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Mr. Secretary General,
I am very happy to be here today on this historic fifth anniversary of the NACC. In our delegation we in fact physically span the distance between December 1991 and today, as my good friend and colleague Ambassador Jüri Luik accompanied our then Foreign Minister and present President Lennart Meri to the inaugural meeting of the NACC. Then the Soviet Union still existed and there were but 25 countries around this table. Five years ago we were putting an end to fifty years of east-west confrontation. The coming few years will determine the shape of Europe for the next millenium. We need to make sure that what we do is done right.
NACC and PfP have been success stories and their enhancement are essential elements of the new cooperative framework in Europe. The opening up of NATO is its consequence. NATO enlargement is one part of the reunion of a Europe divided by the Cold War and this is and can be the only rationale for it. We have put the past behind us and we have to liberate ourselves from the thinking - and talk of - spheres of influence, defencibility and defence depth. NATO today is not about protecting Western Europe from a Soviet attack. It is about countries which share common values pooling their resources for the defence and protection of those common democratic values both within the Alliance and further afield.
The cooperative framework which has been shaped by Allies and Partners together has proven its value. I am convinced that the Atlantic Partnership Council and an enhanced PfP are exactly the mechanisms which are needed to cement the relationship between the Allies and those Partners that do not wish to join the Alliance. PfP+ will be an excellent vehicle for these countries as it will for Russia and Ukraine, which should have this relationship augmented by separate special arrangements. Naturally these arrangements should not in any way reduce the security of any other partner.
Yet 11 countries here have clearly stated their desire to join the Alliance and to make the adjustments necessary to become integrated into the Alliance's structures. This is a serious commitment and deserves a more serious response. If the Alliance's response to any democratic European country that has expressed a desire to join the Alliance is perceived as outright rejection then this will be a clear manifestation of new dividing lines in Europe.
Mr. Secretary General,
Dear colleagues,
I would today like to make four points:
Estonia has applied to join the Alliance. We do not seek NATO membership because we fear Russia. Moreover, the last months have brought a considerable improvement in our relations. Russia is our partner. We have initialled a border agreement with Russia and it is ready for signature even today. I believe that we have now gotten over the difficult period of the past few years. I look forward to the restoration of the amicable contacts which existed between the Estonian and Russian leaderships at the beginning of this decade.
We see membership in the Alliance as a natural consequence of our commitment to contribute to peace and stability in Europe. We are a democratic European country that harbours no aggressive feelings against anyone. We have proven our commitment to international peace and stability by participating in UN operations in Croatia and in IFOR in Bosnia and since the end of November with a company in UNIFIL in Lebanon. We have commited our troops to SFOR.
The NATO enlargement process must be clear, transparent and must visibly stretch beyond next year's summit. The Madrid Summit must open up NATO and must clearly be the formal beginning of a process, rather than the climactic ending of one. We have presented our views on how the enlargement process should be managed. There may be other options, but it must be ensured that the particular position of those countries which have clearly stated their desire to join NATO is explicitly respected. Any enlargement which leaves the impression of rejecting democratic applicant countries will deny the principle of indivisibility of security, and calls into question the moral values upon which the Alliance is based.
The past five years have not only been a success for NACC but also for Estonia nationally. We have managed to restore our economy to the extent where we are today considered among the most successful economic reformers in Central Europe. Economic recovery has also contributed to our ability to strengthen the capacity of our Defence Forces. Extensive programmes are underway for the development of our air defence capability and for the modernization of our command and control systems. We believe this contributes significantly to the overall stability and security of our region and of Europe. In this context I would like to thank our NATO partners and our neighbours Sweden and Finland for their important assistance.
Mr. Secretary General,
We noted the reference in the NAC Communique to the Alliance remaining open following the first round of NATO enlargement. We would have preferred a more explicit statement affirming the Alliance's commitment to the democracies of Central Europe.
NACC and PfP will only be judged to have been a success by our children if in fifty years we can say that they permanently abolished lines of division in Europe. New dividing lines, whether between NATO and Partners or within the group of Applicant Partners that has established itself today cannot be accepted.
The devil is in the details. If next year's NATO summit is about adapting NATO to the new circumstances, let's call it the "Adaptation Summit". Calling it - even unofficially - the "enlargement summit" will not serve anyone's purpose. Foresight and vision are needed to guide Europe through the next few years. I hope that we can together ensure that the achievements of the past five years are not squandered.
Thank you.