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POLAND AND LITHUANIA IN A NEW EUROPEOctober 2, 2003 Mr. Rector,Excellencies, Dear Students, Ladies and Gentlemen,I am happy to be here in this University and to meet the intellectual community of Warsaw. Allow me to extend my gratitude to His Magnificence Professor Piotr Węgleński for this invitation and for the cordial hospitality I have met with.The walls of this university have seen many a page written into the chronicles of Polish history. Within these walls generations have been educated to struggle for “your and our freedom”, and have seen the development of the idea of a free and independent nation. Neither the Nazi, nor the Soviet occupation managed to undermine the spirit of this University, and its active, creative and intellectual life nurtured the sources of the Lithuanian Sąjūdis movement. I have no doubts that even today as we speak, this University provides many a man to spread the fame of Poland throughout the newly unified Europe. Nearly a decade ago here, at the Warsaw University, I defended my doctoral thesis. I still remember how we used to exchange ideas with the honourable professors, and how we argued and discussed various issues. It just so happened that, right after defending my thesis, I was appointed Ambassador to represent the Republic of Lithuania in Poland. This was a tough period both for Poland and Lithuania. Poland saw governments come and go leaving their imprint on the intensity of the political atmosphere in the country. Lithuania, in the meantime, a country that had freshly disposed of the soviet army, was living through a period of heated discussions on the future guidelines on its way to Europe. That year, a new page of Lithuanian and Polish relations was opened by signing the Good Neighbourhood and Friendly Relations Agreement.In 2004 we shall celebrate the tenth anniversary of this Agreement. Evidently, this decade was a witness to important changes both in Poland and Lithuania. Historical prejudices were replaced by common objectives which, as in the past, have paved the way for strategic partnership of our two countries. Cooperation aided us in uniting all that had been distorted for more than two centuries by force and secret arrangements. I consider our partnership to be a courageous and creative response to the challenges of the time and our contribution towards the future of the whole region and the whole of Europe. Ladies and Gentlemen,The collapse of the Soviet empire opened new possibilities to make independent choices concerning our own future. Our choices include accession to the European Union and NATO, various bilateral and regional formats, endeavours to create and develop closer cooperation with the most powerful nation in the world. Quite shamefully, regional cooperation issues are lagging behind integration concerns. Let us take, for example, the Baltic and Visegrad group countries. Is the regional institutional framework of these neighbouring regions developed well enough? What about their mutual trade? Are political initiatives, infrastructure projects and opinions on the key international cooperation issues harmonised? These questions are being asked for a decade now, and we shall ask them even more often after we join the European Union. We are already discussing the external EU frontier, the relations with new EU neighbours, the principles for EU budget allocation and – I shall not disclose a secret by saying it – we are talking about roads, railroads, electricity infrastructure and pipeline infrastructure, which need to be implemented at the cost of our and EU money.The whole dynamic region, referred to as Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) can become one of the most promising EU regions. Already, the CEE market development is most active in Europe, investments are flowing into the region from all over Europe, the United States and other countries. All we need are better concerted efforts, several more finishing touches, and a new image of this region shall be complete. Lithuania and Poland can become the axis for cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe. Moreover, they can become the critical connecting-link for Central and East European cooperation and the main driving force behind it. Together with Poland Lithuania organised a summit on good neighbourly relations six years ago in Vilnius. Eleven regional heads of state participated in the summit. All agreed that despite political differences on a number of issues and regardless of membership in various organisations, good neighbourly relations were and will be the most important values for our region. The Ukraine was fast to follow up by organising another conference in Yalta. Even more countries participated there, thus giving an additional impetus to the ongoing talks about the new Baltic-Black sea cooperation axis. The European Union and NATO shall soon include nearly all the states which participated in the Vilnius and Yalta conferences. Thus, we can see how our experience and our cooperation principles are becoming part and parcel of EU and NATO policies. I might be too bold in stating that our initiatives encouraged the EU to focus more closely on its “new neighbours”; however, without these initiatives, the road to a Wider Europe would evidently be way more difficult. President Aleksander Kwasniewski has recently proposed a new and attractive format, often referred to as “the Riga initiative “. This new initiative allows to consolidate and further expand our common achievements. Evidently enough, this initiative has already outgrown Vilnius and Yalta arrangements. Thus, my question is whether or not we should initiate another summit to draw the guidelines for further regional cooperation? Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to address three particular topics that could form the basis for our further discussion. First of all, the role and the importance of the transatlantic dialogue. We all agree that an active and successful transatlantic dialogue is critical to our security. This opinion is shared by both Lithuania, Poland and other countries. The disputes between certain NATO members at the beginning of this year have caused much concern for our countries. How can we qualify these disputes? An accidental conflict or a systematic argument, determined by the European and global transformations?We believe that these disagreements are short-lived and will be successfully resolved. We can already see how the international dialogue is turning back to the venerable and sound course after the period of volatility caused by the developments in Iraq. But still, there is little doubt that European integration will have an impact on the structure of the transatlantic partnership. Fifty years ago, twelve nations were sitting around NATO’s table, and in fifty years’ time it may happen that we will have the representatives of the EU and the United States at this table. How can we ensure that these developments stimulate rather than obstruct transatlantic cooperation?The Euroatlantic community must show wisdom and prudence in solving these issues. We do hope that the EU and the US foreign policies will remain open and coordinated in the face of consolidating and accelerating European integration. We do hope that these policies will further defend our common values