste on 13 July this year. A meeting between presidents of the Italian Republic, the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Croatia took place on the occasion of the concert for peace. Preparations took about two months. They were conducted with diligence and awareness of the symbolic meaning of this event. It was prepared with sincerity and in a spirit of goodwill. The date, perhaps unintentionally, coincided with the 90th anniversary of burning of the Slovene National Hall in Trieste. It was obvious that the three presidents should honour the victims of fascism, and honour the memory so strongly symbolised by the anniversary of burning of the Slovene National Hall in Trieste. We therefore together laid a wreath at the National Hall, signed the Memorial Book and then laid a wreath at the monument to the refugees from Istria, Rijeka and Dalmatia.

That symbolic act provided a basis for the way forward. A solid basis because we will have an opportunity in the coming months for a comprehensive discussion on relations between Slovenia and Italy and for an attempt to make a step forward. The omens are good. The process leading to a decision on financing of institutions and organisations of the Slovenian minority in Italy suggest that funding in the next year will be free of the complications and problems of previous years. It would be a good thing if this were the case. Of course, we cannot be completely certain today, but we have good reasons to be optimistic. If that were the case, we would have a good opportunity in 2011 to jointly reflect on what should be done to further enhance relations between Slovenia and Italy, to develop them in a way that sets an example not only to this part of Europe but Europe as a whole, and gives a new chance to all people living in this region.

I would highlight three areas of reflection that should result in agreements in 2011. The first area is the rights of national minorities on both sides of the border. The tasks involved on the one hand means building trust – measures enhancing trust between the two countries – and on the other hand creating new opportunities. Today, we talk a lot of how the period after the Schengen agreement opened up borders in completely new ways and how the new situation should be used to create the most lively and all-encompassing cultural cooperation and development. But we have made little progress in terms of the substance of that development. The results are not particularly impressive and more needs to be done.

When I speak of the resolution of problems concerning the Slovenian minority in Italy and the Italian minority in Slovenia as measures for enhancing trust, I have no intention whatsoever to diminish the primary, human significance of the concern over national minorities. The two countries should never lose sight of the fact that regardless of the new forms of cooperation in Europe, resolution of minority issues is the most important and the most basic test of quality of relations within society in our respective countries as well as the quality of bilateral cooperation. Those issues should therefore be of primary concern.

The second area where more needs to be done is bilateral relations in various segments of the economy, the environment and other areas. Slovenia and Italy have many reasons to cooperate in environmental protection, to develop transport infrastructure and to provide the energy base for economic development on both sides of the border and in Europe more broadly. We have a number of interesting starting points but we need to develop these further into solid cooperation. That cooperation should also receive a legal framework. Interesting and important tasks await here.

And, finally, the third area where I believe we should do more is in bringing Slovenia and Italy together into a joint effort to strengthen the new Euro-Mediterranean dimension of the European Union. Slovenia should not underestimate itself in this regard. Slovenia can act as a useful link between the Mediterranean, Central Europe and the Balkans. It is a Mediterranean country and should be able to develop its Mediterranean identity in new political and practical ways.

There is one mechanism that is available and that has yet to be adequately utilised: the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative, which aims to establish a wider area of cooperation in the region of the Adriatic and Ionian Sea. We are at the very beginning of bringing this idea to life. I believe 2011 will present a good opportunity to develop strong cooperation between Slovenia and Italy in this respect because both countries have their own interests as well as a common interest in developing this regional initiative.

These three ideas – resolving minority issues and solid regulation of minority rights, enhancing joint work in the fields of the environment, transport, energy and economic cooperation, and establishing a wider regional association in the Adriatic-Ionian area – are crucial for progress in relations between Slovenia and Italy, and in my view represent a direct heritage of the process that led to the Treaty of Osimo in 1975, as a solid framework, which determined the border and resolved a number of basic issues, thus enabling better relations in the future.

We have gathered here today at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts to take a look at this historical development, to explore the lessons it holds and to jointly reflect on the way forward. We have among us the first President of the Republic of Slovenia, Milan Kuèan, who has a much better insight into the processes that lead to the Treaty of Osimo than I am able to, and perhaps than many others present here today, in particular those with fewer years on their shoulders, could have.

I would appreciate if all of you participating in the discussion who had a more detailed or an "insider's" view of the dynamics that led to the treaty, would say a few words on the subject. The lessons from that time have a number of interesting aspects. Consider the problems that are currently arising from publication of diplomatic correspondence. The core relationship that has always been the most sensitive in diplomacy (i.e. that between the confidential processes enabling communication and the public processes needed for a final political agreement on the issues requiring international settlement) still remains a matter of utmost importance to the international community and global diplomacy.

The current importance of the Treaty of Osimo has a number of aspects and there are multiple lessons that can be drawn from the process that led to its conclusion. I therefore believe today’s conference to be all the more important and am thankful to the organisers for convening it. I hope you will have much success in your work and discussions, and I look forward to the results. Any direct recommendations to Slovenian policymakers would be most welcome. This year, 2011, could be a year of efforts to significantly enhance relations between Slovenia and Italy. Any contribution that you make to that process will be welcome.

Thank you very much for inviting me to the opening of this conference. I hope it is a success.