Salzburg, Austria
July 1993
The meeting was attended by the following presidents:
- Thomas Klestil, President of Austria
- Richard von Weizsäcker, President of Germany
- Árpád Göncz, President of Hungary
- Václáv Havel, President of the Czech Republic
Václáv Havel's Statement
"Presidents are in a different position than
governments. Governments must deal with countless specific political,
economic and other questions. Governments also are directly dependent
on their voters, and because of this they to a certain extent live
"from election to election". The constitutional standing of
presidents is different and allows them to see certain tasks from a
more long-range perspective. It seems to me that one of the tasks -
though not the only one - of the presidents is to create a favourable
international climate, in which governments can then better
operate".
Václáv Havel, Salzburg, 24 July 1993
Litomysl, Czech Republic
15-16 April 1994 (1st Meeting)
The meeting was attended by the following presidents:
- Václáv Havel, President of the Czech Republic
- Richard von Weizsäcker, President of Germany
- Árpád Göncz, President of Hungary
- Lech Walesa, President of Poland
- Thomas Klestil, President of Austria
- Milan Kucan, President of Slovenia
- Michal Kovac, President of the Slovak Republic
Principal topics of the meeting:
- Position and role of Central Europe and its integration into the EU.
- Future European order which will secure successful development of the Central European region.
- Co-operation between the Central European states.
- Relations with Russia.
- Causes and final outcome of the Balkan crisis.
Some unanimous conclusions reached by the presidents:
Predominant in Central Europe are common civilisation standards,
topical and long-term interests, objective needs for permanent
security, stabilisation and peaceful co-existence and comprehensive
co-operation.
In the relationship between the Central European states and the
West European groupings there is a mutual interest for the Central
European states to join the EU.
Keszthely, Republic of Hungary
26 - 27 May 1995 (2nd Meeting)
The meeting was attended by the following presidents:
- Árpád Göncz, President of Hungary
- Milan Kucan, President of Slovenia
- Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, President of Italy
- Thomas Klestil, President of Austria
- Václáv Havel, President of the Czech Republic
- Michal Kovac, President of the Slovak Republic
- Roman Herzog, President of Germany
- Lech Walesa, President of Poland
Principal topics of the meeting:
- Development of European integration processes with the possibilities of enlargement of the EU to the Central European states.
- Problems related to the further development of the EU and the requirements the future member states are faced with.
- Loss of sovereignty as a result of joining the EU.
- Awareness of European identity, correlation between European and national identity.
- Security-building in the Central European region in the context of NATO enlargement to the East.
Joint statement
In a joint statement the presidents of the eight countries
condemned the war in Bosnia, the lack of respect for UN forces, the
minimizing of UN resolutions, wilful obstruction of humanitarian aid
actions. They endorsed the NATO activities as a reaction against the
aggressive activity of the parties to the conflict in Bosnia. They
addressed an appeal to the parties to the conflict to stop the war
activities and to respect the UN resolutions.
Lancut, Poland
7 to 8 July 1996 (3rd Meeting)
The meeting was attended by the following presidents:
- Aleksander Kwasniewski, President of Poland
- Milan Kucan, President of Slovenia
- Árpád Göncz, President of Hungary
- Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, President of Italy
- Thomas Klestil, President of Austria
- Václáv Havel, President of the Czech Republic
- Michal Kovac, President of the Slovak Republic
- Roman Herzog, President of Germany
- Leonid Kuczma, President of the Ukraine
Principal topics of the meeting:
- Common Europe - joint responsibility of the heads of state in the building of the future architecture of Europe.
- Role of Central Europe in the process of unification of the continent.
- Barriers and difficulties in the building of a common Europe.
- New security structure in Europe.
- Eastern policy of the future European Union.
Some Unanimous Conclusions
A unanimous view was expressed that the door of the European Union is
opening widely - within its internal reorganisation and
training. Europe needs a soul. In the process of its enlargement the
European Union will be receiving new values. Emphasised was the need
for closer co-operation - the creation of European culture.
Piran, Republic of Slovenia
6 and 7 June 1997 (4th Meeting)
http://www.ijs.si/piran97/
The meeting was attended by the following presidents:
- Arpad Goencz, Hungary
- Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, Italy
- Thomas Klestil, Austria
- Vaclav Havel, Czech Republic
- Roman Herzog, Germany
- Michal Kovac, Slovak Republic
- Alexander Kwasnievski, Poland
- and the host, Milan Kucan
Theme of the meeting: "Nation or citizen state - the possible
future of Central Europe and Europe".
