Speech by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia
H. E. Mrs. Sandra Kalniete, the representative of the Latvian government
at the Convention Brussels, May 16, 2003 Intervention on the draft articles of the Constitutional Treaty on the external actions of the European Union I welcome the draft proposals regarding the CFSP. The progressive development and progressive identification of questions of general interest and common external action will accord to the EU the same political weight in global processes as the Union has economically. The Union will have to be capable to cope with the challenge of the new world order and to play an increasing role in shaping it. I fully support the establishment of the post of Foreign Minister. However, I have doubts whether a single person would be able to cope with all the workload proper to his or her responsibilities. Preserving the principle of the equality of the member states While fully supportive of the EU's own defense capacities, I would however like to express my concern regarding the provisions of Article 30 and Article 20 of Part II. They both contain the dangerous elements of the two-speed or nuclear Europe. I believe, we all want a strong European Union. But the EUâÀ™s Security and Defense Policy has to be credible. This is a relatively new understanding, and therefore, it is particularly important that the agreed policy is substantiated by real capabilities and the political resolve to use them. The objectives need to be realistic and based on the means and capabilities within the EUâÀ™s reach. EU relations with transatlantic structures. Respect for existing arrangements Recently, the EU and NATO signed an agreement on arrangements allowing for closer cooperation between the EU and transatlantic structures. We must avoid the duplication of functions and resources in the spirit of this agreement. Thirdly, the adoption of the Constitutional Treaty should strengthen the unity of the EU, and the principle of equality of its Member States has to be respected. Self-selection, especially if based on the criteria of military capabilities, would have a discriminatory effect. Such a provision would not unite the Member States âÀ“ it would divide them into first and second-class Europeans, which I cannot accept.
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