Minister for Development Cooperation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

University of Pristina,

19 October 2005, Kosovo.

Beyond borders

Ladies and gentlemen,

Every war is a civil war. As Victor Hugo once asked, “Isn’t every war fought between men, between brothers?” When war came upon us, arguments were no longer fought out with words, but with weapons. Children were no longer taught the language of the other, but the language of nationalism. Neighbours were no longer separated by the walls of their homes, but by gulfs of hatred. At the end of the day, our internecine strife left us with few houses and many ruins. Amid these ruins, one thing became clear: we destroyed these houses together and now it was only together that we could rebuild them. By reaching beyond borders and by trading with each other in a single market. In so doing, we traded poverty for prosperity, and suspicion for trust.

I have just described the European Union’s past. Could this be the Balkans’ future? Definitely. Political unity was shattered by the war, but I am convinced that there can be no peace in this region without economic unity. As we have seen in the European Union, economic unity is an excellent recipe for prosperity. During the nineties alone, this unity generated additional wealth of 900 billion euros, equivalent to 2.5 million extra jobs. If I may take an example from further afield, we see that the Chinese language reflects the strong link between peace and prosperity. The Chinese use three characters for peace. The first literally means “rice in the mouth”, or economic security. The second character means “a woman with a roof over her head”, or social security. The third means “two hearts beating together in understanding and friendship”, or human security. Prosperous peace is not beyond your grasp when you reach beyond borders.

Any time now, the status negotiations will commence. While they sit at the conference table, you should all go about your daily business. Because whatever the politicians and diplomats come up with, a strong and healthy society needs a strong civil society and a healthy business sector. The future depends not only on the conference room results but also on your willingness to participate in building up a society where people of all backgrounds can live together peacefully. War is waged by soldiers, but only civilians can win the peace.

On my way over here I have seen the progress you have made since the war ended: new houses and offices serve as beacons of the new times. These are tough times, but you are a tough people. Of course there is more progress than one can see from a car. Government has become more effective at executing policy and parliament has become more effective at exercising control over it. As these vital institutions have matured, UNMIK has handed over more and more power to them. Or maybe, instead of the word “power”, I should say “responsibility”. Because the political life of a healthy democracy is centred on responsibility, not power.  However, we all know that still a lot has to be done. 

What about the economy? Over the past six years, we have certainly seen substantial gains, but the problems are also substantial: unemployment stands at around thirty percent and rising. There is widespread poverty: the World Bank classifies almost four out of ten inhabitants as “poor”. And the energy sector is outdated. I am surprised that the energy problem has still not been solved with greater urgency – the more so since energy could become one of your export products, generating income for Kosovo and its people. But right now, it’s sometimes hard to hold a conversation in the streets, because of the noise the back-up power units make. Every student must have lost some of his or her work at least once as computers suddenly turn off due to a power failure, even here in Pristina.

It is high time to rebuild the economy from a platform of comparative advantage. An economy without a developed comparative advantage will keep running on back-up power and it will keep failing. So where does your comparative advantage lie? I would say agriculture, the mining sector and the exploitation of natural resources. And, as I said before, you should reach beyond borders and look for export opportunities.

These opportunities are especially abundant in a free market, without barriers to trade. And since most countries trade mostly with their neighbours, an internal market in the Balkans would be an important stepping-stone to prosperity for Kosovo. In fact, for all countries in the region. So I strongly support the recommendation of the Amato Commission to form an internal market in this region. Regional economic cooperation between the Balkan countries is also a precondition for a stabilisation and association agreement with the EU. “Economic unity in political diversity” should be the watchword.

Ultimately, trade is only the handmaiden of growth. Economic growth depends on domestic policy. If you don’t get your own house in order, how can you expect others to order your products? Without a proper physical and legal infrastructure, no country can deliver the goods. Investment in police capacity and the judicial system will pay for itself in the long run, because security will stimulate enterprise at home and attract much needed investments from abroad, including from the Netherlands. Fighting corruption, crime and fraud should be your government’s top priority. Dutch investors will not come forward unless there is security in Kosovo and the region. Again, this is a regional problem, which requires a regional solution.  

