Completing the New Europe: the Baltic Dimension

President of the Republic of Latvia Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga:

Dr. Hamre,

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great honor to be addressing such a distinguished audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which has become one of the most respected public policy research institutes in the United States. Such institutes as this one serve an essential in that they seek to provide objective analyses and nonpartisan evaluations of the far-reaching changes that are affecting our globalized world of the 21st century.

During the past decade alone, the breadth and scope of the political, economic and social changes that have occurred in many parts of Europe, including in my own country, Latvia, has been truly astounding.

Young people are growing up today who find it hard to imagine that just over ten years ago, Germany was still a divided country and the Berlin Wall was still standing. The great superpower known as the Soviet Union was only beginning to loosen its grip on dozens of nations that it had held captive for decades. But the winds of change had begun blowing, and the Cold War was showing signs of coming to an end. Throughout Central and Eastern Europe, millions of people were engaging in non-violent protests to demonstrate their belief in the principles of freedom, democracy, individual liberties and human rights. As former President George Bush Senior aptly put it, they were calling for the establishment of a Europe whole and free.

The ensuing collapse of the Soviet Empire created a new world of great hopes, great expectations and great opportunities. It resulted in tremendous economic, social and political changes, and one can truly wonder at how peacefully and constructively these changes have been handled in most former communist countries. The difficulties in some cases have been truly immense, and the accomplishments, therefore, have been all the more impressive. Less than ten years ago, my own country was finally able to resume its place on the world stage as a sovereign nation, after half a century of totalitarian rule by foreign powers.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In less than a decade, Latvia has managed to rebuild a functioning free-market economy from the ground up and is now experiencing one of the fastest GDP growth rates in Europe. Last year, for example, our economy grew by 6.6 percent and we expect this pace of growth to continue for the foreseeable future.

Our national currency, the lat, has been stable for several years running. Our banking system is internationally recognized, stable and reliable. Our annual inflation rate is one of the lowest in Central and Eastern Europe, at just over 2 percent. We have successfully reoriented the bulk of our foreign trade from the East to the West, and have nearly completed the privatization of our national enterprises.

And last, but not least, we have created a favorable business climate for foreign investors. It is true that the advantages of these vast economic changes have not been felt by all segments of Latvia’s population, so that old-age pensions, for instance, are lower than would like to be, but there is no question about their necessity and overall long term benefit.

Aside from Latvia’s considerable economic accomplishments, my country has also experienced significant transformations in the social and political sphere. We have successfully reinstated a democratic political system and individual liberties such as freedom of speech and expression. And we are working very hard to intergrate the non-citizen population, left as a heritage from the years of Soviet occupation and forced industrialization.

We are seeking to build an integrated and inclusive society that is ruled by a climate of tolerance and mutual understanding among Latvia’s different ethnic and social groups. Our comprehensive Social Integration Program defines Latvia’s long-term strategies in various sectors, including citizenship, language and education. Since 1998, any legal resident who passes the naturalization board’s language and history exams can acquire Latvian citizenship and many have made use of this opportunity. Over 95% of applicants pass the naturalization tests in the first try. The door is open, and those who choose are stepping through it.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Latvia is also determined to come to terms with the tragic events that have ever occurred on its soil during the Nazi German and Soviet Russian occupations, starting, the Holocaust, but also including the mass deportations and other crimes of the Stalin period. We have established a History Commission of international scholars who are conducting extencive research on these painful episodes in our history. We are determined to remember these events and to educate our children, so that similar atrocities and repressions never occur again on Latvian soil.

Latvia has and continues to denounce the mass murders of the Holocaust as particularly heinous crimes against humanity. We condemn genocide as a horror and an abomination, and unconditionally renounce any individuals having perpetrated such crimes. We are determined to bring to justice any remaining war criminals who may have escaped prosecution, regardless of the ideology in whose name such crimes were perpetrated, regardless of the nationality of the perpetrator, and regardless of where and when such aberrations took place. Latvia holds no statute of limitations on the Holocaust and other crimes against humanity. We remain committed to the severe punishment of those found guilty through the due process of law.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The principle of the rule of law which I have just mentioned, the respect for human rights, the ideals of freedom and democracy are what the people of Latvia sought to attain during their struggle for independence from the Soviet Union one decade ago. These are central, immutable values that Latvians share with their Western European neighbors.