and interests. This is the only way to guarantee the long term viability of transatlantic cooperation. The transatlantic links of Lithuania, Poland and other Central and Eastern European countries are particularly strong and effective. We are grateful to the United States for the support given to our countries when it was most needed; and we are satisfied with the partnership which has evolved during the present decade between the United States and our region. Besides, millions of our citizens have family ties across the Atlantic, which have proven very important during our NATO accession campaign. Therefore, transatlantic relations are one of our most important priorities. We believe that the new members of the European Union and NATO will actively contribute to the development of the twenty-first century transatlantic partnership. Secondly, the question of the limits of Europe. It will continue to trouble our minds even after this round of enlargement. We believe that all nations who want to join the European and transatlantic institutions, and make progress in meeting the criteria of membership, should have the perspective of joining the European Union and NATO. In this area we, the new members, will face an important and challenging task. We must strengthen the spirit of solidarity in our region and support, in every possible way, our fellow nations who seek to join the European and transatlantic community. This solidarity and clear understanding of common goals and responsibility lay at the heart of our decision to establish the Vilnius Ten group four years ago. This group included the nations from the Baltic to the Black to the Adriatic Sea, all sharing the ambition to join NATO. The issues related to our EU accession were also discussed in the spirit of solidarity. Today, we must develop and strengthen this unique tradition of cooperation. Thirdly, our relations with the “new neighbours” of the European Union. The developments in the Ukraine, Belarus, and South Caucasus are important to all of us. A complex patchwork of human and political interrelations has evolved during centuries in this area, so this region is particularly well known to our countries.The future relations between Russia and the EU are of utmost importance. Russia’s role in a present-day Europe cannot be limited only to institutional or infrastructural solutions. We believe that all parties involved will adopt a more pragmatic and a more comprehensive view on common issues, as is the case in cooperation with Kaliningrad. The more successful is the development of this region, the more successful will be the EU-Russia dialogue.Ladies and Gentlemen, Close cooperation between NATO and EU encouraged hopes for peace and long-term stability in Central and Eastern Europe. The remaining work we completed ourselves, with a helping hand from our partners. Today, the interests of Lithuania and Poland are expanding, and our international prestige is increasing. Through wise decisions and diplomatic skill Lithuania and Poland have established themselves as the driving force behind many changes in the region. The strategic partnership of our countries is an integral part of this process of change. Today, we jointly participate in various international operations, and we closely coordinate our European and transatlantic agendas. Five bilateral summits have already taken place this year. I could hardly tell another country in the region with which Lithuania would have such an intensive and successful relationship. I believe that in the enlarged European Union and NATO we shall continue to work hand in hand. We shall sustain and further consolidate our strategic partnership. Because once we are strong in the region, we are strong in the international arena. This was clearly evidenced by our participation in the debates concerning the situation in Iraq. The future of the economic ties between our countries is critical. These economic ties will ultimately determine the viability of our strategic partnership. Lithuania and Poland can become the pivot on which the economic life in Central and Eastern Europe revolves. After all, Poland represents the largest consumer and production market in the region, while Lithuania provides the direct and convenient connection with the Baltic eastern littoral. Still, it is sometimes difficult to understand why the markets across the Atlantic are more attractive to the Lithuanian exporters than those of Poland. Or, let’s say, why Poland’s exports to certain Mediterranean countries exceed its exports to Lithuania? The scope of change that occurred in our countries during the last decade is difficult to comprehend. During a decade Lithuania has developed into a modern economy that is quickly catching up with the rest of Europe. Its welfare is increasing and new branches of industry are developing. In less than a few months Lithuania and Poland will lift up the remaining borders and will fully integrate into the common economic and security space of the European Union and NATO. On the other hand, our economic cooperation fall victim to the objective reasons inherited from the past. Geographically, Warsaw is closer to Vilnius than to Berlin, but this is a far-fetched argument to a traveller who has spend ten hours on a trip from Warsaw to Vilnius. These long hours of travelling continue to determine the choice of many tourists and business people. The infrastructure development has become one of the most popular subjects in the Lithuanian-Polish relations. Modern motorway and railroad systems must link the capitals of our countries and resolve the longstanding transportation problem. Poland and the three Baltic states have recently submitted the „Rail Baltica” project to the European Commission as one of the EU priority projects. This is an important achievement for the entire region. The complexity of transport issues that the government of Poland is dealing with is well known. However, it should be underscored that the North-South connection is key to Poland’s economic success in the future. It is a factor that can guarantee Poland’s central role in an ever closer Central and Eastern Europe. I firmly believe that we will conclude this project earlier than planned.Ladies and Gentlemen,Next May Lithuania and Poland will be part of the EU single market. Many practical issues need to be solved before this accession. I believe that Lithuania and Poland will address these issues together. Bilateral constraints in the Lithuanian-Polish relations are beneficial to neither Lithuania nor Poland. In fact, they can be abolished even before our full-fledged membership in the EU. Someone has called the Lithuanian-Polish borderline area “a no man’s land.” Thus, new infrastructure projects, new business activities and people-to-people contacts should be established to invigorate the development of this area. Most importantly, the accomplishments and the consensus on the principles of partnership, reached over the last decade, should remain at the heart of our future cooperation. We need to cultivate and foster our human relations, as personal communication enriches us with new creative ideas and new experiences. Our discussion today is also a small but very significant contribution to the future of the Lithuanian-Polish relations. Therefore, I invite you to share your views and suggestions.Thank you.