Address by the President at the diplomatic reception ceremony

Brdo pri Kranju, 18.1.2010  |  speech

Address by the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, at the diplomatic reception ceremony
Brdo pri Kranju, 18 January 2010


Esteemed Doyen of the Diplomatic Corps,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends,

It gives me great pleasure to offer you a warm welcome to this traditional New Year reception. I welcome you on behalf of the hosts of the reception, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, and Tanja Peèar, on behalf of my wife Barbara and on my own behalf.

Our traditional reunion is an expression of the best wishes extended at the beginning of a new year, an expression of friendship and of striving for a better world. I wish to ask you to communicate my best wishes to the heads of your respective states, together with expressions of hope that our cooperation will help us find adequate answers to the difficult issues of our time. The symbolic meaning of our meeting is closely connected with fundamental values that we advocate: respect and friendship, sincerity of our efforts for wide-ranging international co-operation, and with the awareness that we all belong to one global family.

The year behind us, characterised by the global recession, was not an easy one. The recession revealed a number of shortcomings in the contemporary world and the exacting nature of the tasks that we all have to tackle. For each country, work obviously starts at home, with the care for the economic and social situation of the people and for political stability, providing the best possible route for development. Our care for the fate and welfare of the people requires solutions that reflect a full understanding of domestic realities. But we are also aware of the world's interconnection and its increasing interdependence. Therefore, no policy can really succeed if it fails to take into account the international situation.

Slovenia is indeed dedicated to international efforts to find a way forward. But we are also concerned with the situation, the concern being the result of the evident shortcomings in the architecture of international institutions and the worrying conduct of the world's centres of economic and financial power. The recession, which had a disastrous impact on the entire world last year, can largely be attributed to the unacceptable practices of financial institutions, as well as their irrepressible greed for large profits and their irrational risk-taking and disregard for the ethical requirements that are fundamental to sustainable economic development. We are concerned by how feeble the awareness of the necessity of reforms in the global financial system still is, and how in certain cases it has even begun to weaken.

This trend of lessening the commitment to reforms must be stopped. In the New Year, we should not miss the opportunity to take determined steps towards necessary reforms in the global financial system. The issue is not only economic prosperity, but also ethical values providing sustainable development and international peace.

Moreover, the current international economic situation is not the only reason for concern. We should indeed be particularly concerned because of the inadequate progress made by the international community in its efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change and to establish a mechanism to succeed the Kyoto Protocol. The efforts to reach an agreement at the recent climate conference in Copenhagen did not yield the results we had hoped for. Diplomatic action lags behind the expectations of citizens and even behind the position increasingly advocated by the business community. We need new effort and a new impetus. There is no time to waste in unproductive debates. What is required is earnest commitment, and genuine and legally binding agreements. The beginning of this year is the right time to resume our efforts to initiate new negotiations and to give new impetus to the process leading to such arrangements. Slovenia will share these efforts both within the European Union and the global level.

The European Union also needs new impetus. In the past few years, much energy has been put into efforts to establish new institutions for the European Union. With the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, these institutions have been set up and now good results are expected. The European Union must avoid the danger of being mainly occupied with itself and its own problems. The world expects the European Union to be one of the leading actors to improve the world and to expand prosperity and the implementation of human rights. Slovenia, too, expects the European Union to play such a role.

Last year, Slovenia devoted the best of its energy to strengthening this role of the European Union in its effort to help resolving the main issues of our time. Within the wider efforts to reduce global warming we have been, since Slovenia's EU Presidency in 2008, among the active states endeavouring to make the European Union a leading global force. We are also members of the "Green Group" countries, a group of small countries from all continents of the world willing to jointly work towards reaching an international agreement on climate change. We will continue these efforts also in this year. A safe and healthy human environment is a human right.

