I am very pleased to be here with you — with so many of you —  today together with a number of my colleagues. I convey to you the greetings of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Mr. Walter Schimmer.

I am told again and again by representatives of your authorities that participation in European cooperation and integration is one of the main if not the prime objectives of your government  today. This process is related to the Council of Europe, which will probably — and hopefully soon —  be the first political organization in Europe that will accept the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as a full member.

Council membership is important because of its conditionality in terms of real and effective democracy, protection of human rights, and the rule of law. The process of getting closer to the Council of Europe involves a continuous assessment and evaluation of the progress this country is making in its democratic transformation and also of its ability to contribute seriously to the development of a more united Europe.

For the time being, this evaluation is in the hands of the Parliament Assembly of the Council of  Europe and this week a delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly will visit Belgrade and Podgorica. Its assessments will then lead to preliminary deliberations in Strasbourg concerning when and how the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will be considered for accession to full membership. This process employs a number of efforts in terms of cooperation and assistance programs not only with authorities but also with civil society — as this conference today shows. I must say that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia have already made considerable progress by the efforts of your authorities and by your own initiatives. As a result, there are prospects for rapid progress. I am convinced that the  trend towards the transformation of your country to a real democracy will continue.

We all know that much of that progress is due to civil society, to non-governmental organizations, and that civil society was the most important factor in bringing the former regime down and in preparing the ground for this country’s new democratic beginning. Many of your initiatives and organizations —  I see many familiar faces here present — have done a considerable job in helping these developments come to pass. NGOs are also continuing to work for the construction of real democratic institutions that meet international standards. They are also doing a good job in maintaining a critical attitude towards political developments. This is the first and most important task of civil society.

But let me add something: I feel that civil society in this country must also now seriously care for itself and not just about the state and state institutions. Because the state cannot be made or held responsible for everything and then criticized because it does not deliver what it cannot. The society must deliver itself. And most of what makes for real life, for development, for the prospective prosperity of a country is due to efforts from within civil society itself. I was very struck reading the programme of this conference by two things that are essential. First of all is the title, “Challenges of Normal Life.” Society is indeed about normal life, beyond and besides politics, and a normal life must be made a good life for the people through the efforts of civil society.

The second thing I noticed was the organizer, “Civic Initiatives,” and that you are all coming here together as representatives of civic initiatives. The word “civic” has a very particular sound in English and it is worth dwelling on. It reminds one of another old English word, which may — I hope — again come to practical use, the word “civility.” Civility means that the people behave to each other in a civilian and in a forthcoming way. They accept each other, they understand each other’s problems, and they take care of each other. They are respectful for each other’s problems and help each other in solving them. This is civility. The civic is s resonance of this meaning. I very much hope that you will continue to contribute to this development of feelings of civility among the people in the whole of your country, among all people of your country. This means also among people who are perhaps different, who are not Serbs, which most of you are, but maybe Bosnians, Albanians, Croats, Romanians, Romas and others. . .  .

The problem of minority protection starts with the respect you developed for the representatives and members of minority groups and your readiness to work together with them. Civic initiative also means creating a common ground for everyone to participate in everything that is common, the shaping of the common interest, and maybe also the shaping of the well-being and the prosperity of the country.

I wish you very many successes. I wish you that this spirit of civility will guide your work here and I am sure that, if it is so, this Conference will be very useful. Thank you very much.