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Nordic, Baltic Foreign Ministers Meet on EU, NATO Enlargement
The foreign ministers of Nordic and Baltic states met here Wednesday for discussions on expansion of the European Union (EU) and the Northern Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), regional cooperation and the international situation at large.
During the joint meeting between the Nordic and Baltic states, which was named the "Nordic-Baltic Eight" at last year's meeting in Copenhagen of Denmark, the foreign ministers focused their discussion on eastward expansion of both the EU and NATO.
Finland, Sweden and Denmark, the three EU members among the five Nordic states which also include Norway and Iceland, supported the Baltic countries' application for EU membership.
Danish Foreign Minister Mogens Lykketoft said there is a good chance for the three Baltic nations -- Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -- to be in the first wave of EU enlargement, which was set for 2004 during an EU summit in Sweden last June, but many problems remain to be solved.
The Baltic foreign ministers expressed their willingness to further strengthen the Baltic-Nordic cooperation and make preparations for accession into the EU in 2004.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis said he believed the three Baltic countries will be admitted into NATO at a summit to be held in the Prague next year, which he said would help strengthen regional security.
The ministers agreed that the Baltic nations' accession to NATO would not force Finland and Sweden to join the alliance, of which Denmark, Norway and Iceland are already members.
"We support the right of these countries to choose their own security arrangements," said Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomijoa.
At a joint news conference after the meeting, the Nordic foreign ministers highlighted the importance of the upcoming United Nations World Conference Against Racism in southern Africa. They promised to do their utmost for the success of the conference, which will encourage the struggles against racial discrimination and oppression.
The Nordic foreign ministers also showed their serious concern over the escalation of violence and weakening peace prospects in the Middle East.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Thorbjorn Jagland said the Nordic countries asked Israel and the Palestinians to resume peace negotiations and refrain from resorting to force.
Danish Foreign Minister Lykketoft warned that the situation in the Middle East made the implementation of humanitarian aid "very difficult" and the Palestinian residents born the brunt of it.
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