Sehr geehrter Herr Ochmann,
Sehr geehrte Frau von Ow,
Meine Damen und Herren,

Es freut mich sehr Sie hier in Tallinn begrüssen zu dürfen an dieser Konferenz der Bertelsmann Stiftung. Wie ich weiss haben gleichartige Seminare schon in anderen Zentraleuropäischen Hauptstädten stattgefunden. Darum bin ich besonders froh dass an diesem wichtigen Zeitpunkt Heute und Morgen die Fragen der estnischen EU Mitgliedschaft und der Perspektiven unserer zwei südlichen Nachbarn in Angriff genommen werden.

I will not bore you with technicalities, especially since you probably are more versed in the EU's technical intricacies than I am. Furthermore I don't want you to go home and claim that the Estonian President wouldn't let you eat. Thus I will keep myself short and limit my remarks to explaining our political reasoning.

What does the EU expect from us? The EU expects us to live up to the criteria defined at Copenhagen.

What do we expect from the EU? We also expect that the EU adhere to the Copenhagen criteria.

Thus we both want the same thing. We are working to live up to the Copenhagen criteria but we want to be sure that when the time comes to make decisions the EU Commission and the EU countries in turn stick to these criteria and judge each applicant country equally. We do not want special treatment, we do not want the criteria to be bent. We do want a fair deal. If we get a fair deal I believe that Estonia will be among the first new members of the European Union.

Why do I say ''Estonia'' and not ''the Baltic states''? First of all because I am the President of Estonia and I cannot claim to represent our neighbours. Secondly because we see the application and accession processes as being different for each applicant country and because the association and accession negotiations have been and will be held with individual countries and not with ''the Baltics'', the ''Vishegrad group'', or with the ''Central European Initiative''. Each country must be judged on its individual merit.

This of course does not mean that both Estonia and its two southern neighbours could not join at the same time. In fact we would very much prefer it if all three Baltic countries were to be judged capable of acceding to the European Union in the first wave. But under no circumstances should any one country be held back because of considerations concerning its neighbour. If Lithuania is deemed to be ready to join the European Union first of the Baltic states Lithuania should join. If Latvia is ready Latvia should join. If Estonia is ready Estonia should join based on its individual performance and adherence to the Copenhagen criteria.

Often Estonian representatives have been asked whether such an individualized approach would not destroy Baltic co-operation. My response has always been that one should look at the Nordic countries. For two decades Denmark was alone in the EU, now it has been joined by Finland and Sweden, with Norway and Iceland still outside. Nordic co-operation has never been stronger.

Let us not imagine obstacles where there are none.

However, while we should not make mountains out of molehills neither should we make molehills out of mountains. I am speaking of some people's tendency to prejudge the outcome of the Commission's avis and of worrying indications that there may be an inclination to fudge the criteria or to require different standards from different countries.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

this would spell the end of the European Union's credibility not only in Estonia.

Our consideration is simple: we compare ourselves to Poland which after all seems to be one of the most likely members of a ''first wave'' of EU enlargement. Estonia compares favourably to Poland in most fields. Therefore, if Poland is invited to join in the first round, Estonia should also be invited in the first round, as there cannot be different criteria for different countries.

I can accept that some country is not invited because it does not fulfil the economic criteria. I can accept that a country is not invited because it does not fulfil the human rights criteria. But it is simply not possible that of two countries which according to the set criteria perform equally well one is accepted and the other is not. If Poland is invited in the first group of countries then Estonia has to be in there as well.

After all, ladies and gentlemen, the European ideal sees small and large countries standing side by side as equals. Judging countries' EU compatibility by the size of their domestic market is one consideration which would never have passed Schuman's or Monet's lips.

Dear friends, a final word about opinion polls.

You will all have acquainted yourselves with the Eurobarometer findings which state that Estonians' euro-enthusiasm has decreased considerably. You will have read conclusions which stipulate that this means that Estonians do not want to join the European Union. Nothing could be less true.

Estonians do want to join the EU. This is not at all the issue. What these Eurobarometer findings indicate is simply that Estonians are giving up on the EU. After all, we know our good and our bad sides. We know where we have made mistakes and where we have had successes. And if, knowing both our own achievements and the results achieved by other countries, we are told that we are not wanted even if we perform as well as those that are invited, we of course become disillusioned. And then you cannot expect the Eurobarometer numbers to excel.

We are building a Europe by the people for the people. Therefore we should make sure that the people have trust in the fairness of the process.

Only if we stick to fair rules of the game will we all come out winners.

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