Development of EU and NATO Relations with the Baltic Region Countries in 1991-2004

On February 17, 2010, at 18:00, the next meeting of the regular research seminar of the Political Sphere Institute will take place in the CSI courtyard.

Topic of the presentation: “Development of EU and NATO Relations with the Baltic Region Countries in 1991-2004”.

Speaker: Andrei Valodzkin.
/author/kazakevich/
All interested persons are invited.

For additional information about the venue, please contact [email protected] (../2009/12/16-snezhnya-2009-krytyka-belaruskaj-palitychnaj-analityki-ch-2/[email protected])
Presentation theses:
In 1991-2004, the countries of the Baltic region underwent integration into the Western community, whose leading international institutions are the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Objective:
To analyze the development of relations between these two organizations and the countries of the region, and to reveal its specific features by identifying the factors that contributed to the strengthening of the role of the EU and NATO in the Baltic region, the preconditions and main stages of their enlargement in this part of Europe, the significance of the Baltic vector in the system of foreign policy priorities of each of these organizations, the place and role of regional projects and programs in the overall context of their Baltic policy, as well as the specific features, common traits, and interconnections between EU and NATO policy in the Baltic region.
1.

The formation of EU Baltic policy:
– the interconnection between the processes of European integration and Baltic regionalism;
– EU cooperation with the Council of the Baltic Sea States;
– the Baltic region in EU foreign policy documents, the problem of developing a comprehensive strategy toward the Baltic region.
2.

The process of EU enlargement in the Baltic region:
– development of relations with the Nordic countries and the Baltic states;
– the fourth (“northern”) enlargement of 1995 and its impact on the development of EU Baltic policy;
– preparation and accession of the Baltic states.
3.

The “Northern Dimension” program as an attempt by the EU to implement a comprehensive development strategy for the region of Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea:
– contradictions at the stage of developing and adopting the program;
– its main principles and tasks;
– the problem of defining priorities of activity;
– assessment of the results and prospects of the “ND”.
4.

Transformation of the security system in the Baltic region in the 1990s:
– changes in the balance of power in the region and the destruction of the old security regime of the “Nordic balance”;
– projects for forming a new Baltic regional security system outside NATO and the reasons for their failure.
5.

Factors that contributed to the strengthening of NATO’s role in the region:
– orientation toward the transatlantic security system as the basis of the foreign policy of the Baltic states;
– Russian-Baltic contradictions;
– the position of the Nordic countries on NATO enlargement and the American military-political presence in Europe.
6.

The process of NATO enlargement in the Baltic region:
– the evolution of the North Atlantic Alliance’s policy on enlargement in northeastern Europe and the accession of the Baltic states, factors that influenced this process;
– the “Partnership for Peace” program and regional cooperation projects with NATO;
– accession of the Baltic states to the Alliance and discussions about the possible accession of the Nordic countries.
7.

Main conclusions of the study.