Speech by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia
H. E. Mrs. Sandra Kalniete to the European Policy Centre seminar
"Meet the New Member States"27 February 2003 Building the New Europe Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my honour and pleasure to be here today and share my vision of the enlarged Europe. Let me start by a rather direct but, to my mind, very true statement: for my people, the only way to safeguard the Latvian identity, language, culture and independence is to be in European Union. This is a family of EuropeâÀ™s democratic nations where the uniqueness of each nation is respected, and solidarity is one of the underlying principles. This is also a place where the small nations play on equal grounds with the bigger ones. And what is the most important âÀ“ nations gathered in the European Union cherish the same values as we do âÀ“ respect for the human being, his freedoms, rights and dignity; rule of law; democratic institutions; separations of powers; a pluralist political system; respect for private ownership and market economy. Therefore Latvia wants to become part of this process and carry it further. Since one of LatviaâÀ™s motives for joining the European Union is strengthening our national sovereignty, we would like the future European Union to remain an entity of nation states. Latvians would like to see the nation state with its cultural uniqueness at the heart of the European Union. Therefore the notion of federalism, which is inserted in the draft Constitutional Treaty, could turn out to be quite misleading. I know that the European Union has already some federal elements. However, if we include the notion 'federal' in the Constitutional Treaty we run the risk of creating wrong perceptions for the people as 'federal' implies centralised power, with the Member States as subjects. Following the principle of nation states, the next one, which according to Latvia, should be at the basis of the enlarged Europe is equality. Equality in many ways âÀ“ between the 'old' and the new Member States, the big and the less populated countries. This is an issue of particular sensibility for the Latvians. Coming from a small country, for the most of our history dominated by others, we hold dear this principle. It should by all means be preserved. How do we see it done? - First of all, by reserving the right for each and every Member State to assume the presidency of the European Union. We cannot afford to lose this opportunity. Having the presidency, we strengthen peopleâÀ™s sense of belonging to Europe and show that all the Member States, regardless their size or wealth or other factors, have the right to 'steer this mighty vessel' called the European Union. Of course, no one has illusions about the titanic work of a presidency. And certain things in it might be changed. For instance, the continuity might be reinforced. Maybe we should consider relieving the Presidency from chairing some technical working groups and committees. I would like to point out that equality between the Member States is best ensured by the use of community method. Latvia sees its interests best safeguarded by a strong and independent European Commission, which takes into account the opinion of everyone before tabling a proposal. The European Commission as a guardian of the common interests of the European Union should be made of representatives of all Member States. We see the European Commissioner as a symbol of the sovereignty Latvia hands over to the European Union. It cannot be denied that the present institutional balance in the European Union is, indeed, unique and therefore deserves to be maintained. Latvia doubts that any new institutions, including a president of Europe, would be worth creating. European Union is not a single state. It is a union of many states. Therefore, it would be very difficult to see the legitimacy of a president of Europe. Moreover, wouldnâÀ™t the president of the European Union undermine the principle of equality between the Member States? And what about the functions of the President of the Commission and the would-be President of the EU? âÀ“ WouldnâÀ™t they overlap and create confusion? Ladies and Gentlemen, It is very important that the new Europe is built on the grounds of legitimacy. This is what our citizens expect. Probably, one of the ways of ensuring greater legitimacy in the European Union is to have the European Parliament elect the president of the European Commission. Though it does not necessarily mean that such a president would be "a more powerful president", he/she would be elected by the representatives of the EU citizens. We need to strengthen the link between the Union and its citizens. We need to make them feel more involved and listened to. One of the ways is to involve more the national parliaments. In my opinion, the acceptance of and confidence in the European Union is crucially affected by the feeling among the citizens of how much they can influence the EU decision-making process. Also, how much information they can get on the activities of decision-makers in the European institutions. I think, that citizens should get more influence on the European Union policy-making. Probably it could be achieved by improving the national EU policy drafting and decision-making. The national parliaments could contribute to the political monitoring of the subsidiarity principle. It might be achieved by means of an "early warning system". This would allow national parliaments to give their opinion on the draft EU legislation. As a result, raising confidence among citizens that decisions are taken at the most appropriate level. Transparency is another quality that needs to be promoted in the European Union. Making the European Union more understandable for people should be the guiding principle for us when reforming the EU institutional. The new Constitutional Treaty of the European Union should clearly define the objective of the new, enlarged Europe, and who is who. Mr. Giscard dâÀ™Estaing rightly pointed out that one of EuropeâÀ™s greatest challenges is to redefine its raison dâÀ™Ãªtre so that each and every citizen saw his/her place in this historic project. The European Union requires, indeed, stronger 'mandate' from its citizens: only one third of Europeans electing the European Parliament is worrying. Therefore, you will agree, the EU âÀ“ with its institutions and policies âÀ“ should be made more relevant for citizens. The European Convention and the following Intergovernmental conference will outline the architecture of the enlarged European Union. Work in the Convention on the European Union reform is a priority for Latvia. Regardless the start of the next Intergovernmental conference, it is essential for Latvia to have enough time for the public debate after the Convention completes its work. I think this is quite a reasonable wish. Dear participants, No one yet knows how the new, enlarged and united Europe will function. Only one thing is clear âÀ“ the unification of Europe is to change substantially the 'face' of the European Union. My idea is that, first and foremost, the entire cooperation process in Europe will change. The European cooperation will be brought to a qualitatively different level. Unique