Vella urges proactive, not reactive, approach to Mediterranean security

A proactive, not reactive, approach to security in the Mediterranean is crucial at a time when there was so much at stake, Foregin Affairs minister George Vella said at a conference on the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Helsinki Final Act, earlier today.

Vella said that the conference was aimed at building on past discussions about the relevance of the act to the present day.

The act, turning 40 today, formed the basis of the OSCE, and it was formed by the then Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) in response to the Cold War, and this conference was aimed at forming proposals to take similar steps in dealing with the migration crisis.

The act had stated that security in Europe is to be considered within the broader context of world security and is closely linked with security in the Mediterranean area as a whole.

"The threats we face now are different from those present when the Helsinki Final Act was drawn up, and it needs to be adapted to fit the current situation," he said, stressing that participants and stakeholders had the responsibility to look for ways to improve operations in the region.

He added that Malta had felt the need to be a catalyst in promoting peace in the Mediterranean.

"Today's unprecedented closeness, as well as other threats like radicalisation, points to the need for a deeper focus on the Mediterranean area in the work of the OSCE," he said.

He added that Malta was at the forefront in proposing a summit geared towards targetting the root causes of migration and in battling smugglers and traffickers on migration routes and looked forward to the discussions to be held during the upcoming Valetta summit.

He added that the subjects would also be at the core of the CHOGM meetings later this month.

Over 100 participants attended the conference, organized by the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic studies (MEDAC) and the New Med network.