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President of the Republic REMARKS at the Flag-raising Ceremony to Mark the Accession to NATO in front of Kadriorg Palace02.04.2004
Members of the Riigikogu, Members of the Government!
Excellencies!
Members of the Defence Forces and Defence League! Dear fellow countrymen!
Today is a historic day when Estonia raises North Atlantic Treaty Organization flag next to our national flag. The NATO flag flows on the territory of Estonia to mark the fulfilment of our long-term aspirations. At NATO Headquarters in Brussels our blue-black-and-white national flag is raised together with the flags of Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia next to flags of 19 member countries.
The independence of Estonia continues to be timeless and inalienable. NATO membership will be the best guarantee to protect our sovereignty. We can be pleased with the accomplishment. Estonia has done a tremendous job and is ready to share the responsibility of membership as an equal member of the Alliance. We know that standards were not lowered to accept us, and they will not be lowered in future either.
Estonia started to cooperate closely with NATO as early as in 1991, being one of the founding members of the North Atlantic Co-operation Council created at NATO Rome Summit. Ten years ago Estonia joined the Partnership for Peace Programme and a couple of years later began preparations for accession negotiations. In April 1999, when NATO celebrated its 50th anniversary at NATO Washington Summit, NATO recognized Estonia as a potential new member state. Estonia was invited to begin accession negotiations at the November 2002 NATO Summit in Prague. On 26 March 2003, NATO member nations signed NATO accession protocols for seven countries. Today they are new NATO member states.
The NATO membership accomplished in such a short period of time demonstrates our capability to pull ourselves together for the sake of a common goal. Accession to the Alliance has not been the task of single structures but of the entire state. Estonia's political will has been to keep the defence budget at two percent of the GDP. Despite scarce funds in many a field, the national consensus has fostered the decision. Therefore the defence forces have been able to develop NATO compliance.
Public support to NATO derives from its capability to act and an ability to avoid being verbose but primarily from NATO values, meaningful also in today's troubled world. The values were formulated in the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949, merely ten days after deportations from Estonia in March.
Estonia is an integral part of the enlarged NATO. Just like membership commitments are a natural component of our daily activities as an independent state. The North Atlantic Treaty sustains from the UN Charter and contributes to a more stable environment for the comprehensive work undertaken within the European Union.
Today we join the NATO message to say: we want to defend the liberty of our nation, common heritage and society based on the supremacy of democracy, individual freedom and justice. We aspire to promote stability and welfare in North Atlantic region. We have joined NATO efforts to maintain collective defence, peace and security.
History has provided Estonia with abundant experience in hostile foreign power. For us, this enhances the significance of Article 5 of the Treaty that an armed attack against one member state shall be considered an attack against all of them.
We are well aware of new instability spreading threats, still inherent in today's world. Unfortunately there is no day when we do not speak about terrorism. Hence besides consuming security we participate also in creating and ensuring security. The participation of our servicemen in NATO-led operations in the Balkans and Afghanistan serves as a good example of Estonia's valuable contribution. Since 1995 about 800 people have participated in missions.
We are interested in good relations with Russia. Therefore Estonia is pleased to see the cooperation between NATO and Russia continuing within PfP framework. Various international cooperation relations will definitely contribute to better understanding in Russia of Baltic nations' EU and NATO membership being also in the interests of Russia.
The security space stretching from Turkey to Norway and Canada will significantly enhance the feeling of security and the possibility of survival of our nation and state. Our intent to secure and develop also our initial defence capability complements a security guarantee arising from collective action within the Alliance. Estonia's strength has sustained and fill sustain from the will of the people to defend one's country expressing itself in mandatory military service and Defence League.
On behalf of the Republic of Estonia and its people I extend my thanks to all NATO member states for the ratification of Protocols of Accession. We will continue daily collaboration with all member states both in the open air and at the table where there are seats for twenty-six states from now on. My thanks go to all the hard-working people at home and abroad whose years-long aspirations are being crowned by the festivities of today. Thank you, the people of Estonia! The accession process could move successfully forward only with your understanding support and in the interest of our secure future.
I believe that together with its allies Estonia will be able to withstand an enemy however powerful it might be. I am convinced that we can feel ourselves safe and secure in our homeland.
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