Important Texts 2003

U.S. Foreign Policy: NATO and the EU

Remarks by Deputy Chief of Mission Scott Thayer

Bratislava Rotary Club, April 28, 2003

The year 2002 was an historical one for Slovakia, arguably the most remarkable year in its existence. Five years ago, there were serious and legitimate concerns that Slovakia was going the route of former communist states farther to the East: drifting toward authoritarianism, stagnating economically, turning away from Western values and linkages. The 1998 elections represented a last-ditch effort by domestic and international forces to change the direction of the country. Difficult choices, hard work, and political risk-taking by the pro-reform coalition that won those elections, combined with strong international political support and assistance programs -- including from the U.S. -- wrought an unexpected result.

Slovakia is now poised to join the principal European security and integration institutions. With these memberships comes a quantum shift in Slovakia's place in the international community and a fundamental change in relations between Slovakia and the United States -- from tutelage to partnership.

As Slovakia becomes an ally, and a member of the United States' largest trading and political partner -- the EU, the ties between the U.S. and Slovakia will strengthen, and the breadth and depth of the relationship will become even more profound. Membership in NATO, as well as in the EU, will mean being included in, or consulted about, virtually every significant world issue or event.

At the same time, Slovakia's reform agenda is not complete. While Slovakia's progress -- its noteworthy sprint to catch up with, and even surpass, its Visegrad-10 associates -- was great, it still faces continued economic challenges and must come to terms with minority rights and rule of law issues. Their new world role and their ongoing challenges will place a tremendous burden on the Government of Slovakia.

With entry into NATO and the EU, Slovakia will stand in a different relationship to the U.S. -- more similar to the relationship we have with the western European nations. As Slovakia stands on the doorway of membership in the principal Trans-Atlantic institutions, it takes on new authority, new responsibility, new friends - and new enemies.

Let's look at some of the issues that will grow in importance. Mostly they are the same issues that we deal with in our relations with western European nations and are both multilateral and bilateral in nature.

Membership in NATO means Slovakia will have the same obligations and responsibilities as the other members. For NATO to fulfill its role in the current international situation it is necessary for each member to bear its share of the burden. We do not expect allies to match U.S. defense spending dollar for dollar, but it is vitally important that we in NATO spend money more wisely to secure the capabilities necessary to deal with the threats we face. So when Slovakia becomes a member of the Alliance, you can be sure that the U.S. will take an interest in whether it is holding up its part of the burden of shared defense. I am glad to say that so far Slovakia has shown that it has every intention of doing so: the Government's commitment of two percent of GNP to defense beginning this year, contribution to the coalition to disarm Iraq, participation in numerous U.N. peacekeeping missions, and deployment of an engineering unit to Baghram in Afghanistan - all are testimony to Slovakia's stated intention to act like an ally even before becoming a NATO member.

Related to NATO membership is the role that countries play in the Global War On Terror. No country is immune to attack from terrorists. The war against terror is fought on many fronts: militarily, financially, and through the sharing of intelligence. Here Slovakia has also proven itself to be a steadfast friend of the United States. After the September 11 attacks the Slovak government quickly granted United States planes over-flight rights and has also shared valuable information from its law enforcement agencies, while the Slovak Parliament passed legislation giving the government greater powers to identify and freeze the financial assets of terrorist groups.

Some might think that after Slovakia joins the European Union most issues will be decided in Brussels. Far from it. National legislation and national regulators will still control many factors, and on all issues the member states have interests they want to protect vis-a-vis the Commission and other member states. We will engage the Slovak government even more as issues of mutual interest and concern appear on the EU agenda. Over the coming months, these will likely include:

• Continued cooperation in the Balkans, where the EU has just taken over direction of the peacekeeping mission in Macedonia.
• Accelerating the search for peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis.
• Taking stronger action to halt the proliferation of WMD.
• Energizing global trade negotiations, by making meaningful offers in the WTO to address agricultural subsidies and market access barriers.
• Combating the trafficking of women and children.

A final area where I expect to see our relationship intensify is that of trade and investment. The United States is the third-largest source of foreign direct investment in Slovakia, just behind Germany and Austria. We have just seen a major investment in Slovakia -- $150 million -- from Johns-Manville, and virtually every existing investor is planning further investments. This is an area of mutual benefit, as U.S. investment means jobs for Slovaks and profits for American firms. There are multitudes of opportunities in Slovakia, but the U.S. government wants American business to have the same opportunities in Slovakia that other foreigners do. When we see where changes could be made to encourage commerce between the U.S. and Slovakia we will certainly bring them to the attention of the government in Bratislava.

So, you see that the changes in U.S. foreign policy towards Slovakia after 2002 will be mainly in terms of focus. The United States will tend to treat the country more as it would a Western European partner. This doesn't mean we will always be in agreement on every issue -- but it does mean that we have confidence in the country's stability and democratic orientation.

Before I take questions, let me touch upon Iraq. After more than 20 years of suffering under a corrupt and brutal regime, the Iraqi people are able to enjoy freedom of religion, and freedom of speech and expression. We hope for an Iraq with territorial integrity, no weapons of mass destruction, no links to terrorists, and at peace with its neighbors. The support of the Dzurinda government for the coalition's activities are deeply appreciated, and yet another demonstration of the close relations and shared values between our two countries.

As the Coalition proceeds with the reconstruction of Iraq, it will work with its allies, other bilateral donors, and with the UN and other international institutions. The Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, headed by Jay Garner, is leading the initial effort. The U.S. has spent nearly $600 million on relief and reconstruction efforts, and a further 58 countries have expressed interest in contributing to the reconstruction effort. The immediate focus is to restore basic services and establish security.

We would like Iraqis to run their own country as soon as possible. The April 15 meeting in Nasiriyah was the first of several meetings for an Iraqi forum to discuss their future, and how to create a democratic government. These will lead to a Baghdad conference creating an Interim Iraqi Authority. We hope results from this process will be broad-based and fully representative.

There is not a humanitarian crisis, but massive humanitarian efforts are underway. Humanitarian supplies -- wheat, water, medicine, blankets -- are coming into Iraq, and there are over 50 independent NGOs preparing to provide humanitarian assistance to Iraqis. Media are showing the world the incredible luxuries and huge weapons caches owned by Saddam, his family, and his government. It should be obvious that sanctions were never the cause of the Iraqi people's problems. With the lifting of sanctions and a major reconstruction effort led by the U.S., Iraq has the opportunity to become a beacon to the rest of the Middle East - a prosperous democratic nation. But to achieve this it needs the support of the world's democratic countries. Slovakia can play an important part in this effort and I am sure that it will do so.