ALTERNATIVE TO EUROPEAN UNION OR...

American Initiative for Cooperation

AIM Sarajevo, 21 January, 1997

The first meeting of the South-Eastern Europe Cooperation Initiative (SECI) held in the beginning of December last year in Geneva caused a series of doubts and dilemmas, thanks primarily to resistance of Slovenia and Croatia to adopt the Statement on Intentions. A few days after the meeting, Croatian weekly Globus published on its front pages alleged unknown details about SECI as "exclusive", clarifying that this Initiative was in fact a threat of uniting countries of former Yugoslavia into a new joint state and also a threat to turning countries of South-Eastern Europe into a protectorate of the USA.

Since Bosnia & Herzegovina is one of the countries which has given its consent for uniting into SECI, Co-Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Neven Tomic, explains why B&H has joined the Initiative.

"SECI is not a political initiative for uniting countries which have adopted the Statement of Intentions. It is rather an economic association which will have ad hoc meetings in order to consider and carry out certain projects some states are interested in", says Tomic.

The meeting in Geneva lasted for two days, and it ended by signing of the Statement which was not signed only by Croatia and Slovenia. Apart from B&H, the USA had invited Hungary, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Turkey, Macedonia and Moldavia. Because of demonstrations in Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia was not invited to the first session, although the American project includes this country as well.

Indeed, American efforts can be brought down to attempts to make Belgrade the "capital" of this union in South-Eastern Europe, and American interest would reflect in the "attempt to create an alternative European Union among the under-developed and politically mutually quarrelled countries in order to impose on them absolute political patronage of the USA".

The first reason why the Americans wish to impose a political protectorate on the whole region is penetration of the USA through Romania and Moldavia to the Black Sea, in other words deep into the Russian interest sphere, and the other is creation of a joint market which includes 150 million consumers in 12 countries, through which the USA would politically parry the European Union.

Neven Tomic stresses that there are not only political reasons at stake when establishment of SECI is concerned. This initiative was conceived rather as an economic cooperation among countries which would form the association, and B&H supports such initiatives. But...

"There is no economy without politics, nor politics without economy and that is why it is difficult to distinguish this from similar associations. One thing is clear - countries which have decided to join SECI are already closer to Europe and long for gathering around individual projects which will be of interest. SECI was not conceived as a political association. It has neither its seat, not a definite form. It will meet as need arises, depending on talks and discussions on certain projects. In this way, the process of joining the European Union by these countries would be accelerated", stresses Tomic who was present at the meeting as an envoy of the member of the Presidency of B&H, Kresimir Zubak.

The delegation of Bosnia & Herzegovina consisted also of the envoy of President Izetbegovic, B&H Ambassador in the UN Geneva mission, Mustafa Bijedic. The envoy of the Serb member of the Presidency Momcilo Krajisnik did not participate at the December meeting. A new meeting of SECI is expected soon after the American diplomat Richard Shiffer visited Zagreb for repeated consultations. According to the words of Sefik Fadzan, advisor in the mission of B&H in Geneva UN, SECI cannot be observed in any political context. It is exclusively an economic association, almost informal in nature, which is illustrated by the fact that for joining SECI a country does not even need the approval of its government.

"It is an association based on interest of two or more countries in the region on a project and indeed exclusively economic interests. Each country can with no problems leave the Initiative", says Fadzan.

He adds that the B&H delegation in Geneva had in mind that SECI was also one of the roads to better realization of many projects and that there was no need to shrink from such an association. According to what he said, Slovenia and Croatia withdrew from cooperation because of "problems of procedure": in Slovenia formation of the new government was under way, and the Croatian delegation returned to Zagreb due to "internal questions and consultations".

American diplomat Shiffer visited Zagreb in order to talk the Croatian officials into agreeing to join the South-Eastern Europe Initiative. Since Hungary had also at first refused to join SECI, President Clinton allegedly sent a letter to President Guyla Horn, in which he explained the significance of SECI. Allegedly again, after that letter, Hungary put its signature. Obviously, threatened sovereignty which Croatia is dreading the most is completely out of the question. Both Tomic and Fadzan are convinced that economic cooperation in this region of Europe was the basic motive for association. One cannot but doubt that Turkey, Hungary, and nothing to say about Moldavia, Romania and Bulgaria, would surrender their sovereignty so lightly to any patron.

Senka KURTOVIC