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War and Peace by Shlomo Ben-Ami |
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Crossing Cultures by Ian Buruma |
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The Statesmen's Debate by Castaneda, Haass, Rocard |
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Anatomy of the Global Economy by J. Bradford DeLong |
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The Rebel Realist by Joschka Fischer |
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The Peacemaker by Richard Holbrooke |
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Capitalism Now and Then by Harold James |
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Global Warning by Bjorn Lomborg |
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European Observer by Dominique Moisi |
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Of Might and Right by Joseph S. Nye |
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History in Motion by Chris Patten |
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Roads to Prosperity by Dani Rodrik |
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The Unbound Economy by Kenneth Rogoff |
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Economics and Justice by Jeffrey D. Sachs |
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Finance in the 21st Century by Roubini, Shiller |
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The Ethics of Life by Peter Singer |
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Transatlantic Perspectives by Feldstein, Sinn |
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I Dissent: Unconventional Economic Wisdom by Joseph E. Stiglitz |
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Against the Current by Robert Skidelsky |
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Awakening India by Shashi Tharoor |
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The Next Wave by Naomi Wolf |
To many, myself included, NATO's enlargement to take in, among others, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania -- which were once Soviet republics -- is an impossible dream come true. When the idea was first floated some 10 years ago, expansion into the Baltics was taken seriously by few people. Until recently, Russia's robust opposition to the idea posed a serious obstacle, because it sharpened the impression that Russia regarded its so-called "near abroad" as a zone of special interest and influence.
NATO's enlargement makes it crystal clear that no country in the new Europe can be regarded as part of another country's "zone." It assures the three small Baltic countries that the nightmare of occupation by big neighbors (Hitler's Reich and Stalin's USSR), which they endured for half-a-century -- will not be repeated. By putting paid to any revanchist tendencies in Russia concerning the Baltics, Europe is made a safer place, and Russia is helped in its effort to redefine itself as a national state and not an empire.
Expansion will also create a better Europe because enlargement widens the territory in which countries are committed to NATO's political values, including individual rights as well as the rights of minorities. Fortunately Russia now seems to grasp the value of this political aspect of NATO-enlargement.
Rightly so: enlargement of NATO is not an "expansion" that threatens Russia or other countries which strive for democratic political reforms. On the contrary, expansion takes away the worries - be they real or imagined - that surround the situation of the large Russian-speaking populations that now live outside of Russia but within the borders of the former Soviet Union. The civil rights of the Russian minorities in the Baltics and elsewhere are now enshrined in law, due in no small part to NATO demands.
Those civil rights initiatives on the part of NATO reflect the increasingly workmanlike way that Russia, Europe, and America now work out their disagreements. Indeed, enlargement of NATO comes only a few days after a deal was struck between Russia and the EU on the tricky question of access to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
This small piece of Russia, with 1 million inhabitants and bordering on the Baltic Sea, is squeezed between Poland and Lithuania, two future members of the EU. This could have incited a complicated situation where Russians were faced with tough visa requirements when travelling between Kaliningrad and Russia proper. A deal was struck between President Putin and the EU that makes access much easier without compromising the status of Lithuania and Poland within the EU-regime. This, in turn, created once again the kind of win-win situation that is so important for future relations between the EU and Russia.
When the enlargement of the EU into Central and Eastern Europe is finally decided by the European Council in Copenhagen next month, the conclusion is clear: Europe has become a much better and safer place to live in, thanks to the decisions taken by NATO and the EU during the crucial autumn of 2002.
But this is no cause for complacency. For the really hard work is only now beginning: dealing with all the internal practical and political problems that these enlargements will bring, as well as reckoning with countries in the membership waiting rooms, in particular Russia.
Relations with Russia are of vital importance if Europe is to continue to improve the quality of life of its citizens and address concerns of safety. The common threat of international terrorism must be faced jointly. We need to convince each other that the fight against this common enemy has to be fought with a keen eye to balancing the needs of security with those of human and minority rights.
Kaliningrad could be a litmus test of these relations. The first hurdle has been overcome with the agreement on access to the enclave. The next hurdle is to support Kalingrad's fight against disease and crime as well as strengthening its economic and social structures. This calls for generosity from the EU and flexibility from Moscow. In a wider context this could lead to a strengthening of the so-called Northern Dimension of the EU, where the goal is a free trade area to include all the countries around the Baltic Sea. Such a grand project can be achieved if the political will exists and asserts itself.
Only a few years ago EU and NATO enlargement were regarded as wild dreams. But determination and political will has now made the dreams come true. Now is the time to set new ambitious goals for Europe.
Uffe Ellemann-Jensen is a former Foreign Minister of Denmark.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, November 2002
