Joint article by Margus Tsahkna, Krišjānis Kariņš, Gabrielius Landsbergis, Mariya Gabriel, Luminița Odobescu, Juraj Blanár, Tanja Fajon, Foreign Ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia
NATO was founded 75 years ago as a defensive alliance with an unwavering transatlantic bond at its heart, determined to safeguard the freedom and security of Allies.
55 years later, on 29 March 2004, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia entered NATO’s open door. This date marks a clear milestone from moving out of a grey zone and under the defensive blue-white umbrella, held up by the ironclad commitment of Allies to defending each other against all threats.
The 20th century was neither generous nor peaceful for our countries or our people. “Never alone!” was the guiding principle that drove our societies to speedily transform on our way to NATO and the European Union. Since our accession to NATO 20 years ago, our security, freedom and prosperity have been on stronger footage than ever before in history. We share the same security challenges and threats, and the responsibility to protect and defend against them.
Our seven nations of the Alliance deem that collective deterrence and defence are and should remain NATO’s priority core task. Even before our accession began in November 2002, we started to not only prepare for membership, but also to contribute our fair share to collective defence, crisis management and cooperative security – the core tasks of the Alliance. We sent our soldiers and capabilities to fight side-by-side with Allied soldiers far from home, in Afghanistan. We have contributed to maintaining peace and stability in the Western Balkans and continue to do so. Because we knew then and we know now that solidarity is the best policy. Cooperation, proactive action and sharing of experience are at the heart of our approach.
On this historic day, we do take a minute to celebrate achievement, although this is overshadowed by war and destruction here on our continent. Russia’s brutal and full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine has brought about unimaginable human suffering and losses.
Allies are determined to support Ukraine until victory. The more we do to help Ukraine, the sooner a day of a new dawn over Europe will arrive. Fulfilling our commitments is a clear expression of our solidarity with Ukraine. Allies are working closely to support Ukraine in line with Vilnius Summit decisions.
At the same time, we need to make sure this aggression ends with clear resolutions – justice to the victims of this brutal, unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression and accountability of the ones responsible, and comprehensive, just and lasting peace. These are the lessons we have to build on when forming a new solid foundation for Europe whole and free. We must keep in mind, that if any European nation is left in a grey zone, we are helping to kindle another potential tragedy.
During the past 20 years, the Open door policy consistent with Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty has served us well, and we stand by it. It has strengthened Euro-Atlantic security and stability along with the peaceful coexistence of millions of people living in Europe.
The recent accession of Finland and now Sweden into the NATO family clearly signals that our door remains open to all European democracies that are willing and able to assume the responsibilities and obligations of membership, and whose membership contributes to our common security.
Every European nation has a right to choose its security arrangements. No third actor has a say in this process as we keep the door open for others willing and able to abide the Treaty’s commitment to jointly defend our lands, our people but also our shared democratic values.
Allies that have joined NATO after the end of Cold War have had brought their strengths into the Alliance. They also have an important role in preparing The Alliance for new and emerging challenges, be it in disinformation campaigns, cyber or new technologies like AI or quantum technology. By maintaining our technological edge and protecting the fundamentals of the rules-based international order, NATO Allies would be ready to face the growing number of threats, that are increasingly hybrid in nature. Working together with like-minded partners that share our democratic values would prove beneficial in this endeavour.
To be capable to counter all threats and challenges, we should also be better resourced. We expect all Allies to commit to their fair share of burden by delivering on an enduring commitment to invest at least 2% of our GDP annually on defence, as well as continue to consolidate and ramp up our defence efforts, including in industrial terms.
We are looking forward to the upcoming NATO summit in Washington in July marking the 75th anniversary of our Alliance. NATO has been successful in accomplishing its tasks, and our resolve is ironclad and NATO Article 5 remains an ultimate security guarantee. However, we also have to learn our lessons and ensure that fair peace prevails for our future generations, for all Europeans. All for one and one for all is a principle that got us here and will guide us into the future.
Happy anniversary and many more successful years to come to our North Atlantic family of friends and Allies, aspirants and partners!