EUROPEAN COHESION
AND EUROPEAN DIPLOMACY
Dr Dimitrij Rupel[1]
Ljubljana, 28 June 2006
I. A Story about Yugoslavia
1. Fifteen years have passed since the signing of the Brioni Agreement (7 July 1991), i.e. the European-Union-endorsed truce between Slovenia and SFRY. This agreement stemmed from the premise that the nations of Yugoslavia could decide their future on their own. It was based on the right of nations to self-determination. It stated that control over the former Yugoslav border crossings (with Austria, Italy, and Hungary) would be assumed by the Slovenian police, and that customs duties would be collected by the Slovenian customs authorities. The Brioni Agreement stipulated that the border "regime...be based on European standards", which meant that the borders would be protected by the Slovenian police and not the Yugoslav army. In three months (i.e. during the moratorium), Slovenia and The Yugoslav People’s Army (YPA) were to agree on "a regular transfer of all YPA competences in this area". The Agreement anticipated an active role of the European Union in solving the crisis in Yugoslavia, and, of course, in attempting to ensure a peaceful dissolution of the state. The involvement of the EU was a Slovenian success, and the independent Slovenia was (the only) achievement of the EU. Slovenia respected and fulfilled the Brioni Agreement, went on to win international recognition, and, together with other former socialist countries, entered the competition to join the EU and NATO.
2. Let me, at this point; emphasise that this operation could not have succeeded without substantial support of Austrian diplomacy and its Minister, Dr. Alois Mock. The Austrian Minister, The Holy Sea and the German leaders (H. Kohl and H. D. Genscher) were the most outspoken advocates of Slovenian (and Croatian) independence; while the EU President, Hans Van Den Broek[2], designed and carried out the Brioni part of the operation.
3. Democratic elections, the break-up of Yugoslavia, independence and the building of Slovenian statehood, were the results of a historical process which had started in 1980, with the establishment of the Polish trade union Solidarnost, and other alternative and opposition movements including cultural enterprises, such as the establishment of Nova revija[3] magazine by Slovenian intellectuals. This process lasted about twenty-five years and ended with much noise in the 'Big Bang' that saw the European Union and NATO expand to include the former communist countries and federal republics: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. A surprising role reversal had occurred: Yugoslavia, previously seen as the most democratic and the least hard-line of the Central and East European communist states, tragically collapsed, and – all things considered – found herself even more backward than the Soviet Union and the former members of its block.
4. Judging by the dismemberments, humiliations, and territorial reductions through wars and under alien, hostile or undemocratic systems, it could be said that Slovenes lacked a glorious past. Indeed, in the past, Slovenians were mainly kept united by their mother tongue and their shared culture. Slovenes are one of those European nations who managed to survive and secure their place in the world through culture. Writings in Slovenian language (The Freising Monuments) are a thousand years old, Slovenian books (by Primož Trubar) date five hundred years back, and a Slovenian architect (Jože Plečnik) left his mark on Central European architecture. Slovenians have enjoyed some lucky and even famous moments, such as the Illyrian Provinces, the Congress of Laibach, Rudolf Maister's struggle in WWI, and the National Liberation Movement in WWII.
5. But the glorious future began in 1991. In the last fifteen years, Slovenia has achieved more than at any time during her history. With her two million inhabitants she has become a distinguished European country enjoying international trust and successfully heading international projects and organisations. Slovenia has chaired the UN and the OSCE, and in 2008, will preside over the European Union, a community of 450 million people, negotiating on its behalf with countries and systems numbering billions of people. Slovenia was the only one of the former Yugoslav republics to grasp the concepts of open doors and the Big Bang at the right moment, and use them to her advantage at the right time. The doors to Europe opened with a big bang, but today they are closing silently. Slovenia cannot agree with this development.
II. The Story of the European Union
6. The new European Union and new NATO, are today’s realities. The political slogan dating from the end of the Cold War, i.e. the collapse of the Berlin Wall: "Europe Whole and Free!" has – as far as the main policy-makers are concerned – been realised. However, the integration and enlargement of the European Union, embodied in the agreements on stabilisation and association… are not over yet. Fifteen years after Slovenia, Montenegro became independent, Kosovo is negotiating its independence with Serbia, Croatia and Macedonia are but slowly approaching the EU and NATO, while at the centre of the South-Eastern Europe lurks the prospect of new uncertainty. The European Union supposedly guarantees these countries a European perspective, while its leaders are simultaneously establishing a new formula which links this perspective to absorption capacity. This formula replaces – in my opinion inadequately – the formula of the adequate competence of candidate countries. Then, there is the issue of the EU's external borders. Questions have arisen on whether countries like Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Turkey, and Ukraine actually have a place in the EU. After all, one could ask, does the Russian Federation belong in the EU?
7. Before these questions can be answered, certain other, more basic questions must be asked. For example: what defines the essence of the 'European way of life'; what are the fundamental European values; or in other words, what is the glue, the cohesive material binding European societies; and, where do the ideal or possible frontiers of the European Union lie?
