Estonie

Trivimi Velliste a étudié la philologie anglaise et la psychologie à l'Université de Tartu, en Estonie. Collaborateur pendant onze ans d'un hebdomadaire culturel, il a fondé et présidé de 1987 à 1991 l'Estonian Heritage Society, association défendant les valeurs fondamentales de la nation estonienne.

Elu au Parlement estonien en février 1990, il a été en charge pendant deux ans de la Commission des Affaires étrangères, puis a été nommé Conseiller au Ministère des Affaires étrangères. Trivimi Velliste a ensuite exercé les fonctions de Ministre des Affaires étrangères pendant deux ans, puis a été nommé Représentant permanent de l'Estonie auprès des Nations Unies. Nommé Conseiller du Ministre de la Défense, il est actuellement Vice-Président de la Commission de la Défense du Parlement.

Représentant l'Estonie à la Rencontre Coudenhove-Kalergi, Trivimi Velliste expose les relations de son pays avec l'Europe en construction.

First of all, please allow me on behalf of my country, Estonia, to thank our hosts - Paneurope Suisse, the Coudenhove-Kalergi Foundation and the International Paneuropean Union. I extend my sincere gratitude for this kind invitation to beautiful Switzerland and to even more beautiful Gstaad. This invitation enables us to be together and discuss our common future at the doorsteps of the new century and, indeed, the new millennium.

The very name of Coudenhove-Kalergi is familiar to me from my childhood. I was born after World War II, quite soon after the beginning of the second Soviet military occupation of my country. Stalinist regime was harsh : everything that was not specifically allowed, was prohibited. It was prohibited to reed books printed in pre-war free Estonia. I remember one of the clandestine books I read secretly as a young teenager. It was an Estonian translation from Coudenhove-Kalergi. The idea of united Europe had been quite familiar with pre-war Estonians.

And I do not believe it is a mere coincidence that the roots of Pan-European thinking originate in Switzerland. Switzerland, after all, has always been a paragon of peace and equilibrium. Wilhelm Tell has been a telling symbol of freedom.

Today I would like to speak of my homeland, Estonia, and her aspirations. The first question is : where does Estonia geographically belong to ? Is it part of Eastern Europe, like Russia ? Or is it in Central Europe, together with Lithuania and Poland ? Or, perhaps, is it a Nordic country, like Finland and Sweden ?

If you ask an Estonian in the street, the most likely answer you would get would probably be the latter : Estonia is Nordic. And no wonder : our identity is mostly Nordic, our language is pretty close to Finnish, perhaps the same degree of similarity we can see between Italian and Spanish. Our mentality bears a fair resemblance to that of Swedes and Danes. Of course, we have been part of both kingdoms, those of Denmark and Sweden.

Estonia's eastern border river, the Narva, as well as the big border lake, Lake Peipus (Peipussee) have for a thousand years formed part of the historic frontier between the East and the West. So, during our recorded history, we have always been in the West, even after the conquest of Peter the Great, the Russian Emperor, in the early 18^th century.

The only recess we have had was that of half a century : Joseph Stalin's conquest and rule as a result of the notorious Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the 60^th anniversary of which was observed just a fortnight ago. Two generations of Estonians were living behind a genuine iron curtain. They were truly cut off from the West. And yet not entirely, though, not hopelessly. There were the Finnish TV, the Voice of America, the BBC, die Deutsche Welle and of course, as I said, a certain number of pre-war books. We were able to withstand the foreign rule. A few days ago, we celebrated the 5^th anniversary of the departure of the Russian troops from Estonia.

Let me now, for a moment, turn to England, another cradle of European democracy. England is the homeland of a great poet, John Milton. Let me recall that when Milton got married, he wrote his masterpiece Paradise lost. However, after divorce, he wrote another masterpiece Paradise regained.

And this brings me back to Estonia again, to our immediate neighbours and to our immediate past. When Estonia and her Baltic allies, Latvia and Lithuania, were rocking the boat, ten years ago, Moscow got very angry. The Kremlin rulers were indignant, arguing there should at least be a civilised divorce. Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians were indignant too, arguing that you cannot rename rape and call it marriage.