As your regional relations grow closer, so will your relations with the European Union. If they speak with one voice, the Balkan countries will be better heard in Brussels. The Balkans has a lot to gain from a fruitful dialogue with the EU, especially in terms of trade. You still face barriers to trade with the EU, and I need you to add your collective voice to my plea to lift these barriers. This is important to every part of the region, and Kosovo is no exception. Kofi Annan’s special envoy, Kai Eide, stressed Kosovo’s European destiny in his report: “Kosovo is located in Europe, where strong regional organisations exist. In the future, they – and in particular the EU – will have to play the most prominent role in Kosovo.” It is clear from these words that Kosovo’s future lies in Europe.

On your journey to Europe, you can count on the support of the Netherlands. We have been one of your key development partners since the war ended, contributing a total of 163 million euros. We have focused our support on a wide range of areas: the balance of payments, infrastructure, the Kosovo Police Service, the prison system, property rights and higher education. As I have said, I believe that regional problems require regional solutions. That is why in 2003 I decided to give our assistance a regional dimension, in particular in the critical areas of environmental management, small business and local governance. I especially want to highlight our efforts on one of the region’s main problems: the return of refugees. Since 1999, only one out of every ten refugees has returned to Kosovo, few of them from the Serb minority. I believe that decentralisation will go a long way to solving this problem: decision-making power should be in the hands of the people that are closest to local problems and challenges. The property rights issues should also be resolved sooner rather than later: it inhibits not only investment, but also the return of refugees.    

Our partnership remains a dynamic one: in the near future, we will start two new programmes for regional economic cooperation, implemented by CARE and the Academic Training Association. Under the umbrella of these two related programmes, Business Start-Up Centres in several countries of the region will join forces to exchange knowledge and build strategic alliances. In Kosovo, we will build up these centres from the ground and link them up with the network. We will also train civil servants in municipalities to provide support to these centres. Finally, we will champion educational and legal reform to jump-start private sector development here.

Obviously, security is an absolute precondition if any type of private sector development is to occur. This implies a civil-led, adequately sized and democratically controlled security sector. Too many illegal security structures feed negatively into your development. You deserve better, and I am happy that many of your leaders agree. The Netherlands will co-fund the security sector review in Kosovo and I call upon all other donors to follow our lead.

Ultimately, the fate of Kosovo does not hinge upon the actions of the donor community. Progress must come from the inside, not from the outside. In particular, it must come from young people, from students, from you. Kosovo has the greatest number of young people in the region, and if youth has the future, then Kosovo has a lot of future. And the Netherlands is investing in that future: we fund summer courses at this university, which have proved very successful in improving the quality of higher education, in encouraging regional cooperation and in fostering inter-ethnic reconciliation.

Reconciliation should take place not only in the halls of colleges, but also in the offices of companies. That is why I strongly encourage companies to hire a multi-ethnic workforce. If you can learn to work together, you can also learn to live together. I am somewhat concerned that this point will be forgotten in the privatisation process. Tolerance is the foundation of every free society. Tolerance does not mean living alongside each other, but living with each other. Tolerance can be learned both at work and at school. Abdullah Jashari, a maths teacher here in Pristina, recently spoke the following promising words: “Step by step, we will have to learn how to live together. I want to teach with passion, and I want to teach anyone who is willing to learn. That is my remedy for hatred.”

Let me conclude by addressing a few words to the young people in the room. Stay. Stay to keep this university alive with youthful energy and enthusiasm. Stay to enrich Kosovo with your knowledge and your ideas. Stay to take Kosovo into the twenty-first century, leaving behind bitterness and dissent. The grass might seem greener elsewhere – but if you leave, you will not just leave your family and friends behind. You will leave your native soil and all the people of Kosovo behind. They are counting on you to rebuild homes and to rebuild trust between the different communities. To develop a civil administration that they can rely on. To guide them as political leaders through these tough times. To provide jobs with your companies. Don’t get me wrong, I am not asking you to look inwards and focus only on Kosovo. Instead, you should keep your eyes open and seek out regional cooperation opportunities in, for instance, business, education, research and infrastructure. Kosovo’s future lies in the Balkan region and the future of the Balkan region lies in Europe. As I said at the beginning: prosperous peace is not beyond your grasp when you reach beyond borders.

Thank you.