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SLOVENIA REMAINS THE STRONGEST CANDIDATE FOR JOINING NATO
Statement by the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Milan Kucan, after talks with United States Secretary of State Mrs. Madeleine Albright
Ljubljana, 12 July 1997
Talks with Mrs Albright, the Secretary of State of the USA, have confirmed my belief that the decision of the Madrid Summit on the enlargement of Europe is a very significant historic event in itself, leading to other historic events. This puts an end to European divisions and abolishes demarcation lines of the two former blocks, which in the past brought a lot of misery to the peoples of Europe. The preservation of these and introduction of new divisions would represent a new danger, meaning that Europe has not ceased the opportunity to transform itself from the continent of constant divisions, disputes and wars into a continent of peace and co-operation. This would be extremely dangerous and Slovenia would not like to see divisions being re-established. What happened in Madrid has to be viewed in this context. Although from the point of view of Slovene expectations the Madrid decision may not be a favourable one, for Europe and the entire world it is of utmost importance, inspiring us with great optimism. The three countries which have been invited, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, deserve sincere congratulations. To my mind their success is also the success of all other Central European countries which share the same expectations with Slovenia. This decision means two things. Firstly, that the block division of Europe is finally over. Secondly, that investing a lot of effort into domestic development and reforms pays off and that this will eventually result in joining Europe-Atlantic integrations, namely NATO and the EU.
I am of the opinion, that it is very important that the talks with the Secretary of State, Mrs Albright, proved - as she stressed herself - that Slovenia is on the right track and that if it continues with its endeavours Slovenia will remain the strongest candidate for joining NATO and support further solidification and co-operation in Europe. My optimism and the assessment that the enlargement was a historic event are based on the belief that the expansion of NATO is an open process, that there will be other rounds, and that it is in the interest of Slovenia to do everything in its power to be accepted to NATO in the second trench. Mrs Albright went on to say that she appreciates the efforts which Slovenia has so far put into calming down the south-eastern part of Europe. She underlined how she understands that Slovenia, as a Central European country, has to look the North and West, but that it also has the obligation to look towards the South and East. Moreover, as Mrs Albright emphasised, Slovenia has to open itself economically, since foreign investment in the Slovene economy is one of the important criteria which points to the level of openness and of course also of the interest other countries show for Slovenia. Thus if I try to summarise I would say, that on one hand also the Slovene side has to understand that the responsibly for the post Berlin Europe lies mostly with NATO and that due to that NATO is in a position which demands from it to make itself capable of bearing this responsibility through gradual enlargement. It has to have enough strength to preserve its political and military unity, so as to improve its integration role within its member states, and at the same time to become stronger as the main player of military and political integration of Europe. Noone who meets the criteria and shows readiness will be left out. And this is the guideline for Slovenia: keep on the track of reforms, work hard, more obviously show that it meets the set criteria and thus become an even more serious and strong candidate for NATO. Slovenia should endeavour to start negotiations on its full membership in the EU in the nearest possible future, an organisation which fully appreciates our economic strength and potentials. And finally, Slovenia should take the opportunity of becoming one of the countries which will initiate pacification and normalisation in the South-East of Europe. I would say that this was the basic massage of today’s talks with the Secretary of State, Mrs Albright, and that her words clearly reflected not only the recognition of everything that Slovenia as a young country has achieved, but also the belief that Slovenia is capable of doing more to promote peace and co-operation in Europe. Thank you for your attention.
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