"In Prague we closed one of the last pages of a history of injustice and lack of strategic vision"
Cyrus Salimi-Asl, Eric Wrasse und Gereon Schuch
Speech By Georgi Parvanov at the North Atlantic Council meeting with
Heads of State and Government of invited countries
21-11-2002 16:45 |
Prague
Mr. Secretary General,
Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today, we have made a decisive step towards the unification of Europe. It
will be no exaggeration to compare today’s decision for the enlargement of
NATO with the fall of the Berlin Wall! Because, here, in Prague, as years
ago in Berlin, we closed one of the last pages of a history of injustice and
lack of strategic vision! From this day on, we Bulgarians will associate Golden
Prague not only with the beautiful architecture and the Czech people’s hospitality,
with the names of Konstantin Irecek and Ian Mrkvicka, with the “velvet revolution”
and the dismantling of the Warsaw Treaty. From this day on, for us Bulgarians
Prague will be a cornerstone in the new European history, a turning point
in Bulgaria’s rejoining the family of democratic nations!
By virtue of today’s decision Bulgaria will join the Euroatlantic space of
security and integration. We welcome this decision with profound gratification
because our efforts in the past 12 years, the results of the difficult reforms
and our contribution to the regional stability and world security have been
recognized for what they are worth.
Allow me to congratulate the leaders of the nineteen for their wisdom, political
courage and foresight. I would like to express my hope that the process of
accession leading to full membership will take place in the shortest possible
term. Until then, Bulgaria will continue to work energetically to fulfill
the tasks and obligations under the Membership Action Plan and participate
in an appropriate form in the activities of the Alliance.
We firmly support a continued “open door” policy beyond Prague. The prospect
of a subsequent enlargement of NATO is the best guarantee of a lasting stabilization
of the European Southeast.
NATO’s Prague Summit is not just an “enlargement summit”. It can be defined
as a “transformation summit”. By its decisions at this forum the Alliance
has proved yet again that it is capable of evolving and responding to the
new risks and challenges. Fighting international terrorism and the non-proliferation
of weapons for mass destruction remain priority tasks for the free and democratic
world. The need for greater efficiency lies at the basis of the decisions
for restructuring the Alliance and the creation of rapid reaction forces.
Mr. Secretary General,
I know that the champagne on this occasion will soon bubble off and tomorrow
we will be back to our daily grind. I wish to assure you, however, that Bulgaria
accepts the invitation for membership not only as a matter of great honor
and recognition. We are aware that for Bulgaria this invitation ushers in
a new, even more difficult and responsible stage of a full adaptation, political,
economic and military; of a further development and consolidation of democracy
and the market economy; of greater responsibility for the stability and security
of Southeastern Europe and the entire Euroatlantic area.
Thank you for your attention!
Quelle: http://www.president.bg/en/news.php?type=3
Druckversion
Seite empfehlenbookmarken bei...
