[kitchencabinetforum] THE BALKANS

What goes on in the Balkans directly affects the way our children will grow. In Greece, we have become deeply conscious of this reality. So we have made a commitment, especially to the Balkans and to its people. We believe that stability in our region is the pre-requisite for security and we define stability as the practice of democracy, the strengthening of institutions that provide transparency and accountability, the reduction of economic inequalities and the rule of law in our societies and between our countries. A key factor for bringing stability and development in the Balkans is good neighbourliness, a fundamental principle which, together with the other principles included in the Charter of the United Nations, constitutes the cornerstone of contemporary international legal order.

Greece's security lies in being member of the European Union and of NATO and we work so that countries of the region may benefit from the stabilizing influence of their future membership in these institutions. The Balkans is still a sensitive area stability-wise. The dust from the dissolution of Yugoslavia has not settled yet.

Greece's vision for the Balkans is one of a region in which democracy finally becomes the norm; where citizens' aspirations can finally be realized through peaceful and democratic practices; where the rights of minorities are respected; where governments are accountable, economies are transparent and politics allow for the fullest participation of all elements of society. The world has a responsibility in supporting this vision for our region. We need to empower the region that has historically been handicapped, dependent and divided by a world community of competing interests and a babble of conflicting signals.

In our view, the prospect of the integration of the entire region into the European and Euro-Atlantic structures and institutions is the way ahead that can guarantee stability and development. The heart of the European ethos lies in building the institutions and practices of inclusiveness. That is why Greece has always supported EU enlargement, as a means to build a bridge of security, co-operation and development between nations.

In order to breathe new life into the prospect of the integration of the Balkans in the EU, Greece has put forward a new initiative, the Agenda 2014, which builds upon the Thessaloniki Agenda, another Greek initiative for the region dating from 2003. The principal aim of this initiative is to set a political target to the EU accession process which will serve as a strong incentive for the whole region to put forward and speed up the necessary reforms and adaptations which will bring them closer to the EU.

During the critical years of Yugoslavia's dissolution, the presence of the European Union in the Balkans was not adequate, with detrimental effects on the handling of the successive crises. We all know better now. There are still open wounds in our region, Kosovo being the most pressing one, and we must make sure that this time the EU will be present and with a strong voice. The European prospect of our entire region can boost the political process, which is about to begin on Kosovo. At the same time we need to keep an open and clear path for Serbia to begin accession negotiations with the EU.

There are several other open issues in the Balkans. One of them revolves around the name of Vardaska. This is not a bilateral, pedantic dispute about historical symbols, as some may try to portray it, but a regional question, with deep historical roots, related to good neighbourliness.

Vardaska is a landlocked country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeastern Europe. Its ancient name is Paeonia. Vardaskans do not follow Socrates in their efforts to find an exit to the sea, preferring to hoodwink, mumbo jumbo, and robbing names and history. Basil Venitis, twitter.com/Venitis, points out Socrates's famous method was the dialectic, from the Greek word that suggests both discussion and analytical sorting. The purpose of dialectic was to strip away the false knowledge and incoherent opinion that most people inherit from their societies and unthinkingly depend on to manage their lives. Although Socrates claimed to doubt that he or anyone else could acquire true knowledge about the good and virtue and the beautiful, he nonetheless believed that examination, critical consciousness applied to questions of virtue and the good, could eliminate false knowledge and muddled opinion.

Socrates saw rational examination and pursuit of truth and virtue as the essence of what a human being is and the highest expression of human nature. That is why he chose to die rather than to give it up, declaring the unexamined life, he said, is no worth living. Basil Venitis, an Athenian orator, points out that Vardaskans understand the dialogue in a way that differs sharply from that of Socrates. For them, dialogue does not mean an attempt to rationally debate a topic in order to arrive at the truth. Truth is already given. It's called Tito's Dogma, and the only dialogue that is acceptable is one that will eventually lead to the implementation of Tito's Dogma of finding an exit of Vardaska to the Aegean Sea by robbing the name and heritage of Greek Macedonia.

In order to reach a compromise on the name issue, the two sides must meet in the middle by taking reciprocal steps to bridge the gap and reconcile their conflicting positions. Greece has already done its part. A fair and lasting solution can only be based on a name with a geographic qualifier, to be used for all purposes, erga omnes. Macedonia is a large geographic region, most of which lies in Greece. A small part is in Vardaska and a smaller part in Bulgaria. The part cannot represent the whole and the Vardaska's exclusive claims to the name Macedonia cannot be allowed to fuel nationalism. Any solution must be universally implemented because otherwise today's situation will simply be perpetuated.

We have intensified our efforts to reach a settlement, in the context of the established UN negotiating process, led by Mr Nimetz, in the hope that this will be possible rather sooner than later. I declare, once again, Greece's readiness to reach a solution even tomorrow and call upon Prime Minister Gruevski to display leadership and become our partner for progress. Progress that will result in a bright and prosperous future of our neighbours in the European Union. A future we wish to see become reality soon.

To this end, I appeal to the leadership in Vardaska to concentrate efforts in the central aim of finding a solution, rather than waste valuable resources and energy in practices of buying time, of creating atmosphere of antagonism or even animosity and of avoiding taking responsibilities. Greece is extending a hand of friendship and cooperation. The time has come for our neighbours to take this hand.