Address by the President of the Republic of Slovenia Dr Janez Drnovšek at the 12th Meeting of Presidents of Central European States in Zagreb (unedited version)
Zagreb, Croatia, 10/14/2005 | speech
I am very pleased that our meeting in Zagreb took place few days after Croatia has got confirmed mandate to start the negotiations for membership in the European Union. I think this is a very important fact. It took some time. It was not easy, but finally in the context European Union was able to decide positively and open the negotiations for Croatia. In Slovenia we support this decision very much. Croatia is our neighbour and we are widely interested in its development, prosperity, its European perspective. We are pleased that after Slovenia there will be soon the second former Yugoslav republic joining the European Union and showing that the door is open, that European integration remains an open perspective for the countries of the former Yugoslavia, of the Western Balkans but also for the others.
In this context I again confirm and greet the decision to start the negotiations with Turkey. This decision was very difficult and very controversial. Many people today in Europe think that it is very questionable if at the end of the road Turkey will really become member of the European Union. I would like to say that EU was wise to open the door for Turkey. Turkey is an important country, a country with prevailing Islamic religion. And the mere fact that Turkey would be the first Islamic country entering the European Union should not be a disadvantage but rather an advantage. I think by this step the European Union would give an example to the rest of the world that different cultures, traditions, religions can reconcile, can find the way to live and work together, accept the positive values of living together, helping each other, being constructive and avoiding conflicts or possible wars.
European history and not only European history has been full of conflicts and wars. Recently the Balkans, Yugoslavia has proved again where divisions, divides, conflicts, nationalisms, building on differences, ethnic or religious differences can lead to disasters, to civil wars, to atrocities. The same people, who were able to live together in peace for decades suddenly, became mortal enemies, killing each other. This is the opposite way of the way of the European Union and we must do everything possible to avoid such situations in the future. This is the reason that the door of the European Union must remain open and to offer European perspective to other countries, other neighbours of the European Union and other former Yugoslav republics. I am very pleased that recently Serbia and Montenegro made a step forward in this direction. And I am also looking with optimism to the further steps of Macedonia to the European Union. I think this will be very encouraging also for other more complex situation still remaining in the Western Balkans. Not only the Western Balkans but also countries like Moldova, Ukraine should be given this perspective, possibility to join in a foreseeable time the European Union. Otherwise it is very difficult to imagine how to carry on difficult reforms, social and economic reforms in all countries in transition without this European perspective. It is very difficult to carry out reforms in EU members, in relatively stable and prosperous situation, but to do these in much worse situations is a quite challenging task. I think the European Union should help political leaders of the countries, who are willing also to risk their political future to carry on the necessary reforms, to work on positive values, to encourage them and to give them realistic hope that European membership is at reach.
There have been some speculations recently that there is a crisis in the European Union, that difficulties with the constitutional treaty are connected with enlargement. That there have been too many enlargements in the EU recently and that citizens of older member countries somehow do not feel where with this changes, with enlargement and this broader Europe. If this is the reason that referendum on European treaty in some countries failed then I should say that the politicians in these countries did not do their homework. They did not explain to their citizens what the European Union without further enlargement means. It means divide in Europe. It means that in twenty years from now we will have one Europe with prosperity, with welfare and we will have the second Europe with poverty, political and social tensions, possible ethnic or religious conflicts and it will be impossible to secure that this second Europe would not have an impact on the first more prosperous Europe. The European fortress could not exist, neither towards the east nor towards the south. But we must assure that European union will be a project that will broaden prosperity, positive values in our vicinity and that European union will play a positive role in the world affairs, finding and promoting the solutions for the greatest challenges of our future and also of today, reducing poverty in the world, finding the answers for the climate change, ensuring stability and security for everybody in the world. It is not possible to do it only for some people or some countries in the world. We must be aware of this and if we are aware of this fact then I am very sure that we will decide and I am sure that also the citizens of these countries will decide that we must continue with European project and we must continue with enlargement.