Regina Narušis

Why NATO Should Expand Into the Baltic Region

Regina Narušis is the President of the National Executive Committee of the Lithuanian American Community, Inc.

The security of the United States is inseparable from the security of Europe. Admitting Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia to the NATO alliance will bring great stability and security to Europe and thus the security of the United States.

The governments of Lithuania and Slovenia organized a conference of all the nine aspirants to NATO on May 18 and 19, 2000 in Vilnius. Officials and experts from NATO, the member countries, and the aspirants attended the conference. The President of Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus, and NATO Secretary General Lord George Robertson addressed the conference. The purpose of this conference was to address the NATO enlargement process, NATO's role in strengthening the security of Europe and its ability to meet the new challenges.

On the last day, the Foreign Affairs Ministers of the nine aspirants issued a joint statement entitled, "Vilnius Statement". The following is the text of this statement:

VILNIUS STATEMENT

We have gathered today in Vilnius to demonstrate our solidarity and commitment to the creation of Europe whole and free in an alliance including the countries of Europe, the United States and Canada as the foundation for stability and security in the 21st century.

We subscribe to the fundamental and common values of the Euro-Atlantic community, including a belief in individual liberty, the free market and the rule of law. We not only share these values but also consider ourselves to have contributed to their development in Europe over the centuries. Our desire to integrate into the institutions of the Euro-Atlantic community emanates from our readiness to assume our fair share of responsibility for the common defense and to add our voice to the debate on our common future. Having experienced the consequences of political indifference towards the fate of others far too often in our own history, we are committed to defend these values in order to contribute to freedom and peace.

We recognize that security for Europe and North America lies in maintaining a strong transatlantic alliance. Today, we reaffirm our commitment to the completion of the historic project of a Europe whole and free. In this regard, we welcome the contributions of the newest members of the Alliance, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, as an important step in achieving this vision. Their membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has enhanced European stability and contributed significantly to the military strength and political cohesion of NATO.

We are not only prepared for the responsibilities and burdens of NATO membership today, but we are already coordinating our defense structures and policies with the Alliance and contributing to NATO political and military undertakings. Furthermore, we remain committed to practical and political efforts to further improve the specific qualifications of our countries, including implementation of the Membership Action Plan. While each country should be considered on its own merits, we believe that the integration of each democracy will be a success for us all and the integration of all our countries will be a success for Europe and NATO.

We welcome the commitment by NATO Heads of State at the Washington Summit that the transatlantic link remains as important for our future as it has been in the past and that NATO will remain the institution of choice when Europe and the United States decide to act together. The Alliance remains the foundation of the collective defense of its members and must be capable of addressing both current and future threats to our common values through crisis management.

We also welcome the commitment of the European Union to build a Common European Security and Defense Policy that fulfills Europe's aspirations and strengthens the transatlantic link, and we are ready to contribute to those efforts. We recognize that NATO and the European Union are the two central foundations of the Euro-Atlantic community and that we must pursue accession in both institutions if we are to fully reintegrate our democracies into the community we share. We recognize that these aspirations are complementary, and we are committed to pursuing both objectives in parallel.

We are determined to contribute to the efforts of the European Union as well as to NATO missions. The stabilization, reconstruction, and integration of Southeast Europe into the European mainstream are in our common interest. Therefore, we pledge our continued support for the efforts of the international community to restore stability in the Western Balkans.

We are firmly convinced that the integration of our democracies into NATO and the EU will facilitate the creation of a free, prosperous and undivided Europe. Today, we reiterate our common commitment to work together cooperatively to achieve this goal. Our goal will not be reached until each of us, as well as other European democracies sharing the values of the Euro-Atlantic community and able to bear its common responsibilities, has been fully integrated into these institutions. We call upon the member states of NATO to fulfill the promise of the Washington Summit to build a Europe whole and free. We call upon the member states at the next NATO Summit in 2002 to invite our democracies to join NATO.

May 19, 2000, Vilnius, Lithuania

For Bulgaria
H.E. Mrs. Nadezhda Mihailova
Minister of Foreign Affairs

For Estonia
H.E. Mr. Toomas Hendrik Iives
Minister of Foreign Affairs

For Latvia
H.E. Mr. Indulis Berzins
Minister of Foreign Affairs

For Lithuania
H.E. Mr. Algirdas Saudargas
Minister of Foreign Affairs

For Romania
H.E. Mr. Petre Roman
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs

For Slovakia
H.E. Mr. Eduard Kukan
Minister of Foreign Affairs

For Slovenia
H.E. Mr Dimitr Rupel
Minister of Foreign Affairs

For Albania
Mr. Xhufi Pellumb
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs

For Macedonia
Mr. Nikola Dimitrov
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs

This statement is calling on NATO to admit all nine applicants in 2002. The United States government has been holding firm to the "Open Door" policy; however some in the United States and elsewhere fear that here may not be another round of NATO expansion. Lithuania's Deputy Foreign Minister, Vygantas Usackas, characterizes the Vilnius Statement as the "big bang" on the Open Door hoping that this will reactivate the enlargement process.

The United States current involvement in presidential elections has stalled in foreign policy initiatives. Vice-President Gore's reaction to the Vilnius Statement other than welcoming the Statement and congratulating the aspiring nations on their reforms and progress was simply to reiterate his support for the Alliance's Open Door policy.

On the other hand, candidate G. W. Bush wrote in his letter to the President of Lithuania expressing his support of the enlargement process and that it must proceed "to include other nations with democratic values, pluralist political systems, and free market economies."

Bush further stated, "The security of the United States is inseparable from the security of Europe and a string NATO is the foundation of peace." He went on to say that it is in America's interest that the new European democracies become fully integrated into the economic, political, and security institutions of the transatlantic community and that "Russia will never be given veto power over enlargement."

The United States must fulfill its and NATO's promise of the Washington Summit to build a Europe whole and free. Europe will not be whole or secure until Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are admitted to NATO.

It will be hard, though wise, to expect that all aspirants will be admitted in 2002; however at least some must be admitted if we wish to be at peace. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that "without Slovakia, there won't be a second expansion round." It is in Poland's best interest that Lithuanian be the next to be admitted.

Lithuania has met the traditional NATO requirements to be admitted. It borders a NATO country, Poland. It has participated in NATO peacekeeping efforts. It has good relations with its neighbors, including Russia. It is ready to make a contribution to future NATO peacekeeping effort. Though all three of the Baltic nations should be admitted, at the present at least one must be admitted in 2002. Lithuania is the most logical one.

There will be no European, much less Baltic reconciliation with Russia until the Baltic countries feel secure. Russia will only give up its claim to them once Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are admitted to NATO. None of them have ever been or will ever pose a threat to Russia. NATO membership for Lithuanian, Latvia, and Estonia will only force Russia to give up its imperialistic tendencies and concentrate on rebuilding its own country.

Admission for Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia to NATO will create a secure Europe in the northern area. Expansion must proceed by inviting new members in 2002. Those countries that are ready, as Lithuania, must be admitted in 2002.