Željana ZOVKO (EPP, HR), Rapporteur, holds a press conference on the role of preventive diplomacy in addressing frozen conflicts. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Strasbourg

press conference

ZOVKO, Željana (EPP, HR)

Press conference by Željana ZOVKO (EPP, HR), rapporteur on the role of preventive diplomacy in addressing frozen conflicts

SOUNDBITE (English), Željana ZOVKO (EPP, HR), Rapporteur, 'Thank you very muchm and thank you for organising this press conference. Although I don't see many journalists in the room, some of them are online and many of them are following this press conference from abroad, in the conflict areas, where they are interested in prevention of the conflict and assessing than post-conflict resolutions.

SOUNDBITE (English), Željana ZOVKO (EPP, HR), Rapporteur, 'We were just recalling some issues. When foreign press bureaus were created in Croatia. During the war, the truth about the war and aggression in Croatia was not wildly known and we had to fight with the propaganda. So I think that this report that was broadly adopted with 533 members voting for and 64 voting against gives the seads of hope that I evoked yesterday. The majority of this Parliament is more interested in preventing the conflicts than in post-conflict resolution or in investing in prolonging the conflict.

SOUNDBITE (English), Željana ZOVKO (EPP, HR), Rapporteur, 'Rhe idea behind  this report came from my experience in the Foreign Affairs Committee, but also in many years being a diplomat and seeing how little has been invested in prevention of the conflict. Ny experience organising press conferences like this, as I started my professional work, and I remember Richard Holbrooke coming to Bosnia Herzegovina after the Dayton Peace Agreement was made. I remember how many of CNN journalists and foreign journalists were following him. And even the address was never in local languagesm and it was not interrupted, but it was always in English, and it was always addressed to American public and American audiences. Once the CNN cameras were gobe, once the lights were gone, post-conflict solution was slowly dying out. And then we came to the frozen conflict and to frozen peace, as we say.

SOUNDBITE (English), Željana ZOVKO (EPP, HR), Rapporteur, My experience in Foreign Affairs committee following, and also in election observation mission, shows that many of the frozen conflicts surge very quickly in a new conflict and in this volatile atmosphere it started with Ukraine. And we are seeing slowly that Middle East conflict has replaced this passion that European public has shown in helping Ukraine and also in American, audience that is now preparing for the elections.

SOUNDBITE (English), Željana ZOVKO (EPP, HR), Rapporteur, Slowly and surely, the, the idea of who and how will help Ukraine is taking over uh, this, the first idea that we had is, as long as it takes and it was globally adopted. So, we are going to see what will happen and how we are going to resolve this conflict, as my personal opinion is that we should never, ever leave the conflict as a frozen peace. There must be a winner. There must be a loser. And there must be accountability for damages there.

SOUNDBITE (English), Željana ZOVKO (EPP, HR), Rapporteur, So I am very grateful for the colleagues from the old political groups who showed very constructive approach in creating this report and contributing to this report. And in the end, we have a report that addresses the key challenges that many of those who are working on the conflict solution and the prevention preventive diplomacy have not still addressed enough, from our European diplomacy.

SOUNDBITE (English), Željana ZOVKO (EPP, HR), Rapporteur, One of the points that we address here is appointment of EU special representative, and the special envoys, and the accountability, the understanding of local context, their understanding as well of historical background and their link with colonial past that sometimes might deter from the acceptance in certain areas. Travelling around Africa and Asia, I countered many concerns from the local population as well, that some of their needs were not being heard and that some of the historical grounds for never being taken into account when addressing the issues that they were dealing with.

SOUNDBITE (English), Željana ZOVKO (EPP, HR), Rapporteur, So maybe this is, I mean, this is the beginning, and I would like to thank especially my team from my office, uh, who worked on this idea. And, I would like to thank our advisor, who was very deeply involved, and also secretariat from the AFET Committee, who passionately took this project. And, it started as a good basis for External Action Service. European Parliament and the Council in the future, after the European elections are finished and after we have a new established institution and the personalities who are leading European diplomacy, to find a coordinated voice in representing European Union becausem in the end, unresolved conflict, frozen conflicts and new conflicts are coming as at the expense of European citizensm of our security and as well on the polarisation that we are seeing in our backyard. Thank you very much. And I'm open for your questions.

Q&amp;A, Question about how the report provides a good basis for work after the European elections and how the way of working could change.

SOUNDBITE (English), Željana ZOVKO (EPP, HR), Rapporteur, -

Q&amp;A, Question about involving the European Parliament in foreign policy.

Q&amp;A, Question asking for more examples.

Q&amp;A, Questions about the role of EU Special Representatives and Envoys.

Q&amp;A, Questions about in the visibility of investing the European Union.