LITHUANIA’S ADAMKUS: ‘DEMOCRATICC CONSOLIDATION’ IN EAST EUROPE ‘GREATEST ISSUE’

Vilnius ELTA WWW-Text
03 May 2006

[“Adamkus: Europe Far From Being Finished Business” – ELTA headline]

Vilnius, May 3 (ELTA) – When opening the Forum of Non-Governmental
Organizations at the “Vilnius Conference ’06: Common Vision for the
Common Neighbourhood” on Wednesday [ 3 May], President Valdas Adamkus
highlighted the development of freedom and democracy in eastern Europe
and talked about how to apply the knowledge of successful transitions
in the past to make the processes inspired by the Rose and Orange
revolutions irreversible.

“Let me begin by saying that Europe is far from being ‘finished
business’. In fact, the fate of democratic consolidation in the
eastern part of Europe today is, in my opinion, the greatest issue
in Euro-Atlantic politics,” Adamkus said during his address.

The situation today, noted the president, differs from what we had
to deal with before, because we are faced with a combination of
factors: strong remnants of the post-communist past, national and
regional identity problems, and, at its worst, “frozen conflicts”
that in some cases have instilled fear and economic stagnation for
more than a decade.

“It is also challenging, because the speed and depth of democratic
transitions that we witness is astonishing. It is also demanding
because democratic consolidation in the eastern part of Europe is
related to a number of significant external factors. By this I mean
the rapidly evolving neighbourhood policy of the European Union. By
this I also have in mind the actions of other important stakeholders
such as neighbouring Russia and the trans-Atlantic community, first of
all the United States. And when sometimes these external influences
go in the opposite directions, we suddenly end up playing the game
of competition, and not that of cooperation,” the head of Lithuania
said at the forum.

In the judgment of the president, before crafting a common approach it
is also wise to ask whether all current Euro-Atlantic structures are
fit enough to develop a strategic vision of Europe, whole and free,
in the century of globalization.

“I personally believe that a common vision for the common neighbourhood
cannot be solved in isolation by a single actor, whether that would
be the EU, the USA., NATO, or Russia. A vision that will commit us
to a Europe bound by common values and linked by economic integration
will require common action from all responsible stakeholders.”

The NGO Forum “Europe’s New Democracies and the Euro-Atlantic Agenda”
is being attended by representatives of non-governmental organizations
from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, the Czech Republic, Georgia,
the USA., Latvia, Poland, Lithuania, Moldova, the Netherlands,
Norway, France, Russia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden, Ukraine, Hungary,
and Germany.

The Forum of Non-governmental Organizations is considering how
to respond to the most critical challenge of today’s Europe: what
measures should be taken to irrevocably consolidate the democratic
transformations in Eastern Europe and the southern Caucasus region.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress