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| BEYOND ANTICORRUPTION RHETORIC
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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Sofia, 23-24 March 2001
Donald B. Kursch, Deputy Special Coordinator, Stability Pact for Southeast Europe
Your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great honor for me to have been invited to offer introductory remarks and represent the Stability Pact at this conference you have organized to explore the use of public-private partnerships as an instrument to fight corruption. Allow me, in particular, to express my appreciation to the Center for the Study of Democracy and its director, Dr. Ognian Shentov, for taking the lead in organizing this event and attracting so many distinguished experts on this subject. This bold initiative deserves the broad support from all of us who seek to bring the countries and societies of Southeastern Europe into Euro and Euro-Atlantic institutions at the earliest possibly date.
The battle against corruption must be won in order to establish healthy economies and sound democratic institutions throughout the region. Successful efforts in this area are also absolutely essential to establish confidence in institutions by a skeptical population and also demonstrate to the international community that fundamental changes in the region are indeed taking place.
The Challenges We Face
As we all recognize, history has left a heavy burden on Southeastern Europe. Long periods of foreign domination, economic exploitation,
political oppression and ethnic and religious rivalries have
seriously impeded the development of democratic institutions, a
sense that individual citizens can make a difference, and a spirit
of trust between the governed and those in authority. The series of
wars in the region that unfortunately still are producing aftershocks today have provided serious additional setbacks.
However, during the past 10 years there has been a series of steady, positive changes throughout Southeastern Europe. The international community has greatly increased its levels of interest and commitment. The Western Balkans, which were previously a black hole on the EU's map of Europe, have been given a European perspective as a result of last November's Zagreb Conference. Following the December 2000 EU Nice Summit countries such as Romania and Bulgaria are now being treated as serious candidates for EU membership. Assistance levels from the EU, individual EU member states, other major donors and multi-lateral institutions have been increased significantly. Very
importantly, cooperation between the countries of the region has
been greatly improved through a pattern of regular contacts and
initiatives such as SEECP and SEDM. Economic trends have also
become much more encouraging. Economic growth is accelerating and
foreign direct investment in the region, although still much to
low, is up significantly. And, of course, the return of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia to the family of democratic nations opens up
a enormous new possibilities for the region to work together to
resolve common problems and project a new and positive image to the
world.
It is imperative that all countries of Southeastern Europe and their friends work closely together to seize this moment of time and use it to their full advantage. It is critical to have the people of the region develop a win/win mentality and abandon that all too frequent concept that "what is good for my neighbor must somehow be bad for me." Unfortunately, we know that the attention span of many donors can
be extremely short in a world full of tragedy and crises.
Sustaining support for worthy programs is therefore always a major
challenge. Yet we also know how much ground remains to be covered,
how high public expectations of its leaders are and how fragile the
overall situation is. If the international community needed any
reminder of the continued delicacy of the situation in Southeastern
Europe the recent actions of Albanian extremist elements in
Macedonia have provided graphic examples of how potentially
explosive conditions continue to be. Let us hope that it will
persuade the region's friends to maintain and, hopefully, increase
their commitments and deepen our determination to work together as
partners.
The Role of the Stability Pact
The Stability Pact is committed to continuing its role as an advocate for the region to help get it the necessary support to maintain progress and avoid backsliding. We operate on the fundamental principle that for the states of the region to enter the European mainstream it is critical to produce sustained economic growth, strong democratic institutions that enjoy public confidence, and an environment where the security concerns of citizens are successfully dealt with. At the first Regional Funding Conference in Brussels almost exactly one year ago, we were able to obtain 2.4 billion Euro in donor pledges for projects to support all three of these critical goals. These commitments are covering over 130 individual projects in the Stability Pact's so-called Quick Start Package.
We have obtained the commitment of the international donor community to hold a second regional funding conference this fall and endorse recommendations by the SEECP and others that this conference take place in the region and contain a major element from the non-governmental sector. We wish to underscore that funding and support for Yugoslavia will not come at the expense of the rest of the region. In the coming months it is our aim to give priority attention to a limited number of areas where success is absolutely essential to the region's future health. These priorities include increasing private investment, intensifying regional cooperation and fighting a successful battle against corruption.
