NATO HQ 2 Apr. 2004

Remarks by Mr. Eduard Kukan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic at the Ceremonial Session of the North Atlantic Council on the Occasion of the Accession of Seven New Members to the Alliance News 02/04/2004 - NATO Ceremony to mark the accession to NATO This is indeed a historic moment for all Slovak people: Slovakia is joining NATO and this fact represents a great historic achievement for us. Surely, today, we can hear the adjective “historic” mentioned time and time again. But it is not an overuse. The tragic decisions made in the aftermath of the WW II forcefully cut us from the democratic Europe. These decisions now belong irreversibly to the past. Since 1989, the European political and security landscape has changed considerably, and the Alliance has changed with it very successfully, including the enlargement. Today, the historically largest NATO enlargement is a reality - extending the zone of security, stability, freedom and democracy. Those fifteen years that followed the memorable events of 1989 have not been easy. It was a period of catching up with history, with NATO and the EU, it was a period that was sometimes painful indeed. Today, we recall all those moments when our friends and today Allies supported our efforts to be a good aspirant and now member of the Alliance. Our feeling of vindication belong also to all of you around this table. Today, as those seven flags have been raised to join the 19 already up there, I felt a true joy and satisfaction. Slovakia has become an Ally, a part of the most successful Alliance in the modern history. The experienced Allies vested in all of us their trust, sympathy and confidence, while we, the new members have committed ourselves to the future of this organization and the values it safeguards. Besides the joy and the feeling of vindication, we feel also a great sense of responsibility. The Alliance is in many ways different from the one established in 1949, as well as from the one we knew some 15 years ago. Quite understandably so. If the world is changing, if the character of threats and security environment is changing, if the meaning of the words “defence “ and “security” is changing, then the Alliance, whose key role is to safeguard the security and prosperity, cannot stand still either. Looking back at the years that followed the 1990 London Declaration on a Transformed Alliance, one can see a remarkable story of adaptation and transformation filled with many innovative ideas and initiatives NATO has generated and implemented. The aim of this transformation is clear: to make the Alliance stronger and better equipped to face new dangers. Since Prague, the NATO transformation goes further, deeper and faster. In Istanbul, we will have an opportunity to make further improvements in this regard. Frankly speaking, we do not have a luxury of complacency. Just a few days ago, a new wave of ethnic violence sparked in Kosovo. NATO, through KFOR, stood firm in performing its tasks. However, the situation is far from being stable there. In Madrid, many people, innocent civilians, died and hundreds were wounded. This Alliance is for us the main security forum to discuss such issues. There are many challenges out there that require our common resolve. We have to be united and act in solidarity – as the fathers of the Washington Treaty intended when they signed it. For Slovakia, reaching the goal of the NATO membership is far from being the end of the story. Rather, it is a beginning of a new chapter in our history. A chapter that is marked with a real responsibility. We are ready to assume it. Thank you.