In the past year, we strengthened our efforts to implement human rights in Slovenia as well as at the international level. Our Government decisively approached the implementation of the decision of the Constitutional Court regarding the problem of "erased persons", which has been a significant issue in human rights in Slovenia for far too long. We were also active in the Human Rights Council within the United Nations and in the Council of Europe, in particular by actively presiding over the Council of Ministers. We also contributed in the solution to the difficulties in the election of the new Secretary-General of the Council of Europe. Moreover, we accelerated the debate on necessary reforms in the European Court of Human Rights. We have developed new dimensions of the efforts of the Council of Europe to enhance the preservation of cultural heritage and made every effort to protect human rights, including the rights of children. Human rights are never completely and irreversibly guaranteed. Therefore, efforts to protect them will be a permanent priority task of our country and our foreign policy.

We are also committed to solving humanitarian problems. In the past year, I launched an operation offering humanitarian aid to children who became disabled as a consequence of the armed conflict that took place a year ago in Gaza. Our specialists in the area of the rehabilitation of disabled persons have proved to be among the leading experts in the world and have successfully helped the first two groups of children. Today, I would like to express my thanks to our doctors and therapists, and to all donors and all countries in the Middle East who helped us achieve success in our efforts, which we intend to continue this year.

Efforts to solve humanitarian problems must never stop. But it is even more important to strengthen the political and diplomatic efforts to ensure international peace which is the best guarantee to prevent humanitarian problems from happening in the first place. We strongly support the efforts for peace in the Middle East on the basis of the principles that were defined by the "Quartet", which remain the only real basis for a successful peace effort.


Ladies and gentlemen,

Endeavours for international peace and stability always stem from the immediate environment of each and every country. In the previous year, Slovenia actively supported full stabilisation of South-East Europe and the integration of the countries of this region into the Euro-Atlantic structures. We are pleased that, at the end of last year, visa-free travel was granted to the citizens of some countries in South-East Europe, and we will strive for visa liberalisation for the other countries in the region. Let us not forget that the right to freedom of movement is a basic human right and that it is severely affected if travel to other countries is restricted, especially countries in Europe, the Europe that in the last two decades has made tremendous progress with the liberalisation of movement for its citizens. We consider visa liberalisation to be part of the overall efforts for the accession of the countries of South-East Europe to the European Union. All countries in this region deserve a clear and credible European perspective. For this goal to be achieved, we must make effective steps forward every year, steps that represent tangible progress in meeting the membership criteria and progress directly felt by citizens.

Over the past year, Slovenia has contributed to this end in a variety of ways by promoting discussions on South-East Europe within the institutions of the European Union, by offering concrete proposals and through direct engagement in finding solutions to real issues in the region. Last November, Slovenia and the neighbouring Croatia signed, at the level of prime ministers, an arbitration agreement concerning the land and maritime border, and the related issues. Some of the tasks required for the ratification of this agreement remain on Slovenia’s agenda for this year. It is our firm belief that a resolution of the border dispute must be to the benefit of both countries and their future co-existence. Neither Slovenia nor Croatia should feel that they have made either unfair sacrifices on obtained unjustified advantages over the other. I am convinced that success in resolving this issue will help strengthen of the will to settle any other outstanding issues between our two countries and indirectly to accelerate the integration of the countries of South-East Europe into the European Union.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The year ahead of us will be a demanding one. We will have to tackle a number of important tasks. For this, we will need the right incentives. In Slovenia, we have traditionally drawn our energy from our cultural creativity. This shall also be our encouragement in the future. Culture to my mind includes physical culture and sport. In 2009, we were impressed by the numerous outstanding achievements of Slovenian sportsmen. Their performance at winter competitions this year continues to fill us with enthusiasm. We hope this will continue at the forthcoming Winter Olympics in Canada, and throughout the year, including at the football World Cup in South Africa, at the basketball World Championship in Turkey and in many other events in which Slovenia will take part. This, too, will reflect our bond with the world, and our determination to be part of the progress of the world.

Ladies and gentlemen,

At the start of a new year, all people of good exchange wholehearted wishes for peace, friendship, happiness and health. I would like to take this opportunity to echo these good intentions. Last but not least, let me thank you for your contributions to creating a better world, a more just world, where peace and prosperity will be our joint accomplishment, and success and happiness a realistic aspiration for all. It is in this spirit that I wish you a happy and successful new year.

Thank you.