As part of the EU preparations for a new comprehensive foreign policy and security strategy, which will replace the current European Security Strategy from 2003, Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the Office of the President of the Republic, Centre for European Perspective, Office of the European Commission in Slovenia and European Union Institute for Security Studies organized a public debate on 21st of March 2016.
The EU Global Strategy, will redefine foreign policy and security priorities of the EU and try to outline basic directions of EU’s activities and role in the world.
Slovenia actively participates in preparations for the EU Global Strategy, which was also the aim of this conference. It is important that each voice and each thinking are heard, as they could contribute to an effective common foreign and security policy, which will not only serve to ensure a place of security and stability in the EU, but also to the long-term stability in the neighborhood and the world, and to ensuring human security. For quality preparation of Slovenian position, expert public opinion is therefore of high importance, which is why the Ministry wanted to organize the conference, collect the opinion and check their views.
Minister for Foreign Relations, Karl Erjavec, has in his introductory speech to the public debate, expressed satisfaction with Slovenian participation at preparations for EU Global Strategy, which results from the process of preparing two strategic documents for Slovenian foreign policy, adopted last July. He stressed that Slovenia has always supported the idea of creating an EU Global Strategy in the field of foreign and security policy, as "EU security strategy, adopted in 2003, does not allow for an adequate response to the changed challenges we are facing in the EU, wider region and the entire international community.”
Minister Erjavec emphasized that because of the global challenges facing the EU needs more openness. Slovenia remains an advocate for EU enlargement. It is the strongest geopolitical instrument of EU. It is a mechanism for strengthening political and economic stability and security in wider European region. Entrance of new members’ results in expansion of the area of shared values.
As a country based on respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms and on a crossroad with a country, which was not able to provide it, Slovenia is strongly committed to further development, promotion and protection of human rights in international context Minister Erjavec stressed. He added, “that it is highly important to be aware that all the challenges international community is facing today are extremely complexed and intertwined. For its successful resolution we need a comprehensive approach, which prioritizes welfare of an individual.
It is important to address the development and security issues and the human rights perspective, which means we have to focus on key elements of human security.” He also pointed out that all of the aforementioned constitute the root causes of migrant crisis that EU is faced by today and which it will be facing in the future. Refugees and economic migrants are here especially because in their hometowns they cannot find proper physical and material security nor freedom of belief.
Addressing the root causes of migrations is closely linked to human security. Area, which these people run away from or migrate, are different, but all of them have one thing in common; people feel endangered, uncertain or without a perspective there. And those are the main challenges EU is supposed to address on the international scene.
Keynote speaker of the debate was President of Slovenia Borut Pahor, who stressed, that since the adoption of Lisbon Treaty in 2009, EU was faced with two larger crises – financial and migration one. Today we are at a time when we have to answer on how to move forward, which is why we need a thoughtful idea on the continuation of the path towards European integration and cooperation. President also stressed that solving migrant or refugee crisis, which is apart from the security aspect, mainly humanitarian issue, is not about the political will, but about question of institutional conditions for creating such a policy. Those are insufficient and will have to be changed. Today’s conference is in that point of view one of the important added values to a necessary discussion on long term solutions.
Further discussion at the conference addressed the root causes of migration, which are closely linked to human security. Areas these people flee from, are different in its appearance and the troubles they are facing. Nevertheless, there is one thing they all have in common, which is lack of human security, be it due to the war, activity of extremists, lack of democracy, lack of respect for human rights, the inability of a country to provide its citizens with safe and dignified life, lack of life perspective (both, economic and social), negative consequences of climate change, failed states and countries faced with threats to sovereignty.
Causes of the migration are comprehensive and multilayered and it is impossible to address them partially. Foreign policy activities directed towards addressing and preventing crisis situations have to consider both, root causes and direct consequences.
Human security can in wider context be interpreted as a role of the country to ensure its citizens all the conditions for a safe and quality life, which is why the priority role of EU foreign policy is to ensure safety and stability of EU.
The key objective of the EU global strategy is to provide an effective response of the Union. The process of preparing the EU's Global Strategy takes place at the right time, when the countries are faced with many different challenges. The EU is in a unique position to look into itself, examine existing activities, instruments and approaches, evaluates them and identifies deficiencies. All this with purpose that the new strategy will prepare the EU not only to respond effectively to the political, security and other conditions, and protecting its interests, but also to be able to proactively operate in its neighborhood and in the world.
Konferenca »Migracije in človeška varnost« v okviru priprav Slovenije na Globalno strategijo EU
V okviru priprav Evropske unije na novo celovito zunanjepolitično in varnostno strategijo, ki bo nadomestila sedanjo Evropsko varnostno strategijo iz leta 2003, je Ministrstvo za zunanje zadeve, v sodelovanju z Uradom predsednika republike, Centrom za evropsko prihodnost, Predstavništvom Evropske komisije v Sloveniji in Inštitutom EU za varnostne študije danes organiziralo javno razpravo.
Dokument, imenovan Globalna strategija EU, bo na novo opredelil zunanjepolitične in varnostne prioritete Evropske unije ter skušal začrtati temeljne usmeritve delovanja in vloge EU v svetu.
Slovenija aktivno prispeva k pripravam Globalne strategije Evropske unije, s tem namenom je bila izvedena tudi današnja konferenca. Pomembno je, da se sliši vsak glas in vsako razmišljanje, ki lahko prispeva k učinkoviti skupni zunanji in varnostni politiki, ki ne bo služila le zagotavljanju območja varnosti in stabilnosti v EU, ampak tudi k dolgoročni stabilnosti v soseščini in svetu ter zagotavljanju človekove varnosti. Za kvalitetno pripravo slovenskih stališč je torej bistvenega pomena prispevek slovenske strokovne javnosti, zato je želelo ministrstvo s konferenco zbirati njihova mnenja in preveriti njihove poglede.
