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Remarks by the President of the Republic at the Signing Ceremony of the National Agreement on October 20, 2003, in the Winter Garden of National Opera20.10.2003
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am glad to welcome such a well-attended forum here and to share with you my delight at the completion of the first part of an extensive work.
The efforts made by the Estonian people over the last decade have been crowned with a remarkable success. We have built up a well-functioning state, made rapid economic progress, and our country is on the point of entering the common economic space of the European Union and the security area of NATO.
But it is characteristic of the Estonians that we worry about tomorrow too. One of the reasons for that is the present day. For we know well that for the efficient development in one sector we had to pay a price, which hardly could be termed modest. I would name here only our low fertility rate, poverty in parts of our society, children who have ended up on the street, divided society, and ongoing alienation of power from the people.
It was this very dangerously unequal development that made social scientists to warn the public of further cleavage of Estonia. The metaphor of two Estonias has been widely reflected in society, thus feeding our expectations concerning the national agreement as well. Similar expectations concerning the future of rural life already several years earlier were expressed at the Rural People's Congress. Therefore, we should emphasize that the need for the agreement arouse out of understanding in society that our development should be balanced.
Now such an agreement is about to be concluded. We have a document, which attaches importance to Estonia's social viability. The implementation of this document will guarantee both a significant increase in quality of life and the development of civil society. Already the preparation of the agreement brought together scores of like-minded people who, as a result of constructive discussions, deemed it crucial that Estonia's first national agreement be focused on a healthy child and family, on measures to boost the birth rate and to make education more accessible.
These are the same goals we have set ourselves at this very place, the Theatre House Estonia, on 24 February 2002 marking the 84th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia. Then we talked about supporting demographic reproduction, enhancing social security, creating guarantees for survival of Estonian culture and education. Because that's where the key to our future lies. Accents like these are based on an understanding that our generation bears the responsibility for the fate of posterity and human environment they will live in.
I am sincerely glad that we now have made a decisive step in search of our shared interests in order to overcome personal inertia, individualism, group interests and day-to-day politics. I am glad that the Estonian society is building up belief in the necessity and possibility of civil society, that we, considering benefits to the nation, give priority to the well-being of future generations. Thank you very much for what you have done to confirm this belief.
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