Remarks by Minister Ilves at the meeting of the U.S.-Baltic Partnership Commission

Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia
16 July 1999, Washington


Dear colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I am pleased to have this opportunity to participate in the second annual US-Baltic Partnership Commission. Today, I would like to address three general points: security-related co-operation, economic relations, and recent Estonian initiatives.

In only a year and a half, the Partnership Charter has become a key component in the US-Baltic relationship. In light of recent international events such as NATO's anniversary summit and the Kosovo crisis, I believe that the Partnership framework's value will increase even further.

It is clear that our priority for the coming years will be preparing for NATO's further enlargement. To date, US-Baltic co-operation in security issues has been fruitful. I believe, however, that this co-operation could be strengthened with a view to helping us prepare for NATO membership.

NATO membership is Estonia's primary foreign policy priority. We welcome the Washington Summit decisions, in particular, the fact that the Alliance reconfirmed its commitment to further enlargement and clearly identified the Baltic states as serious candidates for membership. We also welcome the Membership Action Plan aimed specifically at helping us prepare for membership.

We are well aware that membership depends above all on our own preparations. On behalf of the new government, I would like to assure you that Estonia is fully committed to meeting the responsibilities and obligations of NATO membership. We have already met the general elements of our own strategic activity plan. These include:

- formation of a Governmental Commission to direct our NATO preparations on July 6th. This Commission, headed by the Prime Minister, will include the Minister's of Foreign Affairs, Defense, Finance, Interior, and Justice among other pertinent officials;

- strengthening of the role of the existing Expert Commission. This Commission is charged with the development and implementation of concrete measures adopted by the Governmental Commission, and the task of developing our co-operation with the Alliance. In many ways, this structure is analogous to the one established to accelerate our European integration efforts some years ago. We are hopeful that similar results can be achieved in the NATO field;

- securing sufficient funding to develop our defense capacity. In this area, I am pleased to report that an agreement, in principle, has been reached by the majority of political parties in support of raising Estonian defense spending to 2 percent of GDP by 2002. Next year's budget is already being prepared and a substantial increase is planned.

Other relevant steps include:

- prioritizing stronger communication and resource-sharing between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for our Baltic Council of Minister's presidency. This step is aimed at promoting the development and implementation of our respective programs. I hope that the United States will continue to participate actively in the process.

- active involvement, both on the political and the practical level, in the effort to create a lasting peace in Kosovo. We are participating in KFOR and have sent humanitarian relief to the region. We are also interested in being involved in the development of democratic rule in the region.

Estonia's plans to prepare for membership will be outlined in more detail in our Annual National Programme. We will present this program to NATO in September.

On a related point, we would like to note the importance of the recent US-Baltic meeting of CFE experts in Riga, where changes to the CFE agreement were reviewed in detail. I hope that similar consultations will be held in the future.

On the second topic concerning economic co-operation, I am pleased to note that US-Estonian trade and investment to Estonia is increasing. I am also pleased with the progress made by the Bilateral Working Group on Economic Issues. A number of obstacles in our commercial relations either have been or are close to being resolved. In particular, I would note themes such as privatization, protection of intellectual property rights, and issues dealing with export controls.

Third, I would like to briefly mention some of the steps that Estonia has taken in other areas.

In the integration field, the Riigikogu has adopted legislation in order to facilitate the integration of stateless persons into Estonian society, including liberalization of the Law on Citizenship and the new electoral law. These laws have been developed in accordance with OSCE and the European Commission recommendations. Several important political and administrative steps to promote Estonian language skills have also accompanied our legal efforts. A detailed integration program for 2000-2007 will be completed by the end of this year.

In the field of regional co-operation, we are pleased that the U.S. supports our proposal to create a new institution - a Regional Study Centre - in Tallinn. We are interested in supporting the development independent international relations institutions in Estonia.The U.S. is particulary well-suited to initiate the process of building up expertise in this field. This institution would createlinks between American and regional NGO`s, and in doing so facilitate the aims of the Northern European Initiative. I am committed to getting the RSC up an running in the near future.

Thank you.