Anyway, what followed was called freedom. And it still is. My country has enjoyed a gradual return to normal life. Modern Estonia has been characterised by the following catchwords : stability, liberalism, openness, dynamic development, vibrant market economy, and booming information society.

The return to Europe had so vividly been on the minds of the elderly people across the decades of the Soviet domination. Nobody talks about the Soviet Union any more, but they do talk a lot about the European Union in my country. And some of my countrymen ask this question : "After having escaped from one Union, should we really rush into another one ?"

To many Estonians the very word union sounds awful, almost the opposite of paradise. So how should we proceed now, eight years after having regained our paradise ?

In spite of a certain amount of criticism and scepticism, there seems to be a prevailing view : we have little choice, taking into account our history and our whereabouts. Although the EU is not the NATO, which continues to be Estonia's other utmost and foremost priority, although the European Union is not an international security arrangement, many Estonians believe the Union is a most respectable and influential international club no one dares to trespass upon. And then, the Union is an effective tool to jointly create prosperity.

Ever since Mr. Mart Laar's cabinet was sworn in in October 1992, Estonia has pursued a steady course towards the European Union. We have had moderate success. Estonia has enjoyed the status of an associate member since 1995, and during the British presidency, more than a year ago, we were invited to the accession negotiations, alongside with Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia as well as Cyprus.

While the EU continues to be a priority for Estonia, our focus has shifted from political issues to more practical ones. Estonian diplomats are spending less time on political lobbying in the European capitals and more on mundane issues, such as : how to transpose 80'000 pages of acquis communautaire and master EU terminology, otherwise known as eurospeak, in time for accession ?

Today, Estonia has two central priorities in the field of EU integration. Our first priority, of course, is to bring our accession talks towards successful conclusion. A great deal has already been achieved. The process, which began with the screening of the Estonian legislation, has drawn to an end. Substantive negotiations were opened last November. We hope the dynamics of the talks will be maintained. We have already submitted our position papers on most out of 31 negotiating chapters.

Our second priority in the field of EU integration is to prepare, as comprehensively as possible, for accession itself. Although we are now well into negotiations for accession, the bulk of our work is domestic. Our objective is to implement as much of the acquis as possible and be ready for full membership by January of the year 2003.

The European Commission's progress report of last November concluded that Estonia has already made substantial headway in meeting this goal. It is gratifying to know that, in general, Estonia is on the right track. However, there is still much work to be done. Tackling the endless legal, technical and administrative challenges on the road to full membership will certainly keep us busy well into the next century.

At times, this means a double effort on the part of our negotiators. It also means a double burden on our civil service. It is a test of our administrative capacity and, above all, of our ability to function as a member State in the complex EU system. It goes without saying that the burden of preparing for EU membership rests mainly on the candidate country. Yet, the actual date of our ultimate accession to the Union is not solely up to us. The incumbent Union members also prepare for enlargement.

The latest intergovernmental conferences are only a partial solution to the institutional dilemma posed by enlargement. Reform will have to continue in a number of key areas. These include more efficient decision-making procedures in the Council and a simplification of European institutions. We would like to join an efficient Union with a robust and healthy economy. This means efficient decision-making, a strong Euro and a single international voice.

It is natural that the Agenda 2000 is currently a special priority for the Union. We do not believe, however, that the debate on it should lead to a slowdown in the process of enlargement. These two activities are like walking and talking, something anyone should be able to do at the same time. It is not an either-or choice. The two will not only be compatible, but they will also be mutually reinforcing.

Despite the recent crisis in Yugoslavia on the eve of the 21^st century, there is a collective desire to leave the past behind and look for a new face for Europe. There is no doubt that EU enlargement, if successful, will play an important part in defining the vision of the new, stronger Europe. Something Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi must have been thinking about.

I would like to thank the Paneuropean Movement for its contribution towards this end, and let me assure you, Ladies and Gentlemen, that Estonia, among others, will do her duty.