Honourable Riigikogu,
honourable Speaker of Riigikogu,
honourable Prime Minister and Government of the Republic,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Congratulations to Estonian electorate and to you, honourable Members of Riigikogu, on occasion of the eye-catching and most appealing restoration of the parliament hall.

In the eightieth anniversary of Republic of Estonia the tying of the ends of the thread in the knot is doubtlessly very symbolic and telling. However here and at this very moment I would rather talk about work matters.

About the European Union, in the first place.


The summit of European Union in Luxembourg on Dec. 13 will make the political decision on the first round of extension of European Union. Republic of Estonia may belong among the countries included, however it needn't. The July decisions of the European Commission, having selected, under objective criteria, into the first round of extension Czechia, Estonia, Poland and Slovenia is valid as a recommendation only. May I refer to the words of Hans-Dietrich Genscher, the former Foreign Minister of Federal Republic of Germany, uttered at the recent summit in Vilnius. Pointing out that Europe must not create new demarcation lines Genscher said - quote: ''Therefore the pending session of European Union in Luxembourg should adopt a resolution to launch on Jan. 1, 1998 the joining-related negotiations with all Central and Eastern European countries, i.e. with Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania.'' Unquote. This position is shared by a number of authoritative European political figures. As the motivation underlying this point of view, reference is made to the setback in those countries whose democratic and economic reforms were triggered with the hope to get included in the first round of extension of European Union. There is something in this line of thinking. Let us just recall the regrettable tensions in the Baltic solidarity. To aggravate the matters still more, looming over the European Union is the magic number of 20. European Union has reached a clear understanding that if the number of member states is to exceed twenty, the Union will have to streamline its structures and simplify the decision making procedures. To achieve that end, a new intergovernmental conference will have to be called, the outcome whereof is now difficult to foresee. The Foreign Ministry and the diplomatic staff of Republic of Estonia will be facing a tight-scheduled autumn.

Honourable Riigikogu, I would like to emphasize by what I have said that the foreign and domestic policy of Republic of Estonia is now homing in on one target, the Dec. 13 summit in Luxembourg. The hopes are running high, the more so in view of the Association Agreement ratified by you on Aug. 1, 1995. The said Agreement was ratified without a single nay vote. The Estonian electorate is looking forward to the similar resoluteness on your part in the forthcoming four months.

Do we have a sufficient margin of resoluteness?

I hope, with all my heart, that the answer is yes. However I will have to admit, with a tinge of regret, that we have already squandered away a lot of time. I am greatly worried by the fact that the community in this country is not engaging in a matter-of-fact discussion over the conditions of joining the European Union. In use are some hollow buzzwords and -phrases, there is the newfangled and a bit mysterious word ''harmonise'', however evident is an utter lack of political substance. It reminds me of an anecdote from the period of collective farms of a meeting with two items on the agenda: firstly the construction of a shed, secondly the building of communism. The nails being out of stock, the first item was stricken off the agenda, and the conferees promptly addressed the second item. It does not befit one to tell anecdotes in Riigikogu, however it is high time now to start a dialogue with the people, because the joining of the European Union will affect every citizen of Republic of Estonia, the expectations and the hopes of everyone.

It is also high time to tackle the social questions that have accumulated pending solution. The deadlocked education reform, the inadequate self- help of pensioners and families with children, the inadequate health care, the regional disequilibrium are problems getting out of control, running wild. We still have too much of a declarative and slogan-like approach in questions where the people are just craving for simple resolutions.

The free market economy is not s sacred cow nor a target in itself. The free market economy is the means for consolidating and preservation of democracy and human rights. Like the free journalism. I deem it a very welcome situation that in sad coincidence of certain developments both Estonia and the world at large are witnessing a free exchange of views, regarding the responsibility of free press, in the process of guaranteeing the democracy and human rights.

In the eightieth year of age of the Republic we are also commemorating the fifth anniversary of the Basic Law (Constitution). Basic Law has granted to the state a firm legal bulwark, however the practice of the state has revealed a number of important contradictions and shortcomings also in the applicable Basic Law, the dissemination of awareness whereof will be the topic of a special scientific conference.

Honourable Riigikogu,

we have been vested with the constitutional responsibility for Estonia. In this session you will make decisions that are groundbreaking for the future of Republic of Estonia in the widest possible meaning. I hereby call on political forces represented in Riigikogu to achieve political consensus superseding the fleeting present-day interests of parties and shifting to the fore the long-term European interests of Republic of Estonia. Estonia has never left Europe. However Europe has left Estonia. This is our historic experience, this is also our historic obligation and responsibility, with which the Estonian legislator will start its new session. For this I wish, like Estonians do, more power to your elbow!

Thank you for your time.

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