The difficult road to the EU
When I took office in July 1999, Latvia had very poor chances of receiving an invitation to join the European Union, said former President Vaira Vīke-Freiberga, who held this position until 2007.
“Finland took over the presidency and said that nothing was too bright for us at the next summit in Helsinki in December, especially with the newly adopted changes in the language law, which was considered too strict for non-Latvians,” said the ex-president.
However, the invitation was received and the sprint to entry could begin. On April 16, 2003, the agreement on Latvia’s accession to the European Union was signed in Athens.
“I was honored that we were three signatories – the president, the prime minister and the minister of foreign affairs. Technically, the signature of the prime minister would have been enough. But out of courtesy [parakstīja] Mr. Repše and Mrs. Kalnietes, and me. The three of us signed where Socrates and the Greek philosophers once walked. It was a very touching moment,” recalls Vīke-Freiberga.
Not everything went smoothly during the process of joining: “Already in Rome, I found out that our commissioner failed in the questioning before the European Parliament, she was rejected. I think there were three who were rejected. I [Eiropas Komisijas prezidentu Žozē Manuelu] I take Barroso by his jacket in the sidelines and say: I will get you a new commissioner candidate. In principle, the government chooses it, but since we are losing the government again, I said: I will get you a commissioner, and so you have in a sense made us such an embarrassment that our candidate could say she failed because of herself, but our commissioner will have to repay you very much good portfolio.”
During the meeting in Rome, Vaira Vīke-Freiberga herself started looking for candidates for the position of European Union commissioner: “I call people who I think would be good candidates for the position of commissioner, and some say: no, sorry, it’s too much stress, I can’t take it. And then Mr. Piebalga accepted. He then presented himself very well [Eiropas] in front of Parliament, and got an extremely valuable and important portfolio.”
20 years after joining the European Union, the ex-president emphasizes the importance of this step: “If we had stayed behind, and our neighbors around the Baltic Sea, with the exception of Russia, were in the European Union, then we would undeniably come under the complete influence and subjugation of Russia. We would then be in a situation where today is Belarus.
We would not have moved forward anywhere away from Moscow’s supremacy, from which we would have happily escaped. That would have been a disaster in my opinion.”
Not all options have been used
At that time, the society awaited the accession to the European Union with great expectations. Financing from European funds has enabled Latvia to become a modern and democratic country.
Have we used all the opportunities given by the European Union? The ex-president is sure – definitely not. “There were tens of millions that we didn’t get. They just didn’t get it because the projects weren’t prepared, we weren’t able to prepare them and present them to Europe, which is regrettable.”
According to her, the fault is to be found in both politicians, civil servants and businessmen. “All three have to be able to be tense, think ahead and grab opportunities by the tail whenever something slips by, there are some opportunities. It’s more like we can’t decide if we’re going to do A or we’re going to do B, but maybe we’ll do C, and maybe we’ll reconsider. With that attitude, we’re lagging behind.”
The ex-president drew attention to the fact that Latvia lags behind neighboring countries in many indicators.
“I am ashamed of it. I don’t know how other people feel about it, but I am ashamed of it. I worked so that Latvia would not be in such a position. For eight years, I did what I taught or what I could. I think there were results. But I stressed. I work very hard. If the next generations take life easier and think that there is no need to stress, then those are the results,” said Vīke-Freiberga harshly.
According to her, there are too many stalled and unrealized projects in Latvia. She outlined her view of how it could be changed: “Let’s think ahead a bit. Not only until the next election. It is the number one axiom throughout Europe and the entire democratic world. Latvians can be such wonderful athletes, such wonderful musicians, our writers, poets receives recognition in the world. Why can’t we reach such a level with our projects?
Latvia can! You have to work there. But there you need someone who has passion and who has a vision, and who is ready to strain and make an effort.”
