Presentation of the Priorities of the Hellenic BSEC Chairmanship by Deputy PM and FM Venizelos and the Secretary General of the BSEC Permanent International Secretariat, Victor Tvircun

Hellenic MFA, Friday, 27 June 2014:

E. VENIZELOS: Dear friend, Secretary General of BSEC, Madam Minister, ladies and gentlemen, members of the Hellenic Parliament, members of the European Parliament, your excellences ambassadors, ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you for having responded to the invitation extended to you to be here today at the Zappeion Building to celebrate BSEC Day after 20 years of its operation. And my thanks here also to Ambassador Christides, because of course he was responsible for organizing the whole event, and he is also our presence in the Organization.

Now, alongside the celebration it is a pleasure for me to present here to you in this very symbolic location of Zappeion, which has hosted the EU Presidency of the past six months, the priorities of the Hellenic Chairmanship of BSEC, which will of course start on the 1st of July and will run for the second part of 2014, as a natural corollary and continuation of our Presidency of the European Union.

I would like to thank the Bulgarian Presidency of BSEC and I would like to personally thank my Bulgarian counterpart for his contribution and his invitation for us to meet last week in Varna. Varna, unfortunately, has been hit by floods, which were unprecedented, with human victims and much damage. And I must express here my full support to the Bulgarian people and our solidarity with the Bulgarian people and wish you all the best, and of course we are ready and prepared to offer you any help we can.

So, ladies and gentlemen, it is a point in time when we have an ever changing situation and when it is difficult to foresee the future, both in economic and social and even military terms, so regional cooperation constitutes one of the cornerstones of our economic progress, but also through economic cooperation, of course, we come to what we basically want to achieve, which is stability, peace and also political collaboration.

So, the Black Sea area of course is something which inspires us from way back in antiquity, and we of course have roots in Frixos and Elli’s Myth, the Argonauts who set sail for the Golden Fleece in present day Georgia, which was Colchis in ancient times. Now, it is in fact a hub point for transport and of course a 350 million market of emerging countries, so of course there is lively interest there, both regionally and internationally.

So, BSEC is a reflection of the views of people around the Black Sea, and after 20 or so years of operation, it is a mature body, which represents an area which can be a zone of development and opportunities. Despite the very difficult political problems, which I will not make mention of today, and despite the ongoing crisis in the broader region, the prospects for economic cooperation of course are very much with us and are even more important now, because they can contribute to a de-escalation of the crisis, and this of course may be made easier, after the economic agenda of BSEC upon the occasion of its 20th anniversary as an Organization, because now we have moved ahead with our cooperation even further, and I think that conditions are ripe now for us to perhaps take stock of actions so far, to evaluate them, to see what achievements have been made and to see what sort of corrective measures might be taken.

We did have the opportunity twice so far to speak with the Secretary General on these issues, and I know full well his willingness and preparedness with his international staff to work in that direction.

So, I do think that given that framework, we must have a pragmatic approach now, to be able to have tangible and specific objectives set to try and move ahead on productivity and production that lead to economic actions, and to perhaps enrich the technology and knowhow that will feed into the Organization and be translated into specific programs and actions, so that we can have a more entrepreneurial and effective result.

And of course, we are part of the larger family of the Black Sea here, because if you look through time, our commerce, our trade in the past and the operation of BSEC itself, we of course do have two very important units here linked to BSEC, which are the Bank for Trade and Development, in Thessaloniki, and of course we have created the Greek Development Fund in the Permanent Secretariat of the Organization to promote specific programs.

Now, today BSEC is at a vital juncture in looking at its economic operation, but trying to see whether, internationally, it could constitute a forum for effective cooperation for the broader region of the Black Sea as well. And it is also perhaps the right moment for us to step up BSEC and EU cooperation, because now we are looking at the fiscal framework of the European Union for 2014-2020, for that period. And of course we feel that substantial contributions have been made by the Commission, which is due to finish its mandate now.

And linking to the European Union, I feel that we could have synergies created with programs which would increase our range and of course the operational abilities of BSEC.

So, ladies and gentlemen, Greece of course will be taking up the BSEC chairmanship the day after it in fact finishes it successful, as people say, or as our partners say, a successful Greek Presidency of the European Union, helping to move out of the crisis through growth and creating jobs......................... http://www.mfa.gr/en/current-affairs/top-story/presentation-of-the-priorities-of-the-hellenic-bsec-chairmanship-by-deputy-prime-minister-and-foreign-minister-venizelos-and-the-secretary-general-of-the-bsec-permanent-international-secretariat-victor-tvircun.html
27/6/14