Estonia on the Way to Changing Europe


Dear Chairmen of Parliaments,
Ambassadors,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
and first and foremost, dear fellow countrymen!

For the sixth time, we have gathered to the conference ''Estonia and the European Union'', but this is the first time when both the Finnish and Swedish parliaments support our conference. Tomorrow, we have the pleasure to receive the Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, the Head of the Presiding State of the European Union. I would like to thank all of you - both our guests and my countrymen - for the attention that you give to Estonia on our way to changing Europe by your presence here today.

Under a closer examination, the heading of the conference proves to be ambiguous. It speaks of changing Europe without asking whether and in what direction Estonia is changing. And yet the fact that the conference has convened in Tallinn indicates that our main emphasis should first and foremost be on the question how and at what speed is Estonia changing. If the speed of our changes is lower or of lower quality than that of the European changes, this could prove fatal for Estonia. Even equal speed of changes gives no reason to hope that we are on our way to Europe. We can only be satisfied with the strictest criteria of self-evaluation, and namely: are changes in Estonia quicker than changes in Europe, is the distance between us shortening or not.

I would be grateful to both our guests and my countrymen, if the united mental powers of the conference would concentrate on the latter question.

The distances, and speeds used for covering them, can only be measured by clear and generally accepted criteria. Let us do this with due fastidiousness, exactly and strictly. This request is first and foremost addressed to our dear guests, who often praise the changes in Estonia, but speak of changes as such, not assessing the speed and quality of changes. And I would like to remind my own countrymen, that today and tomorrow are not days for ceremonious orations, but for clear-headed evaluations.

The Agenda 2000, the first interim report of the European Commission, and the recent second interim report of the European Commission, are the etalon metre by which we compare Estonia's position to Europe and the world. They measure the acceleration of Estonia's movement - if there is any - and the quality of the changes in Estonia - if there is any.

Let us first admit that for the third time, the European Commission speaks of the weakness of the Estonian judicial structures and administrative capacity. In other words, we have, with obvious concern, been presented a diagnosis indicating that the props of our state are inadequate. I am pointing to the alarmingly low percentage of the detection and punishment of crimes. This, my ladies and gentlemen, has already become a social problem. Let me remind you of the low participation rates of our last parliament and local government elections. The citizen is standing by and shrugging his shoulders. The citizen does not understand. The administration's energy is spent in self-justification and -reproduction; there is dialogue only between different ministries, or worse, between the walls of one ministry, and the citizen of the Republic of Estonia stands apart of all this.

Let me quote: ''There are around 18,000 employees in the Estonian administration, including ministries (10%), government agencies (83%) and county governments (8%). In addition, local government employ around 3,300 persons. The Estonian administration still lacks highly qualified staff at the medium and technical levels of the civil service.''

And another quotation:

''Progress has been limited in improving administrative and judicial capacity, where the short-term Accession Partnership priorities have only been partly met. It remains difficult to recruit and retain qualified staff, a situation which is delaying capacity building, and priority should be given to both budgetary and staffing terms to remedying the situation.''

Thus, ladies and gentlemen, opening this conference, I would like to draw your attention to the words ''administrative capacity''. This means the capacity to set clear goals to the citizens of the Republic of Estonia, and to reach them in a rational way. High-quality leadership on the level of senior officials is the basis of administrative capacity. An active state does not mean that the state should do everything, but that the Estonian officials and leaders are capable of answering three basic questions: What am I administering, why am I administering, and what can be administered?

Administrative capacity is based on the political will of the state. It is a question of the political governing of administrative areas, and has been criticized in all the European Commission documents related to Estonia so far.

I wish the conference success in discussing these matters. The essence of the matter is quite simple: leaving behind the post-Soviet habits and turning our face to the political culture of Europe. As we have the support of our people, we can do this with a smile.

Thank you.

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