Parliamentary Assembly

Madam President, honourable members of the Assembly, it is today a special pleasure and an honour to address the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the oldest, the most comprehensive and the most prestigious forum for political dialogue in Europe.

It is a pleasure because it gives me the opportunity to reiterate the gratitude of the Estonian nation to the Council of Europe, to an Organisation and to an Assembly that did not forget Estonia during the half century of Soviet domination.

Since the re-establishment of Estonian independence, the assistance of the Council has been enormous. The central core of Estonian legislation, the very foundations of our state, have been co-ordinated with the Council of Europe. Our constitution, our citizenship laws of 1992 and 1995, were submitted to the Council’s expertise and its advice was followed. The law on aliens, the law on language and the law on local government elections, as well as the regulations on language tests for acquiring Estonian citizenship, all bear the stamp of approval of this Organisation.

It is an honour for me to stand before this distinguished Assembly to address the question of how we see present and future relations between Estonia and Europe and, in this context, briefly to reflect on some achievements connected with our chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers last year.

It was with some apprehension, but also with determination, that we faced this challenge, which would be important for any country, but particularly so for one that had so recently regained its independence.

We wished first of all to demonstrate our attachment to a form of society that fully reflects the norms, values and standards of the Council of Europe. We wished to make it clear that we accept and will implement all the Council’s major and important achievements.

In recent months, we have therefore ratified not only the European Convention on Human Rights, but the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. We have submitted to parliament for ratification Protocol No. 6 to the European Convention on Human Rights abolishing the death penalty and we have also presented to parliament draft legislation on refugees, which in fact has already passed the first reading. The same can be said about the conventions on penal law.

Herewith, I am glad to note that, tomorrow, my government is going to submit to parliament for ratification the Geneva Convention on Refugees and Territorial Asylum. I am confident that parliament will act positively on all the above-mentioned government proposals.

In this same spirit, during the months to come we shall pursue our examination of important Council of Europe texts such as the revised European Social Charter and that on data protection. I hope that our ambassador, a former member of this Assembly whom you all know, will soon be able to present the instruments of ratification of these conventions.

Our progressive integration into the network of co-operation based on the Council’s legal tests is, and will remain, a major element of our European policy. We wish also to assure the Council that we take most seriously the monitoring procedures established by the Organisation. We entirely agree that commitments entered into should be honoured. The very credibility of the accession procedure is at stake.

At this point, I wish to express our sincere appreciation to Mr Bindig, the rapporteur and author of the report on Estonia’s commitments. We deeply value the spirit of co-operation, understanding and justice in which Mr Bindig accomplished this task. Monitoring should not necessarily be endless and when a country achieves its goals, it should be concluded. This does not mean that monitoring could not be restarted, if the need were to arise again. We are satisfied that the monitoring exercise will be brought to a successful close as far as Estonia is concerned. I can assure you that my government will continue to do its utmost to strengthen and develop the ideals of the Council of Europe.

During our chairmanship, we were instrumental in setting the framework of the Committee of Ministers’ own monitoring procedure and I am happy to stress that, also in that forum, emphasis was laid on co-operation, on mutual assistance and on solidarity, rather than on negative criticism.

A third feature of our chairmanship was our wish to extend our collaboration with the Caucasian region. Indeed, we entirely share the opinion of the Assembly that Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia belong to Europe. By history and culture, they are closely linked to our common heritage. I hope that the Assembly will examine the applications for membership of the three Caucasian republics in the nearest future.

I shall now dwell on the progress that Estonia has made since 1991. We have stable political structures. Our GDP has been growing since 1994. We have a stable currency, a balanced budget and low unemployment, and we have been quite successful in lowering the annual inflation rate. We are not far from qualifying under the Maastricht criteria, but I will say more about the European Union later.

The Estonian Government has promised to help all permanent residents to integrate into Estonian society. An important and rather unique law allows resident non-citizens to vote in local government elections, thus enabling people to have a real voice in resolving issues that affect their daily lives. I am confident that, in the spirit of close co-operation with all those people who see their future in Estonia, we shall overcome all the problems that the Soviet period has left us.

