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Address by the President of the Republic at World Economic Forum in Salzburg on September 16, 2002
16.09.2002


President Klestil!

It is a pleasure to be back at Salzburg and to start the autumn session in good business-like spirit.
Thank you for the kind invitation and excellent atmosphere!

Dear participants,

There is not much time left until the Copenhagen Summit. Just a few months is left to tie up the still loose ends and undo the last complicated knots so that there will be no reason to be ashamed of undone work in Copenhagen. However, accession negotiations should be completed before the Copenhagen European Council, as we should not let all the efforts we have made be in vain. Let's recall that most of the work has been completed, tens of chapters have been debated, we have covered a long distance and there's not much point in repeating it backwards.

If you ask what obstacles could be on the final leg of our journey, in my opinion deviation from the agreed upon timetable. We are aware that the Member States have not yet managed to solve all the questions concerning the policies and future of the EU; Germany is facing elections, etc.

I have heard people saying that a few months' delay in a seven-year process is not too detrimental.

In my opinion we have no right to delay it even for a day! In this phase of the enlargement even that short a delay would lead to unpredictable political consequences. However, equally detrimental could be to run headlong into decisions.

Timely completion of accession negotiations would be extremely significant to support enlargement. In several candidate countries the public support to the accession is only slightly above fifty per cent. Any meaningless delay would undermine it, regardless of the nature of the delay.

The basics in negotiation tactics tell that most complicated tradeoffs are achieved just a moment before the curtain comes down. Postponing deadlines will postpone decision-making and push solutions to indefinite future. We could end up in a situation that clocks have been stopped but time continues ticking not in our favour and it will be impossible to turn the clock back.

We are already thinking when to conduct accession referendums in the candidate countries. Whatever the logic behind the arrangement of referendums, adhering to the Laeken timetable would be of prime significance. We, politicians, public officials and journalists should increase public awareness about advantages and disadvantages as well as the EU mechanisms.

But I am an optimist as Denmark holding the current presidency has set for itself, for us and for the Member States explicit objectives towards which we have to move all together. There is nothing Estonia could reproach its partners for. We all pursue our interests, sharing, however, a common goal.

If we all fulfil our part of the agreement, early next summer citizens of successful candidate countries can express their will at the referendum, national parliaments of Member States can assess the outcome by ratifying the agreements. Europe would face a chance to feel itself as a whole in full dignity and with a tremendous development potential.

I would like to recall recent past. At the beginning of the previous decade Estonia and most of the rest of Europe were uncertain about the turn of history. We had a strong and distinctive will but no road map or timetable as yet. Now we have taken a tremendous step forward! We should be aware that even more complicated situations can and have been solved. We should tackle the final homestretch as a team as the time is taken when the last runner has crossed the finish line.

We have not covered the whole distance yet but I would like to use the opportunity to thank the European Commission in the person of Enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen. Although the Progress Report will not be disclosed for a while yet, I do believe that the report will confirm that the enlargement process is firmly on the chosen course and follows the timetable. Should any of the candidates have any unforeseen obstacles, the European Commission - as we have seen before - will be the first to honour its duties impeccably and do its utmost to achieve the goal. This is good news also for the colleagues representing countries, which have not yet reached the final stretch or are just at the beginning of their journey. As a partner the Commission represents Europe just as we expect Europe to be. Efficient, fair, competent and reliable.

Another aspect, if I may, vis-à-vis enlargement doubts. All of us have our concerns and problems related to different fields of the EU enlargement. Having been involved in agriculture throughout my life, I am quite sceptical about the proposals to the candidate countries in the chapter of agriculture. In my opinion it is important that the quotas allocated for countries were adequate to feed the people. The specific character of countries should also be considered. There are still serious discussions to be held along these lines.

Nevertheless we should not fail to see the whole picture. The latter involves also the reality that one of the easternmost municipalities of Estonia, Räpina, makes plans how to improve the condition of a future EU border lake, Lake Peipus, enhancing cooperation between the European Union and Russia.

In their thoughts people are already in future Europe. The future is built step by step, with full foresight, on grassroot level. We have no right not to notice it.


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