The Stability Pact Anti-Corruption Initiative
The partners of the Stability Pact have developed the Anti-Corruption Initiative or SPAI to provide a critical instrument in this difficult struggle. This initiative's basic document has been jointly prepared by the EC, OECD, Council of Europe, World Bank and the US and was adopted by the Stability Pact's regional partners in February 2000. The objective of the initiative is to help the countries of the region build up mechanisms, legislation and practices to fight corruption. Our intention is not to interfere in internal corruption cases, but rather to help and advise in establishing institutions and
promoting specific measures that will encourage transparency and
public accountability.
To achieve these goals a set of concrete actions is being identified for each country in the following sectors: international instruments, good governance, the rule of law, transparency and integrity in business operations and active civil society. These actions include the drafting of new laws and the amendment of existing ones and, where necessary, the creation of new institutions. SPAI is supported through a Secretariat led by the OECD and Council of Europe under the
guidance of a Managing Committee comprised of the initiative's
original sponsors. Last year each country appointed a senior
representative in charge of coordinating the intra-government work
on anti-corruption. More than 2 million Euro were raised to fund
the Secretariat that is now staffed with 4 full time experts
augmented by on call experts as well as permanent staff of the
Council of Europe and the OECD.
The implementation of SPAI action plans will be ensured by regular contacts, technical assistance and peer review through the Steering Board made up of the Managing Committee, donor countries and countries of the region and chaired by Judge di Gennaro of Italy, a most distinguished veteran in the fight against corruption and organized crime. The Steering Board, which meets 3-4 times per year, is also an instrument to build regional cooperation and exchange views and experiences. SPAI also intends to offer a general framework for the coordination of activities in the battle against corruption and has begun contacts with NGOs such as Transparency International. These contacts will be expanded in the months ahead. We have just completed a 150 page general assessment that I have brought with me but will spare you the details of in the interest of time. This assessment includes recommendations to identify proposals for concrete actions to be taken in each country. It is our intention to discuss and agree upon these actions at the Steering Board meeting to take place in Tirana on April 18. Following this meeting the strict monitoring of implementation of concrete actions will begin with an initial review to take place at the summer Steering Board meeting in
Washington. It is our goal to make sure that within two years time
the majority of the concrete actions that are identified and agreed
upon in Tirana next month will have been implemented.
We know that attempting to change deeply entrenched patterns of behavior in order to fight corruption is perhaps the most formidable task that the countries of the Stability Pact have committed themselves to. Success will require long term commitments from all government ministries, parliaments and the judiciary. However, we must also fully mobilize the forces of civic society and the business community.
These public-private partnerships will be crucial to the eventual outcome of what we do. For this reason, I am particularly grateful for the opportunity to be with you today and look forward to hearing your suggestions as to how we can effectively work together. I am a very strong believer in doing whatever we can to help empower the
non-governmental sector that is a decisive source of ideas, energy
and deeply rooted commitment.
Southeastern Europe still has much catching up to do. However, the example of many current EU members, who prior to their membership were well below EU standards but now have closed these gaps should serve as an inspiration. For countries such as Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland, the country of my own ancestors which was once possibly Europe's poorest nation, these gaps were not closed overnight, but rather through years of steady, hard work and the development of good relations with ones neighbors.
There is no doubt in my mind the SE Europe can make a similar transition with similar commitments. However, in a fast moving world time is an increasingly precious commodity. Too much time has be lost already, we cannot afford to lose any more.
Bulgaria and the Stability Pact
Before closing allow me to make a few comment about Bulgaria and its participation in the Stability Pact. Frankly speaking, we have passed through a difficult period in our relationship during the past few months. In Bulgaria fear was expressed that the Stability Pact was some sort of consolation prize to substitute for membership in the EU and other Euro-Atlantic institutions. This was never our image of our
initiative, although given the disappointments of the past I can
understand why many in Bulgaria had these concerns which were
shared by many other countries of the region. I believe that the
developments of recent months have demonstrated that these fears
are not justified. The Special Coordinator of the Stability Pact
has been a strong partner and advocate for the region who has
continued to push the donor community on the region's behalf. We
will continue to do this in the months ahead. However, we also seek
Bulgaria's full partnership in all our key initiatives-including
the Anti-Corruption Initiative. During my current visit to Sofia I
sense a more upbeat and confident spirit than prevailed at the time
of my previous visit a year ago. This is a most encouraging
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