8. At a time when the ratification of the European constitution[4] has come to a standstill, the future of EU enlargement is, understandably, very difficult to forecast. Much has been said about 'enlargement fatigue'; however, it is true that without a new treaty, future enlargement is impossible, as the current Treaty of Nice stipulates only the inclusion of Bulgaria and Romania. Across Europe, doubt has spread about the sincerity of the European orientation of some countries from South-Eastern Europe. These countries are facing a largely difficult economic situation, and were they to join the EU, they would become beneficiaries of aid contributed by other member states. It all seems that the energy released at the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall, driving the liberating movement towards the East regardless of financial cost, has been exhausted. The USA, which had decisively influenced the European integration, started withdrawing from Europe as a result of different views on the development of international relations; mainly because they were met by opposition to the war in Iraq, and the 'ingratitude' of the European countries which had gained strength precisely because of US assistance.
9. The European Union consists of twenty-five states, and will soon accommodate twenty-seven. Some believe that this is too many, and that such a multitude – at least with the existing mechanisms – can no longer be managed. It is clear that the mechanisms – with the constitutional treaty or without it – will have to change. But we need only consider the United States of America to see that it is possible to manage successfully as many as fifty states; however, in the US, no single state or group of states is better or stronger, or seeks to prevail. Parties and individuals compete for the leading positions, regardless of which state they come from or where they hold permanent residence. In Europe, such a notion of administration would be extremely difficult to achieve, as here residence is connected with nationality, specific cultural identity and language.
10. On the other hand, if we examine things closely, we see that the European Union has made important progress regarding the relaxation the principle of nationality. Throughout history, European nations sought to subdue one another, with the initiative for European integration always coming from a centre of some European nation, be it Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain or England.
11. It is on these grounds that we still call some of the bigger countries, mainly Germany, France and the UK, and their leaders, the 'big boys', and worry that they could make an agreement to the detriment of the smaller countries. While such decision-making is a reality, there is also the growing conviction that with twenty-five or twenty-seven members, the engine embodied in the big EU members, such as Germany and France, is too weak to cope with the dynamics of global 'traffic'. Nevertheless, today the EU has the ideal opportunity to transform itself without external pressures or support into a new community that would function as a state, e.g. a federation. On the premise that today none of the European countries actually seeks to subdue any other, we could conclude that the EU is facing entirely new challenges and opportunities.
12. We find it easier to grasp the concept of the 'European way of life' in its entirety once we leave Europe. Once outside Europe, we long for its courtesy, civility, and diversity; for the magnanimous and benevolent order that governs working and leisure time. We miss its cultural and religious monuments, the characteristic ancient city centres, the mindset descended from Classical antiquity, Christianity, the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. We appreciate great concert halls, opera houses, drama theatres, galleries, libraries and museums. The European way of life is also defined by the official documents of the European Union. They emphasise: democracy, equal rights, solidarity, the rule of law, and the respect of fundamental rights; sustainable development, the importance of knowledge and innovation, business opportunities, fight against unemployment, the common market, consumer protection and food safety, energy security, inter-cultural and inter-faith dialogue.
13. Let me, at this point, recognise the excellent Austrian leadership of the EU during the past six months, especially the charming and competent Viennese diplomacy led by Ursula Plassnik. It was not an easy time, taking into account the problems of the Constitutional Treaty. It was not easy for Slovenia, either, since during this time, for reasons beyond the control of Vienna, some old controversies concerning the linguistic rights of the Slovenian minority in Carinthia, resurfaced and threatened to deteriorate Slovenian-Austrian relations. Let us hope that after Austrian Presidency and after Austrian elections we shall be able to resolve the problems of Slovenian minority. If, in the EU, we are not able to face the problem of linguistic diversity, then we may face much more serious problems.
14. In our own discussions in Ljubljana about the priorities of Slovenia's EU presidency in the first half of 2008, we expected that the main issues would be: the future of the EU, i.e. the constitutional treaty, enlargement, energy, and inter-cultural dialogue. However, in recent months, an important discussion has been added to our agenda. I am referring to the issue of migrations, i.e. the appeal of the European way of life to those living outside Europe. Some people see the EU as a refuge from existential dangers and hardship – particularly people in the Mediterranean, in Southern and Eastern Europe. More than one hundred million of our neighbours have already migrated to the EU, and their remittances have provided essential contributions to the economies of Eastern and SouthEastern Europe and Northern Africa. In view of the demographic problems faced by European countries, this phenomenon does not only represent unbearable pressure, as experienced on the Canary Islands and in the majority of South European countries, but at the same time offers a welcome solution and a way of strengthening European economy and demography.
15. The fact is that the EU appears attractive from a distance, and the more distant it becomes, the more attractive it seems. It is then that we realise how attached we are to it. We become more keenly aware of the characteristics and quality of the European way of life. Once we are far away we see ourselves as Europeans. The absence of the European and the experience of a different world, be it Asian, American or African, awakens in us a profound awareness of our common European identity that we fail to recognise in our everyday European lives, since we lead those everyday European lives within the boundaries of domestic, local and national circumstances. It seems that the identification with Europe is necessary because of other, non-European peoples.
16. In this respect, the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TeCE)[5] does not say much. The Treaty does not speak of the foundations, but rather, of the perspective of the European life. Little attention is dedicated to the binding material, a little more to inspiration and beliefs. We are supposed to be inspired by the European cultural, religious and humanistic heritage, which has become universal; we are supposed to believe in progress and the need to overcome divisions.