At the Entrance of EU and NATO: Slovenian Contribution to the European
Integration and Security
The Address of the FM Dimitrij Rupel at the Institute for the International
Relations in Helsinki, Finland, 25 September 2002
Ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues,
Through the adherence to the European idea, even two such
geographically distant countries as Slovenia and Finland share the
same interests. The experience of Finland, already a member of the EU,
is of great importance for Slovenia. In Slovenia, Finland is regarded
as a symbol of a successful state which has managed to take advantage
of its specific geographical and security position to create a special
political philosophy. The traditional policy of neutrality and
independent defence have provided this country with an appropriate
security framework for successful development in the economic,
technological and scientific spheres. Slovenes have been closely
following the Finnish economic miracle, which is based on a climate of
innovation, an outstanding facility for scientific research and a
successful educational system which places particular emphasis on
technical studies.
Slovenes also wish to achieve a similar economic miracle as
Finland. One of the prerequisites for attaining this goal is - from
the Slovene perspective - integration into Euro-Atlantic structures:
the EU and NATO. Slovenia is today on the doorstep to these structures
and Slovenes are determined to finally cross it. We expect to receive
an invitation to join NATO at the Summit in Prague on 21 and 22
November, and to conclude negotiations with the EU by the end of the
year.
Slovenia officially entered into negotiations with the EU on 31
March 1998 and has provisionally closed 28 negotiation chapters. In
the first half of September the Slovenian Government adopted
negotiating positions for the other two chapters - agriculture and the
budget. We hope the European Commission and EU members will show an
understanding of Slovenia's special position in the final stage of
negotiations. In Slovenia only 3-4 per cent of the population is
engaged in agriculture; farms are small and situated in disadvantaged
areas. We are therefore striving to raise more funds for agriculture,
which will be allocated to rural development and to structural and
cohesion funds. Slovenia's agricultural policy is to a great extent
similar to that of the EU, and pursues objectives such as
environmental protection and rural development. Production in Slovenia
is on the increase and the prices of agricultural products are at the
level of the rest of Europe.
After accession to the EU, the position of new members should not
deteriorate; the European Commission and EU members should show that
they understand this. Despite its small size in demographic and
geographical terms, Slovenia wishes to contribute to the economic
power of the EU. It is nevertheless unacceptable that new members -
which are less well-off - should become net EU contributors as a
result of "statistics". The same principles that were
applied in previous enlargements - Portugal, Spain, Finland, Austria -
should be taken into account.
It is equally unacceptable that, as a result of a decision on
regional policy, the Slovenian border regions would not receive any
funds while the border regions of neighbouring countries, which are
much better off, would still be entitled to these funds. The last
chapter that Slovenia provisionally closed was regional policy. Two
issues remained open, however: Slovenia's final territorial division
into regions and the volume of funds to be allocated from structural
funds after Slovenia's accession to the EU.
From the very beginning Slovenia has advocated the principle of
individual treatment of candidates, assessing their readiness on the
basis of objective criteria, i.e. the principle of
differentiation. According to Eurostat data, Slovenia in terms of its
GDP, Slovenia ranks among the first of the 13 candidate countries. In
the five years since the signing of the Association Agreement, it has
been the second most developed candidate country after
Cyprus. Slovenian GDP per capita was USD 9,105 in 2000, which means
that, in terms of economic development indicators, Slovenia follows
closely behind Greece and Portugal.
Slovenia has invested great effort in the successful conclusion of
the negotiation process. With a view to becoming an EU member,
Slovenia has to a great extent harmonised its legislation with the EU
acquis, and was the first candidate country to amend its
Constitution. It has accelerated privatisation and denationalisation
processes, and thoroughly restructured its administration. These
achievements are proof of our resolve to become an EU member by
2004. We believe that the EU will keep its promises concerning the
road map of enlargement. A failure to fulfil this commitment would
cause great disappointment in many candidate countries and could have
a major impact on the historic project of uniting Europe.
Slovenia plays an active role in the debate on the future of the EU
both at the national level and in the Convention, where it has its
representative in the Presidency. The Convention is a historic
forum. Even though the candidate countries have not had any experience
with life in the EU, it is nevertheless appropriate to allow them to
participate in the work of the Convention and to submit, together with
EU members, proposals and reflections on our common future.
It will be vital for Slovenia to implement the principle of
subsidiarity. We understand this principle as one that leads to
administrative decentralisation and allows for the protection of
national identity. It also contributes to maintaining balance between
the EU and a member state. The principle of subsidiarity would be more
easily implemented if the key EU competencies were defined in
detail. The governments of member states and national parliaments are
to a large extent responsible for provisional political control over
the implementation of the principle of subsidiarity in their
supervisory role in European affairs.