Our aim is an Estonia for all Estonians, whatever their ethnic, religious, or historical background. To achieve that aim, we are making a determined effort to provide positive incentives for all those people to adapt to the new situation, to help them integrate, not assimilate, into our Estonian society. They are encouraged to learn our language and to participate in our cultural traditions without neglecting their own. We shall expand those efforts. Understanding the importance of a stable and secure population, the Estonian Government is actively promoting dialogue and tolerance among the many peoples living in Estonia.

Since regaining its independence in 1991, Estonia has been unique in making the potentially explosive change from more than fifty years of totalitarian rule to democratic society. Having a long tradition of tolerance and respect for the individual and recognising the human dimension in overcoming the Soviet legacy, Estonia has often shown flexibility and the ability to compromise in solving problems. However, a sustained effort is required, materially and psychologically.

It is an effort to be made by all of us. We are deeply grateful to all organisations and foreign governments that assist us – financially and with help, advice and encouragement – to achieve that aim.

We intend, at the national level and at the level of our participation in the activities of this Assembly and this Organisation, to contribute to, and to achieve for ourselves and for the region in which we live, the democratic security that is the hallmark of the Council. Our close links with the Nordic states and the excellent co-operation with our two southern neighbours are indispensable features of that democratic security.

As part of our re-integration into European economic structures, one of Estonia’s main foreign policy goals is joining the European Union. I am proud to report that Estonia was the only applicant country to negotiate associated status without the need for a transition period. Through our liberal trade regime, we have already opened our markets to the world.

Estonia has free trade agreements with the European Union, with the European Free Trade Association and some Central European Free Trade Agreement countries, with Latvia, Lithuania and the Ukraine. Our liberal policies include the elimination of all export and import tariffs, the elimination of state subsidies and the right of foreigners to buy land. Our rapid privatisation programme, which has left Estonia with perhaps the largest private sector in central and eastern Europe, is entering its final phase, in which the focus is on the privatisation of infrastructures and utilities.

Estonia has become the most open economy in Europe, with economic growth of 5% to 6% per year. Estonia’s rapid free market reforms have raised our competitiveness in the global market and increased foreign investments. Now we seek the opportunity to further liberate the movement of our citizens and their capital through membership of the European Union. We have already progressed through several stages of the accession preparation process, including replying to the Commission’s questionnaire this past summer. In some areas of our Euro-harmonisation, we have some distance yet to go. In that context, I would also like to note Estonia’s readiness to sign the Estonian-Russian border agreement. The Estonian side is looking forward to both parties signing the agreement at the earliest opportunity and hoping that the Russian side will correspond to this by showing her good will.

At the same time, Estonia is seeking to co-operate in upholding European security through the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. We share the democratic values upheld by Nato members and feel it natural that we should participate in the creation of the new European defence arrangement. To that end, we have participated in the Partnership for Peace programme, already the most extensive military co-operation in European history. We realise that protecting security can be costly and Estonia is willing to shoulder her share of the burden. Estonian troops have already served as peacekeepers in Croatia, and in IFOR and SFOR in Bosnia under Danish command, and are currently on assignment under Norwegian command in Lebanon. We stand ready to participate in future missions should the need arise.

The enlargement of the Council of Europe has been one of the symbols of the reshaping of Europe and I pay tribute to the open and objective manner in which it came about. During the coming months the European Union and Nato will both be expanding and the lessons learned here must not be forgotten. Today we are living in an era which offers some specific possibilities: stability in the new Europe will be dependent upon our consideration and forethought.

Estonia may be one of the smaller states in the Council of Europe. Our territorial size, our 1.5 million inhabitants and the size of our economy will never allow us to be one of the major providers to this Organisation in terms of budget and financial contributions, but we can contribute in many other ways to the challenging task of building a Europe for the next century.

We have learnt from our history the importance of determination and will-power, which may sometimes be seen as stubbornness. We have shown what a small country can do when it puts its mind to it. Our minds are now put to Europe. Estonia is confident that her future lies in a fully integrated Europe – and the sooner, the better.

Thank you, Madam President.