On June 27 and 28  the Greek Chairmanship will host in Corfu an informal Ministerial  Meeting which is set to launch a new dialogue on the future of the European security. Italy has actively supported the Greek initiative. We - Italy and Greece- both believe European security remains a living issue under constant review. Since the end of the Cold War we have made a great deal of progress in creating a Europe ‘whole and free’. We have enlarged the European Union, NATO and  the Council of Europe, we have transformed the CSCE into OSCE, we have adopted a variety of new important documents , from the 1990 Paris Charter to the 1999 Istanbul Platform for the cooperative security. And yet we have not  fully consolidated the basis for a sustainable security  where principles and commitments are equally shared by everyone. The war in Georgia last Summer demonstrated that old divisions still exist. We need to strengthen mutual trust and understanding of everyone’s concerns and perceptions. We must recover a common vision of the rules of coexistence from Vancouver to Vladivostok. We need to reiterate and consolidate not only in theory, but also in practice, the concept of cooperative and all-inclusive security. Our first point of departure is that there are no longer enmities in the European space, but only common security threats that can be addressed only through common responses. Moreover we should acknowledge that security in the XXI century has become an increasingly complex and multi-faceted concept. The lines of distinction between inter-state and intra-state security have become more and more blurred. That means that while discussing about security we cannot take shortcuts: we should view the new dialogue on European security that will be launched in Corfu as an open-ended process, without either a strict timeframe or a prejudged outcome. After all  the Helsinki Act was the result of   a process which lasted almost three years. The OSCE due to its geographical scope and  its inclusive membership is the best framework where a debate on European security can take place.

We do not start from scratch. We have a security ‘acquis’ we can build on.  The first goal of the new security dialogue, therefore, should be to update our discussion on the principles of the 1975 Helsinki Act  which need to be adapted to the new European context. Second, we should try to devise new mechanisms to improve the practical implementation of OSCE member states’ commitments in what we call the three  dimensions of European security, i.e. military, economic and human security. Finally, we should deepen our discussion on how to address the new threats, i.e. those horizontal threats  ranging from terrorism, to drug-trafficking, illegal migration and  organized crime, nuclear proliferation, energy security and environment. In addressing these new threats we can work with  the numerous institutions that already exist.  We need pragmatism and flexibility, ad hoc arrangements and networks in order to effectively engage OSCE participating States, as well as other regional and sub-regional organizations in addressing these common challenges. It is the mission which makes the coalition and not viceversa.

Such a‘bottom-up’ approach on the new horizontal threats should be accompanied by a substantial review on ‘hard security’ issues. We warmly welcome President Obama Administration’s new approach to security and the  revived US-Russia strategic dialogue on disarmament. We should also restore  the viability of the CFE Treaty regime as a cornerstone of Euro- Atlantic security and make further efforts to achieve the earliest possible entry into force of the Adapted CFE Treaty.  We would like Europe to play a more pro-active  role in the hard security dialogue.

On the margins of the OCSE meeting in Corfu a Ministerial meeting of the NATO-Russia Council will also take place. It will be the first meeting since the war in Georgia. Italy and Greece particularly welcome the resumption of the NATO-Russia Council at the political level. As  a matter of fact we cannot  credibly consolidate security on the common European space unless  we restore trust and dialogue between the Atlantic Alliance and its most important partner. Twenty years after the end of the Cold War it is high time to turn a new page. The Corfu process provides such an opportunity. We cannot afford to miss it.