Nation State or Citizens' State in the Future of Central Europe and Europe

Introductory statement by President Kucan at the joint Press conference
4th Central European Summit - Piran '97
Piran, 07.06.1997

Milan Kucan:

Thank you. Ladies and Gentlemen. It would be utterly ambitious of me if I attempted to summarise the breadth and wealth of the positions and ideas my colleagues voiced during yesterday's discussions. Let me therefore offer you a brief cross-section of our deliberations.

The topic of our talks was the relation between the nation state and the citizens' state. It turned out in the discussion that this is a very acute topic, a paramount topic. It is actually the topic of Europe's future. Deliberating on this topic actually means deliberating on the crucial dilemmas, controversies and challenges Europe is facing after the end of its political block division; it means rethninking the relationship between Europe's past and its future, about how far we will let the past influence and encroach on the present and future lives of Europeans. It turned out that this is actually a topic about understanding man himself, his dignity, his life; that this is a topic about human and minority rights; that this is a topic about European ethical and spiritual values, that this is a topic about the nation, the state, about sovereignty; that this is a topic about man's identity, about the identity of a community, a nation, a state, a national culture; that defining an identity is the prerequisite, not the purpose of cooperation; that defining an identity allows for the application of the principle that the rights of others set the limits to our own rights.

It turned out that many a notion that I spoke of requires some sort of modification. They require a rethinking particularly of the modern understanding of the European nation-state within the vision of a united Europe. There are at least three major underlying reasons for this:

• Firstly, it is an opportunity for Europe to change to a continent of cooperation and interconnection, no longer a continent of conflict, war, division and mutual exclusion.

• The second good reason lies in the process of globalisation, which is an objective reality our world is facing. It is dictated by the nature of production, the division of labour, the nature of contemporary markets, the nature of technology, of modern information and information technology, the nature of environmental problems along with the classical problems described under the notion of Norht-South

• The third reason is the multipolar nature of the world, the emergence of several centres, their competition and cooperation, not, however, a competition that means exclusion. Also in this context is the end of Eurocentrism, a period during which Europe marked human civilisation for better and for worse for several centuries on end.

The crucial common finding in this debate is that there is no contradiction between the nation state and the citizens' state, instead the two notions and concepts being complementary; it is about interconnecting and complementing two dimensions of the modern European state. In our opinion it is important for the state to preserve its national identity in Europe and in the world that is now emerging. That is also the task of a modern state, but not as a supreme principle acting to the detriment of the general principles of a democratic society - civic euality, freedom, solidarity and justice - not to the detriment of human and political tolerance and not to the detriment of general ethical values.

A Europe of cooperation requires a state whose philosophy and concept are geared towards cooperation and towards the need to live on an equal footing with other countries and no longer the need to live against another country or to defend oneself from another country. Also of import in this context is the recognition that states will not become such on their own and that a fortunate world of cooperation will not appear on its own. Such a state requires joint effort on the part of all democratic forces. Europe often lost out in its struggle for these principles. This had tragic consequences for all everytime that nationalism, xenophobia, fundamentalism and dictatorship prevailed. The victory of the principles we spoke of is now possible in our opinion. This means the emergence of a Europe of free men, citizens of Europe, a community of nations, states and regions. This allows for the emergence of a Europe that would be home to all European homelands, a Europe where no-one suppresses anyone, where no-one is oppressed or excluded and where general principles, interests and values are superior to individual or particular interests, where national and social conflict is resolved through dialogue, not war or violence.

Our meeting's message is a triple one:

• Firstly, the conviction that all Eurpopean states, all European nations belong to a united Europe. Also those who to no fault of their own were kept outside the sphere of Europe's political democracy and market economy. Instead of the divisions and discrimination imposed by history they now justifiably desire equality and cooperation. In our shared opinion this is an issue of historic justice. What is perhaps in the forefront to those within the European Union and NATO at this moment is the critical attitude towards European institutions in the context of debureau cratising the legal, economic and financial mechanisms of integration. To those on the outside a common European home stll remains just hope, an ideal, perhaps even an illusion. On the other hand it is also a motivating factor and the motor of development, without an attempt to shift the burden onto those who had already solved their problems. But this hope must be realistic and must follow its own dynamic requiring mutual solidarity and preventing it from taking place to quickly. That would provoke a collapse of these integrations, which are transforming from within. Nevertheless it should not be set too far off in the future whereby everything would lose its purpose.

• The second message is that security is a natural desire, expectation and right of all European nations. This applies both to internal security, to democracy, which - in combination with the rule of law and the principle of social justice - provides for the protection of human dignity, political, social and other rights, as well as to external security ensured by a system of democratic relations, reciprocity and solidarity within European integration structures, particularly NATO and the European Union, as well as the OSCE. Both of these aspects - internal and external security - constitute an indivisible whole that is in Europe's objective and recognised interest.

• Thirdly, we believe in the creativity of Central European political thought, to which we - as part of contemporary European political thought - are both heirs and participants. We are convinced that such informal working meetings contribute to the strengthening of mutual trust and friendship not only among ourselves but also among our countries and that it is useful. That is why we have decided to carry on with these meetings and to most probably meet again next year in Slovakia, pending agreement between Slovakia and Italy.

Thank you.

GOVERNMENT PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MEDIA OFFICE © 2002