During the past ten years, we have laid down a solid framework for the protection and strengthening of these values, and for the consolidation of a civic society in our country. We have created a modern political environment where Nordic-style transparency, accountability and freedom of information are our guiding principles.

We have accomplished a great deal, and we are working on consolidating the gains that we have made, even as we engage on new projects such as e- governvance, booth at the municipial and at the national level. Our basic goal is, to rejoin the European family of stable secure and prosperous nations, with which we share these common values and ideals. That is why we wish to join the European Union and that is why we wish to join the NATO Alliance.

Latvia’s accession to the European Union and to NATO will finally put an end to the last sequels of the Second World War. It will finally bring about a just and lasting order in Europe.

We are not asking for any favors and we are not looking for a free ride. We recognize that being part of the most successful Alliance in modern history entails obligations, responsibilities and equitable burden sharing. We are serious in our commitment to ensure peace and stability not only on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, but everywhere in Europe. We are committed to modernizing our defense forces, which we had to build completely from the ground up a decade ago. We have raised our defense budget by 30% during the last three years, and will increase it still further so that it attains 2% of Latvia’s GDP in the year 2003.

The NATO Membership Action plan is and has been a crucial instrument inguiding our progress. We have been investing into our military personnel and providing them with Western-style military instruction. Our armed forces are beginning to work with NATO-interoperable communications systems. Our defense planning is being conducted in accordance with NATO standards, and we are actively participating in NATO’s Partnership for Peace program.

Latvia has the political will and the appropriate funding to make a moderate but useful contribution to the Alliance’s common defense activities. Within its capabilities, Latvia has been participating in every NATO-led peacekeeping operation that has taken place in Southeastern Europe since 1996. My first visit abroad as the new President of Latvia in 1999 was to Sarajevo. I had the opportunity to see first hand the scars of war, and to talk to ordinary people who have suffered the atrocities and horrors of armed conflict.

I also had the occasion to visit Latvia’s soldiers, who, together with troops from Estonia, were stationed in a joint battalion under Danish command to maintain the peace in Bosnia–Herzegovina. Latvian military police units have been and still are serving in Kosovo as part of KFOR, as are our medics.

Latvia is working closely together with Estonia and Lithuania in the integration of its defense structures. The three Baltic countries have established a number of trilateral projects, including a Baltic Battalion, a joint Baltic Naval Squadron, a Baltic Air Space Surveillance Network, and a Baltic Defense College. These joint projects will all contribute to the Alliance’s assets once the three Baltic States accede to NATO, and are already demonstrating our ability to work together in Europe’s security interests.

Ladies and gentelman,

NATO has been serving its existing member countries well. It has been serving them so well that more and more countries have been joining the Alliance in successive wave of enlargement. Latvia wants part of the next wave of enlargement at the Prague Summit in 2002. The accession of Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary to NATO was a historic step forward and has already contributed to the security, stability and cohesion of the new Europe. It upheld the principle that commendable performance will be rewarded and not ignored. NATO has declared that its doors are open, and that the decision on which countries to admit during the next round of enlargement will not be based on historical or geographical considerations, but rather on the practical defense capabilities of each candidate country.

We trust that the NATO member-states, and only the NATO member-states, will be the ones to take that decision. No country not part of the Alliance should be able to determine who is admitted, and who is not. Both these important principles have been asserted In a variety of official pronouneements, and I was extremly pleased yesterday to hear them reaffirmed by President G. W.Bush, by Vice-President Richard Cheney and by The Secretary of State Colin Powell. We trust that they will indeed be followed by all NATO member states. when it comes time to apply them in practice.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Russia’s opposition to the accession of the Baltic States into the NATO Alliance is unfounded and goes against the OSCE’s 1990 Charter of Paris, which Russia itself has accepted and which upholds each country’s sovereign, right to choose its own alliances. NATO is a defensive and not an offensive alliance. NATO in its current form, without the Baltic States in it, is not a threat to Russia, and NATO in its future form, with Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania as its members, will be of no greater threat to Russia than it is today.