Minister za zunanje zadeve Karl Erjavec je v uvodnem nagovoru odprtega dela razprave izrazil zadovoljstvo, da Slovenija aktivno sodeluje v procesu priprav na Globalno strategijo EU, pri čemer je izhajala iz procesa priprave dveh strateških dokumentov slovenske zunanje politike, sprejetih julija lani. Kot je poudaril, je Slovenija ves čas podpirala ideje o oblikovanju EU globalne strategije na področju zunanje in varnostne politike, saj "varnostna strategija EU, sprejeta leta 2003, nikakor ne omogoča ustreznega odziva na spremenjene izzive, s katerimi se soočamo v EU, širši regiji ter celotni mednarodni skupnosti."
Minister Erjavec je poudaril, da prav zaradi globalnih izzivov, s katerimi je soočena, EU potrebuje več odprtosti. Slovenija ostaja zagovornica širitve EU. To je najmočnejši geopolitični instrument EU. Je vzvod za krepitev politične in gospodarske stabilnosti ter varnosti v širši evropski regiji. Vstop novih članic pomeni širitev območja skupnih vrednot.
Kot država, ki je bila utemeljena prav na spoštovanju človekovih pravic ter temeljnih svoboščin in na prelomu z državo, ki tega ni bila sposobna zagotoviti, se Slovenija odločno zavzema za nadaljnji razvoj, uveljavljanje in varstvo človekovih pravic tudi v mednarodnem kontekstu, je še poudaril minister Erjavec in dodal, "da se je potrebno zavedati, da so vsi izzivi, s katerimi se mednarodna skupnost danes srečuje, izjemno kompleksni in prepleteni. Za njihovo uspešno reševanje je zato potreben celosten pristop, ki mora v ospredje postaviti dobrobit posameznika.
Nasloviti je potrebno razvojna in varnostna vprašanja ter vidik človekovih pravic, to pa pomeni, da se moramo posvetiti ključnim elementom človekove varnosti."
V nadaljevanju je še izpostavil, da vse našteto predstavlja temeljne vzroke migracijske krize, s katero se EU intenzivno sooča danes in s katero se bo soočala tudi v prihodnje. Begunci in ekonomski migranti, ki trkajo na naša vrata, so tu prav zato, ker v svojih domovinah ne najdejo fizične, materialne ali mišljenjske varnosti.
Naslavljanje vzrokov migracij je tesno povezano s človekovo varnostjo. Območja, s katerih ljudje bežijo ali se izseljujejo, so različna, vsem pa je skupno to, da se ljudje na njih počutijo ogroženo, negotovo ali brezperspektivno. In to so ključni izzivi, s katerimi se mora EU soočiti na globalnem odru.
Kot osrednji govorec na današnji razpravi je nastopil predsednik republike Borut Pahor, ki je izpostavil, da se je od uveljavitve Lizbonske pogodbe leta 2009, Evropa soočila z dvema večjima krizama – finančno in migracijsko. Danes se nahajamo v trenutku, ko si moramo odgovoriti kako naprej in zato potrebujemo premišljeno zamisel o nadaljevanju poti evropskega sodelovanja in povezovanja. Predsednik Pahor je ob tem poudaril, da reševanje migracijske oz. begunske krize, ki je ob varnostnem vidiku, predvsem humanitarna, ni samo vprašanje politične volje, temveč je predvsem vprašanje institucionalnih pogojev za oblikovanje take politike. Ti so nezadostni, zato jih je potrebno spremeniti. Današnja konferenca je tudi v tem pogledu pomemben doprinos k nujni razpravi o dolgoročnejših rešitvah.
Tudi v nadaljnji razpravi je konferenca »Migracije in človeška varnost« naslovila vzroke migracij, ki so tesno povezane s človekovo varnostjo. Območja od koder ljudje bežijo so različna tako v svoji pojavnosti kot tudi v težavah s katerimi se soočajo. Kljub temu je v vseh primerih ena stvar enakaskupni imenovalec in to je pomanjkanje človekove varnosti, pa naj bo to zaradi vojne, aktivnosti skrajnih skupin, pomanjkanja demokracije, nespoštovanje človekovih pravic, nesposobnost držav, da svojim državljanom zagotovijo varno in dostojno življenje, odsotnost življenske perspektive (tako ekonomske kot družbene), negativne posledice podnebnih sprememb, propadle države in države, ki se soočajo z grožnjami suverenosti.
Vzroki migracij so večplastni in jih je nemogoče naslavljati parcialno. Zunanjepolitične aktivnosti usmerjene v obravnavanje in preprečevanje kriznih položajev morajo zato upoštevati tako korenine vzrokov, kot tudi neposredne posledice.
Človekova varnost je v širšem kontekstu lahko interpretirana v smislu naloge države, da svojim državljanom zagotavlja vse pogoje za varnost in dobro življenje, zato je tudi prednostna naloga evropske zunanje politike, da zagotavlja varnost in stabilnost EU.
Ključni cilj Globalne strategije EU je zagotovitev učinkovitega odzivanja unije. Proces priprave EU globalne strategije poteka ob pravem času, ko se države soočajo s številnimi in raznovrstnimi izzivi. EU je v edinstvenem položaju, da se ozre vase, preuči obstoječe aktivnosti, instrumente in pristope, jih ovrednoti in identificira pomanjkljivosti. Vse to pa z namenom, da bo nova strategija pripravila EU ne samo na učinkovito odzivanje na politične, varnostne in druge razmere ter zavarovanje njenih interesov ampak tudi na proaktivno delovanje v njeni soseščini in v svetu.