opportunity for greater exchange of experience and more human contacts will arise. This will ask for changes in thinking of both the new and present Member States. The new Member States, like Latvia, will have to learn living in a community with a wide range of interests, different approaches and understanding. Those Member States who are in the European Union since the very beginning or for many years already will also be exposed to the particular points of view/motives or attitudes of the so-called newcomers. I am confident that the new European cooperation will take place in a spirit of mutual understanding, tolerance and respect for each nationâÀ™s national interests. The second point that I would like to make is that enlargement should make Europe more influential in the global geopolitics. On the one hand, one might say that the more countries are involved, the more difficult it is to reach an agreement. That is true. Therefore, the decision making process in the European Union needs to be made as effective as possible, with qualified majority voting prevailing. Latvia believes that the European Union should strive for "one voice" in foreign, defence or economic policy. You all know very well, that enlargement is widely seen to be the driving force of EuropeâÀ™s economic development in the future. The European Commission points out that it should make a positive contribution to overall industrial competitiveness of the European Union. Some analyses are even bolder saying that EuropeâÀ™s future will be integrally connected with that of transition countries. But I think that the main issue or challenge here is whether the transition countries will grow fast enough to reach the levels of income of Western Europe in the coming decades. For now, everything goes right. Take Latvia, for instance, where growth rates are quite impressive. What seems interesting to me and, perhaps, slightly alarming is that presently, in the European Union, economic activity remains concentrated in a relatively small and central area âÀ“ a pentagon extending from London to Paris, Milan, Munich and Hamburg. Research and development in the EU, along with other strategic and high-value-added activities tends is said to be concentrated in these central regions. Therefore, if development in other regions is not sufficiently stimulated, then we may witness growing regional polarisation in the European Union, along with the concentration of low value-added activities in the peripheral areas of the European Union. We know that the enlarged European Union will not be a homogeneous entity either as to the level of development, and time as well as considerable effort will be needed to overcome the disparities. Now let me say a few words on the very functioning of the enlarged European Union. It will most probably be based on shared interests âÀ“ either formalised like Schengen agreement and Economic and Monetary Union or âÀ“ related to geopolitics. As to the latter, it is clear that the European Union is not only the union of state, but also a union of regions. And such will it remain and develop also after enlargement. Since Latvia makes part of the Baltic Sea region, its future matters greatly for us. I am truly pleased that the Baltic Sea region has all the potential of becoming one of the global centres of growth and prosperity. In the 13 years that have passed since 1989, the Baltic Sea region has shown a remarkable will and ability to change. It represents now one of the most vibrant markets in Europe. Let me touch upon just some of its assets. This region has 10 metropolitan areas with populations of 1 million or more. It is home to well-established companies and product brands. It is the leading IT producing area of Europe. Some 45% of RussiaâÀ™s total foreign trade passes through Baltic Sea harbours, which are endowed with well-developed infrastructures. The educational level in the whole region is high, particularly in the natural sciences and technology. Of course, the central issue in the development of the Baltic Sea region will be to ensure balanced development. The opportunities presented by the enlargement should be used to foster fast growth of the new Member States âÀ“ the Baltic countries and Poland. The Baltic Sea region is home for the most competitive and innovative countries in the world âÀ“ Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. This, I believe, should have a spill-over effect on their closest neighbours. Ladies and Gentlemen, Latvia and the entire Baltic Sea region will play a substantial part in the external policy of the enlarged European Union. With the accession of the three Baltic States and Poland, the area of security and stability in Europe will be considerably enlarged. This will inevitably foster economic development within the region, extending, in turn, the area of welfare in Europe. This is very important for all of us. Perhaps we can say that the Baltic Sea region will have a double role in the enlarged Union: on the one hand, to safeguard the area of security and stability and, on the other âÀ“ to implement an inclusive policy towards the closest neighbours, including Russia. Latvia attaches due importance to the development of the new neighbours initiative. Bringing forward the discussion on the new neighbours policy, Latvia finds important to, first of all, formulate the strategic principles of the new policy, second, to consider the possible creation of particular legal basis and, finally, to consider the possibility to introduce appropriate financial instruments. We would be ready to address the main part of its assistance and co-operation to the eastern neighbours of the enlarged European Union. Ladies and Gentlemen, Latvia joins the European Union with a particular knowledge of the region and experience in dealing with its eastern neighbours. I think we would not be wrong to claim also deeper understanding of their mentality than other countries, which have not enjoyed such close ties with the eastern neighbours of the enlarged European Union. This is clearly LatviaâÀ™s advantage, which is to become that of the entire Union. Speaking about economy, LatviaâÀ™s strategic location makes that, historically, Latvia has always been an important link in economic relations between Russia and the Western Europe. This means, of course, well-developed transportation infrastructure, new, additional transportation routes for the enlarged the European Union. And finally, let me conclude, Ladies and Gentlemen, by underlining that accession of Latvia to the European Union is not only about deeper understanding of the region, additional transportation routes or spring-board in the economic relations with the CIS countries. It also about our particular attachment to democratic values âÀ“ respect for the human being, his freedoms, rights and dignity; rule of law âÀ“ that we want to safeguard together with other nations in the European Union. Knowing far too well the price of freedom, Latvians will surely use the opportunity of making Europe a place of ever-closer cooperation of the European nations to ensure everlasting peace, stability and prosperity for the people. Thank you for the attention!
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