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Distinguished Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The underpinning principle of our security is solidarity. The best embodiment of it is our cooperation in the V10 framework. What binds us together is our values, and the will to defend them, should the need arise, alongside with other like-minded nations. We are united in the opinion that NATO as a collective defense organization based on the values we all adhere to is the best arrangement to secure for the long term peace and stability in and around our countries. Colleagues,Since our Macedonian friends are hosting this conference, let me turn to the security context of this part of Europe. NATO plays the main role in multinational crisis prevention and crisis management in the Balkans. A very important element in this situation is fairer sharing of the political and practical burden in building peace throughout the Balkan region. I would like to give a special credit to the Balkan members of the Vilnius Group for their contribution to our common security, through the efforts aimed at preserving the peace in the region. That is part of security of any other European nation, no matter how far it may be situated from the Balkans. That is why none of us can stay apart from the search of solutions to problems here. Lithuania holds currently the semi-annual Chair in the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. We have announced the struggle against terrorism, as well as the promotion of intra- and inter-regional co-operation among our chairmanship priorities. We attach a particular importance to promoting the values of the Council of Europe in the Balkan region, as a security-stabilizing factor. That is why, in our capacity as Chair of the Council of Europe, we take steps in order to have Bosnia and Herzegovina admitted to the organization as a full member. That would be both a recognition of achievements by the Bosnian Government and all ethnic communities of that country in stabilizing the situation internally and in cooperating with the international forces and agencies involved in the peace building effort there, and an encouragement of further efforts in the same direction. Colleagues,Eight months separate us from the NATO Prague Summit. I am convinced that there will be a robust enlargement of NATO at Prague. The question how many and who will be invited still remains open. It is up to us to get prepared to assume the obligations of the full-fledged membership. Not now and not even upon possible invitations to some of us at Prague is there any place for complacency. Ahead of us lies even harder work on the continuation of reforms and contributing to the Euro-Atlantic security. US President Bush conveyed this message at a recent meeting with his Lithuanian counterpart President Adamkus. NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson, UK Secretary of State for Defence Geoffrey Hoon, as well as US Ambassador to NATO Nicholas Burns, have all just recently reiterated in Lithuania the Alliance’s resolve to judge the candidates on their own merits.MAP has been instrumental in course of those three years for keeping political focus on the enlargement process. MAP also provided a set of practical measures aimed at more effective preparation of both the aspirants and NATO itself for the new wave of enlargement in Prague.We must make every effort to achieve as much progress as possible within the third MAP cycle and to start working ahead with the fourth one.Distinguished Colleagues,I have no doubts that after Prague the mutual trust and commitments will remain tangible, real and reciprocal between us. Our spirit of co-operation, which has evolved during those two years is already, and will continue to be, an asset for the Alliance when we become part of its decision-making. As a Lithuanian proverb says, never change horses in the middle of the ford. The spirit of solidarity of Vilnius 10 should be maintained after Prague to further contribute to the vision of a Europe whole and free becoming reality. We will have the outstanding tasks to accomplish, such as to the promotion of ratification of our accession to the Washington Treaty by the current NATO Allies. The continued sharing of information and experience of reforms among us will speed up our integration into NATO. It will also be important to continue co-operation with, and advocating “open door” policies for, other countries, which, being guided by the same values, may choose the same path as us towards NATO accession.We will continue today’s practical discussion in Bucharest and Riga later this year. To sum up, the Vilnius Group is a club of reliable partners, proven by time already. We need to think ahead, beyond Prague. On this note, let me conclude by renewing to you the invitation I pronounced in our Tallinn meeting last year, to convene in Lithuania for another meeting in the Vilnius 10 format after the Prague Summit.Thank you.