The European Commission should remain an institution independent of
the governments of member states. As it is responsible for ensuring
respect for and implementation of the EU acquis, it should preserve
the right to initiative. Moreover, it is an institution which should
be impartial in its concern for the general interest and the
competence of decision-making in certain key areas, in which EU is
more efficient in taking action than individual member states. The
political responsibility of the European Commission should be enhanced
in the future and, in our opinion, the role of the European Parliament
should also be strengthened.
Slovenia has taken the view that candidate countries should also
take part in the Intergovernmental Conference upon the conclusion of
the work of the Convention as members with equal status, even if the
accession treaties have not been ratified by then. We regard the
Intergovernmental Conference as the final act of a broader democratic
debate on the future of the EU.
At this moment the fundamental issue of democracy in the EU is how
to strengthen links between citizens and EU institutions, and how to
achieve this in a democratic manner. The awareness alone that the EU
should be reformed in a democratic manner in order to become more
transparent and accountable to its citizens - also through a broad
debate within the Convention - testifies to the commitment of its
members to democratic values. In Slovenia we believe that it is also
thanks to our participation in this debate that the EU will become
more democratic and transparent.
The main cohesive element which today links the countries of Europe
is democracy. European integration will continue to be successful only
if founded on democratic values such as the rule of law, protection of
human rights, and freedom of speech and expression. We must be aware
of the fact that the European idea carries within itself the
principles of respect for the diversity of nations and cultures.
Slovenes have only had an independent nation state for 11
years. All the states in which we lived before were
multinational. Slovenia's experiences of the Habsburg Monarchy and of
royal and socialist Yugoslavia remain instructive today, especially
for small countries. These multinational formations collapsed because
they could not or did not wish to establish appropriate mechanisms for
diversity management. They disappeared from the map of the world
because their respective nations were not allowed to participate in
the exercise of power on an equal footing.
Like Finland, Slovenia lies at the crossroads of different
cultures. Despite the fact that Finns and Slovenes are surrounded by
numerically stronger neighbouring nations, they have managed to
preserve their national identity; this is something we wish to protect
in a United Europe as well. The cultural contributions of nations
small in size are as important as the achievements of larger
nations. European civilisation is great because it combines the
achievements of many nations and cultures, small and large.
As one of the smallest European nations, Slovenes are particularly
sensitive to the issue of the preservation of cultural diversity. In
our case this is, in particular, the language, natural and cultural
heritage, sustained ecological and demographic balance, etc. It is
unlikely that Slovenes will suddenly lose their national identity when
they join the EU, exchanging it for a "European" one. On the
contrary, it may happen that the fear of losing identity within the EU
will strengthen Slovenian national consciousness. It is interesting to
note that the more European countries are becoming equal in the
technological and economic spheres, the more citizens feel threatened
when their cultural identity is at stake.
History shows that nation states have a strong survival instinct,
which has been demonstrated by the developments in the EU up to
now. Slovenes, who were part of multinational formations for
centuries, have proved several times that their instinct for survival
is very strong; we expect to preserve it in the new multinational
formation which we are about to join.
The key issue of Slovenia's existence in the EU will be linked to
the success and importance of our achievements compared to the
achievements of others. Slovenian achievements will take their place
among other European achievements without any concessions. Compared to
other European nations, Slovenes are probably among those with more
ability and success. However, we may expect our situation to be more
difficult due to our physical limitations. On the other hand, Slovenes
are entering European society after a delay of some years, caused by
our existence in the former Yugoslavia.
In Slovenia we will have to solve the issue of readiness - not just
for competition and comparisons, but our readiness to do something for
others. The contributions of nations and countries are judged on the
basis of how valuable they are to other nations and countries. It is
not enough to ask ourselves what Slovenia will gain from the EU. We
must also ask ourselves what Slovenia can offer to the EU and to other
European nations. We sometimes complain that Europeans do not know
enough about us. Slovenes know themselves and give recognition to
achievements that are valuable and useful on the national
scale. Europeans will get to know Slovenia better through achievements
that excel on the European scale. Finland is a good example of this
since, with its many products of world renown, it has managed to gain
a significant European market share.
Following the forthcoming EU enlargement, Slovenia's south-eastern
border will become the external border of a United Europe. Slovenia is
aware that it will have to assume significant obligations in
protecting this border. However, this position is not a favourable
one; it could substantially hinder its economic, scientific and
cultural ties with countries that remain outside the Schengen
system. Slovenia therefore strongly advocates the concept of "an
enlarged Europe". We believe that EU enlargement should not cease
but should continue after 2004. It would be right for the other
countries of South-Eastern and Eastern Europe - Croatia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Macedonia,
Albania, Ukraine and Belarus - to be offered such an opportunity as
well.
