US embassy cable - 04BRATISLAVA294

UNCLAS  BRATISLAVA 000294 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, EU, LO, NATO 
SUBJECT: Bratislava II: A Carrot for Balkans and Caucasus 
 
1.  Introduction: Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda hosted a 
conference March 19 under the banner "Towards A Wider 
Europe: The New Agenda."  With most Visegrad-4 and Vilnius- 
10 countries moments away from full membership in both NATO 
and the EU, the conference focused on how to expand the 
process of transformation to additional countries, 
particularly in the Balkans and Caucasus.  Panelists 
stressed the need for continued reform and the highly- 
motivating factor of eventual EU and NATO membership.  A 
common theme was the need to work together to overcome the 
global threat of terrorism.  More information about the 
conference, including the full text of most speeches and the 
concluding statement, can be found on the website 
www.wena.sk. 
 
The Panels 
---------- 
2. Panel One: The Balkan Democracies and the Challenges of 
European Integration.  Carl Bildt, former Prime Minister of 
Sweden, moderated a panel consisting of Albanian PM Fatos 
Nano, Croation PM Ivo Sanader, Macedonian PM Branko 
Crvenkovski, Montenegrin PM Milo Djukanovic, Serbian PM 
Vojislav Kostunica, Bosnian FM Mladen Ivanic, and Finnish FM 
Erkki Tuomioja.  The speakers campaigned for timely NATO and 
EU talks towards their accession.  Each state pointed to its 
democratic improvements and regional cooperation.  All 
supported one another's bids towards accession.  Sanader 
alone presented Croatia as progressing faster than its 
neighbors.  Tuomioja, speaking for the EU, argued that these 
states continued to make progress towards democratization 
and regional stability, but that EU and NATO must see 
significant additional advances before they offer membership 
to any Balkan country. 
 
3. Panel Two: Europe's Black Sea and Caucasus Neighborhood. 
Panelists were Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, Azeri 
President Ilham Aliyev, Romanian PM Adrian Nastase, 
Bulgarian FM Solomon Passy, and Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian. 
The discussion revolved around the treatment of these 
countries by the soon to be enlarged EU, assistance for the 
region to fully encompass democratic principles, and the 
potential for inclusion in the EU.  All the panelists agreed 
that integration into the EU and adoption of the wider 
European policy was important for their countries' future. 
However, they also mentioned continuing problems and 
stressed their concerns with lack of stability, internal 
conflicts, and each country's individual nature.  These 
problems were most explicitly highlighted during the 
interchange between President Aliyev and FM Oskanian. 
Although the overall attitude and themes presented during 
the discussion were positive, both leaders used this forum 
to showcase their opinions on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict 
and requested international attention to facilitate 
resolution. 
 
4. EUR DAS Robert Bradtke, a member of the US delegation, 
made points from the floor: 
--the U.S. supports the aspirations of these countries to 
join transatlantic structions, wants them to succeed, and 
will help; 
--they will be judged both individually and on how well they 
cooperate with each other and with NATO; 
--progress in rule of law, anti-corruption, and human rights 
is essential; 
--defense reform is necessary so the countries are producers 
and not consumers of military resources; 
--the new member states must lead by example, because future 
expansion will be judged by how well the newest members do. 
 
5. Panel Three: The Problems and Promise of a Wider Europe. 
The third panel included Lithuanian PM Algirdas Brazauskas, 
U.S. National Security Council's Dan Fried, Latvian PM 
Indulis Emsis, Estonian PM Juhan Parts, Slovenian FM Dmitrij 
Rupel, and Norwegian FM Jan Petersen.  All expressed the 
view that today's Europe is defined by two institutions, EU 
and NATO.  Fried said that the EU and NATO were sources of 
stability and prosperity for their members, and were magnets 
for other countries seeking entry.  He elaborated on the 
three main problems that European institutions must address 
during the expansion process: 1) divisions within Europe 
itself; 2) sustaining the drive for democracy in countries 
such as Georgia and Ukraine; and 3) threats beyond Europe 
including terrorism, failed states, and dictators.  The 
other panelists made similar points. 
 
6. Panel Four: Views from the European Union, NATO, and the 
United States.  Slovak FM Eduard Kukan introduced the 
speakers: NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, EU 
Commissioner for Enlargement Gunter Verheugen, and U.S. 
Senator Trent Lott (R-Mississippi).  All three emphasized 
the need for continued democratic reforms, and encouraged 
Balkans and Caucasus countries to look at the new member 
states as examples to follow.  Verheugen said "union" was 
more than common customs fees, but meant peace, stability, 
and prosperity for all citizens.  Lott stressed the common 
 
history and values shared by Europe and the U.S. and said 
that by remaining united we can meet any challenge, 
particularly the top priority of defeating terrorism. 
 
Concluding Statement Supports Further Expansion 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
7. In his closing remarks, FM Eduard Kukan hoped everyone 
had been inspired by the conference.  He said it had been 
successful for four reasons: 
a. good attendance 
b. good format, with participation by NGO's, governments, 
and legislators 
c. good timing, as the attacks in Madrid re-focused 
attention on the terrorist threat; while the discussion 
preceded EU enlargement and the NATO Istanbul summit 
d. good discussion/content. 
Many tough issues remain, but many good ideas are being 
generated to deal with them. 
 
8.  Upon the conclusion of the conference, the V-10 Prime 
Ministers issued a statement which welcomed the achievements 
and encouraged further progress towards Euro-Atlantic 
standards and integration taking place in the Western 
Balkans, South Caucasus and Black Sea Region, Ukraine and 
Turkey. They promised to actively support truly democratic 
ambitions, share experience and work within Euro-Atlantic 
institutions to make sure that no European democracy is left 
outside Europe's institutions.  They renewed their 
commitment to fighting terrorism. 
 
NGO Pre-Conference 
------------------ 
9. More than 120 NGO and think tank experts from 30 
countries met March 18 before the "Bratislava II" 
conference.  Four panels discussed new political and 
security challenges, such as EU and NATO relationships with 
Eastern and Southern Europe, security in the Black Sea 
region, and the role and responsibilities of the new NATO 
and EU member states in wider European affairs. Among the 
panelists were Jamie Shea (NATO), Eric van der Linden (EC), 
Erhard Busek (Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe), 
Jaques Rupnik (Center for International Research and 
Studies), Bruce Jackson (Project on Transitional 
Democracies), representatives from Bulgaria, Romania, 
Georgia, Moldova, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Ukraine, 
Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia.  The pre-conference 
was organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United 
States in co-operation with the Institute for Public Affairs 
- Slovakia and the Slovak Foreign Policy Association. 
 
WEISER 
 
 
NNNN