I am convinced that the presence of a greater number of prosperous, stable and secure EU and NATO partners on Russia’s western border will actually help, rather than hinder Russia’s interests. As a future member of the European Union and the NATO Alliance, Latvia’s relationship with Russia is sure to improve and is sure to be mutually beneficial, if carried on in a pragmatic and sensible way. This has been already proven to be the case in Russia’s relations with NATO’s most recent members, namely Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. I see no reason why it should be different with Latvia.

Denying or unnecessarily delaying NATO membership to any one of the three Baltic countries would certainly send the wrong signal to Russia, and create different security zones in the Baltic Sea region. It would be a regression to the mind frame of the recent past, which divided Europe into spheres of influence, and it would go against our vision of building a new Euro-Atlantic community.

All of NATO’s candidate countries, which are sometimes known as the Vilnius Nine, uniformly oppose any retrogressive notion of security being based upon spheres of influence. The remarkable spirit of co-operation that has been demonstrated by our countries since the start of the latest expansion process attests to the strong mutual support and solidarity that extends from the Baltic to the Black Sea in our common quest to become effective and contributing members of the Euroatlantic community.

Ladies and gentlemen,

An essential dimension of our NATO candidacy is the transatlantic link, and our particular partnership with the United States. The United States has always been an important friend and ally of the Baltic countries. It led the free world in failing to recognize the shameful occupation of the Baltic countries by the Soviet Union, and this unwavering policy of non-recognition facilitated the reestablishment of our independence in 1991, based on the legal continuity of our prewar republics. Our special relationship is reflected in the US-Baltic Charter on Partnership, which has been especially beneficial and which we wish to see continue. I am pleased to note that the principles underlying the Charter are being reaffirmed by the new US administration. There are many opportunities for increased cooperation in various fields besides defense, such as the promotion of further US investment opportunities in Latvia, as well as education and culture.

I am convinced that this alliance of values and interests will strengthen once the three Baltic countries become full members of the NATO Alliance. The Baltic dimension of NATO’s enlargement has become a moral, historic and strategic imperative. We are counting on the continued leadership of the United States in promoting NATO’s further enlargement at the Prague Summit in 2002, when we hope to receive an official invitation to accede to the Alliance.

Ladies and gentlemen,

NATO and the European Union have provided the backbone for Europe’s success during the past fifty years. They are the twin institutional pillars of the Euro-Atlantic. A closely integrated and effective European Union supported by a strong and enlarged NATO Alliance will fulfill our common vision of a continent that is secure, stable and prosperous.

While Latvia’s accession negotiations with the European Union have lasted just over a year, we have made great strides in catching up with those candidate states that began negotiations two years earlier. We really are moving on the fast track and are making supreme efforts to ensure that we are party to the next wave of enlargement.

The adaptation of our legislation to the EU’s Acquis communautaire has been providing firm guidelines to our internal reforms and has strengthened our democratic institutions, according to the same basic values embraced by the NATO countries.

Latvia is determined to conclude its accession negotiations with the European Union by the end of next year. Indeed, it is my sincere hope that Latvia will become a full-fledged member of the EU in the year 2004. As long as the EU accession process remains an individual one and is based on the proper merits of each candidate country, Latvia and its two Baltic neighbors have a real chance of being among the next member-states of the European Union.

When the time arrives, Latvia will be eager to contribute to Europe’s future Defense Force, which in turn should increase Europe’s capability to contribute to the NATO Alliance and permit the EU to act in cases where NATO itself might choose to refrain from involvement. Latvia is determined to become a net contributor to NATO’s and Europe’s expanded security framework: It is determined to become an active and prosperous member of the European Union.

Ladies and gentlemen,

My full confidence in Latvia’s future prospects is based on the great progress that we have achieved since regaining our independence. The walls of oppression and stagnation have crumbled, but our vision of the new Europe is not yet complete. Enlarging the fold of these two complementary organizations will not endanger the advantages that the EU and NATO members have managed to achieve, but will increase them. It will not weaken, but rather strengthen the overall security of the European continent. Latvia is at present crucial point in its history, as is Europe and as is NATO. We want to take part in the decision making proceses that will create a Europe better than it was even before. A Europe stable, and peaceful, democratic and prosperous. A Europe whole and free.

Address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, D. C., April 24, 2001