The Piran summit brought a three-fold message: the belief that all
European countries and nations belong to a united Europe, that
security is the natural aspiration of all European nations, and the
faith in the creativity of Central-European thought continues.
Levoca, Slovak Republic
23 and 24 January 1998 (5th Meeting)
The meeting was attended by the following presidents:
- Milan Kucan, Slovenia
- Arpad Goencz, Hungary
- Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, Italy
- Thomas Klestil, Austria
- Vaclav Havel, Czech Republic
- Roman Herzog, Germany
- Leonid Kuchma (guest), Ukraine
- Alexander Kwasnievski, Poland
- Emil Constantinescu (guest), Romania
- Petar Stoyanov (guest), Bulgaria
- and the host, Michal Kovac
Theme of the meeting: Civil society - the hope of a united Europe.
Lviv, Ukraine
14 and 15 May 1999 (6th Meeting)
The meeting was attended by the following presidents:
- Milan Kucan, Slovenia
- Arpad Goencz, Hungary
- Thomas Klestil, Austria
- Vaclav Havel, Czech Republic
- Roman Herzog, Germany
- Alexander Kwasnievski, Poland
- Emil Constantinescu, Romania
- Petar Stoyanov (guest), Bulgaria
- and the host, Leonid Kuchma
Theme of the meeting: The human dimension of pan-European
and regional integration and its role in the building of Europe.
Joint declaration:
In the joint declaration adopted at the meeting, the presidents
expressed deep concern about the situation in the Balkans. They
condemned the systematic acts of violence in Kosovo and expressed
regret for the victims and the suffering of the innocent civilian
population throughout Yugoslavia. In their declaration they also
welcomed the efforts undertaken by the international community to put
a stop to the humanitarian catastrophe in Yugoslavia as soon as
possible, and called upon the government in Belgrade to accept the
obligations the fulfilment of which was stipulated by the
international community as a condition for peaceful resolution. As
soon as the requirements set by the international community were met,
NATO military action would no longer be necessary. The presidents paid
special tribute for the resolution of the crisis to the UN Security
Council and declared that disarmament and dissolution of the Kosovar
army had to begin at the same time.
Székesfehérvár, Republic of Hungary
28 and 29 April 2000 (7th meeting)
The meeting was attended by the following presidents:
- Milan Kucan, Slovenia
- Thomas Klestil, Austria
- Vaclav Havel, Czech Republic
- Johannes Rau, Germany
- Leonid Kuchma, Ukraine
- Alexander Kwasnievski, Poland
- Emil Constantinescu, Romania
- Petar Stoyanov, Bulgaria
- Rudolf Schuster, Slovak Republic
- Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, Italy
- Stjepan Mesic (guest), Croatia
- and the host, Arpad Goencz
Theme of the meeting: The foundation of co-existence in the
third millennium.
Joint declaration:
The presidents adopted a joint declaration stating that with the
arrival of new participants in the informal cooperation an integral
need had arisen to jointly consider enlargement and intensification
within the group.
The joint declaration confirmed the presidents' commitment to
common values and EU enlargement and drew attention to the threat of
xenophobia and the violation of minority rights.
They stressed that joint development and cross-border cooperation
could greatly contribute to eliminating borders and intensifying the
common awareness of interdependence.
They pointed out, moreover, that particular attention was to be
paid to environmental protection.
Verbania and Stresa, Italian Republic
8 and 9 June 2001 (8th meeting)
The meeting was attended by the presidents:
- Milan Kucan, Slovenia
- Ferenc Madl, Hungary
- Thomas Klestil, Austria
- Vaclav Havel, Czech Republic
- Dr Johannes Rau, Germany
- Leonid Kuchma, Ukraine
- Alexander Kwasnievski, Poland
- Ion Iliescu, Romania
- Petar Stoyanov, Bulgaria
- Rudolf Schuster, Slovak Republic
- Stjepan Mesic, Croatia,
- Vojislav Kostunica, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,
- Vladimir Voronin, Moldova,
- and the host, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.
Theme of the meeting: The values of freedom and democracy in
Europe, the states of greater Europe and the European Constitution
Project, European cultural identity.
GOVERNMENT PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MEDIA OFFICE © 2002
|
 |
|