Another important issue is how to include Russia within the
European integration process. The Russian Federation is a large
country with enormous energy and economic potentials. It is difficult
to say if, in this case, Russia would join the EU or vice versa. In
any case, Russia will continue to be an important factor in ensuring
security on the European continent. With the next enlargement, the EU
will gain a new - Slavic - dimension with the integration of Slovenia,
the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. The new Slavic members could
represent a bridge for cooperation between the EU and Slavic countries
to the east of its borders.
Since the tragic events of 11 September, we have become aware of
how serious a threat international terrorism poses to peace in the
world. We all know that it is no longer possible to ensure a high
level of national security through individual measures. Action should
be taken instead within a comprehensive system of collective defence
at the international level.
I agree with the Finnish Prime Minister, Paavo Lipponen, who said
in his recent speech in Dublin that NATO would continue to remain
"the stronghold of European defence". Slovenes regard NATO
as the prime guarantor of peace, security and stability in the
Euro-Atlantic area. NATO is an Alliance founded on the principle of
international solidarity, and this is the very principle adhered to by
Slovenian foreign policy.
Despite its resolve to enter NATO, Slovenia is in favour of the
strengthening and operationalisation of the Common European Security
and Defence Policy. Slovenia considers the CESDP as a lever that will
enable the EU to take an active and effective approach to ensuring its
own and international security. In Slovenia's opinion the CESDP and
NATO are two complementary institutions - and relations between the
CESDP and NATO strengthen and complement transatlantic relations.
In the process of drawing closer to NATO, Slovenia, as a member of
the Partnership for Peace, has proved that it takes seriously the
obligations deriving from its partner and ally status. The priorities
of Slovenia's participation in the Individual Partnership Programme
include air defence, airspace management, civil emergency planning,
crisis management, defence planning, language training, logistics,
standardisation, military exercises, training and doctrine.
Slovenia takes an active part in preparing initiatives and
programmes within an Enhanced and More Operational Partnership. Within
the Partnership for Peace Training and Education Enhancement
Programme, Slovenia has established a Language Training Centre. It
also offers to representatives of Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
countries the services of its Simulation Centre, the Slovenian Armed
Forces Mountain School, the Training Centre for Civil Protection and
Disaster Relief, and the Ministry of Defence's Centre for Strategic
Studies.
Slovenia has established a good level of cooperation with all its
neighbouring countries in the area of security and defence. Together
with Italy and Hungary, it founded a Multinational Land Force
(Trilateral Brigade). The Trilateral Brigade project is an important
sub-regional security mechanism envisaging the formation of a light
infantry unit for rapid and effective military response in the event
of security threats. The aim of forming a multinational unit is also
to enhance interoperability and knowledge exchange, and to adapt to
common operational procedures.
Slovenian foreign policy supports all international efforts to
stabilise the situation in the Balkans. The Slovenian Armed Forces
have taken part in NATO-led operations within KFOR and SFOR. Slovenian
diplomacy makes efforts to preserve a high level of bilateral
relations with the countries of South-Eastern Europe, and acts
constructively in various regional initiatives (Stability Pact, SECI,
etc.). At Slovenia's and Lithuania's initiative, NATO candidate
countries formed the "Vilnius Group", acting in the spirit
of partnership and assisting NATO in its efforts to spread the area of
security and stability in Europe.
As part of its regional activities, Slovenia pays great attention
to post-conflict rehabilitation. In the desire to contribute its share
to the improvement of the mental health of children afflicted by armed
conflicts in South-Eastern Europe, it established the
"Together" Regional Centre for the Psychosocial Well-being
of Children. The International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine
Victims Assistance is also active in the Balkans. It was established
by the Slovenian Government with a view to facilitating the return of
refugees and displaced persons to areas where armed clashes have taken
place. The ITF has so far cleared 28.5 million square metres of
contaminated land in South-Eastern Europe. Countries from other
regions have expressed their interest in cooperating with the
ITF. Donors have recently sponsored ITF activities in the Caucasus
region (Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan).
Being a serious NATO candidate, Slovenia endeavours to contribute
its share to ensuring security and stability in its immediate
vicinity, in the region and at large. A nation of barely two million
people will never become a superpower, but this does not mean that we
are joining NATO as "free riders". On the contrary, Slovenia
is willing to assume its share of responsibility for ensuring security
and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area.
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