Speech of American Ambassador Thomas Robertson at the American Chamber of Commerce Breakfast

June 19, 2007

Good Morning!

The European Union Presidency is coming -- can Slovenia handle it?!  This is no idle question!  The European Union is a behemoth with 27 independent-minded state members, a mind-boggling bureaucracy, seemingly endless rules and regulations, and some pretty thorny issues about the Union’s internal cohesion and expansion in the years ahead.   European countries much larger and older than Slovenia have wavered under the weight of the EU Presidency.    Slovenes themselves will certainly answer the question with a “Yes.”  The question then becomes, “how will they handle it?”

What business does the American Ambassador have speaking on this subject?  Well, I guess I feel I should follow the principle that “Everything has already been said, but not everyone has said it,” so here I am.  But seriously, as all of you know, the United States’ most important economic partner in the world is the European Union and its member states.  Most of our trade is with the EU, so our economies depend on it.  And there are few security issues that concern the US, from Darfur to the Middle East to Afghanistan, that do not involve our European allies.  And more importantly, as the US ambassador to Slovenia, I want to see Slovenia succeed, since we have common interests in so many of the areas Slovenia has chosen to highlight in its Presidency.  We all know this is Slovenia’s moment in the spotlight, and I think all of us want to see Slovenia succeed. 

I know the government is working very hard, organizing and reorganizing ministries, hiring new people, even bringing a few non-Slovenians from abroad to help with the effort.  Portfolios are being expanded or curtailed, and the government has wisely chosen to share some of the responsibilities with the Portuguese and French, the EU chairs immediately before and after Slovenia.  All of this so that, as one colleague said to me the other day, once January 1, 2008 arrives, everything will run on auto-pilot:  press a button and Slovenia’s chairmanship will start humming along.

Well, you won’t be surprised to hear me say that of course Slovenia can do it.  Can there be any doubt that this small country which in the last three years has joined NATO, joined the EU, and been the first in its class to take on the EURO, can succeed in this endeavor?  Indeed Slovenia’s achievements capped an historic expansion of the EU that reshaped the vision of Europe and erased dividing lines.  It is a symbol of the success of enlargement, while at the same time it is a role model for all countries in transition.

More importantly, Slovenia has shown in the last three years that it understands that joining NATO and the EU is not just about joining a club that provides security or economic benefits.  It is also about taking on greater responsibility.  Slovenia is doing that with training for the countries of southeastern Europe through its Center for European Perspectives, clearing of minefields through the International Trust Fund for Demining and rebuilding the lives of war victims through the Together Foundation.  Slovenia is also taking on real risk by sending its soldiers to peacekeeping and training missions all over the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan.  Today Slovenia stands out among our NATO allies with a higher per capita number of troops deployed abroad than just about any other country. 

Just last week, Slovenia was recognized by our State Department as being in the first tier of countries in our joint effort to combat trafficking in persons.  Slovenia’s election to the UN Human Rights Council last month should be a further indication that the outside world recognizes that Slovenia is, can and should be a leader on human rights issues.  Slovenia is currently chairing the IAEA in its difficult deliberations about how to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.  And in 2005 of course it effectively chaired the OSCE. 

I could go on, and so could you I am sure, to point out Slovenia’s successes, and why Slovenia will succeed again.  There are plenty of precedents. But I think everyone agrees that taking over the EU chair will be the biggest challenge of all. 

For me the question, really, is not whether Slovenia can do it, but whether Slovenia will do it by exercising leadership and vision in such a way that people will remember Slovenia’s chairmanship as one that made a difference for the better.  This is an opportunity literally and figuratively to put Slovenia on the map--and I don’t mean next to the Czech Republic.

That’s the challenge.  On July 1, 2008, how will people look back at Slovenia’s efforts?  Will it grab up this challenge with vision and leadership to move forward the agenda on its primary goals, or will it simply try to “pass the test” without making any big mistakes?  Will people look back to the first half of 2008 as the year Slovenia successfully championed EU expansion to the other countries of the Balkans?   As having made a real contribution to intercultural dialogue?  Or will the “big countries” of the EU do all the talking and deciding? 

Leadership entails vision and it entails risk.  It takes courage and determination to take an unpopular stance rather than seeking the course of least resistance.  As you all know, Slovenians are highly capable, industrious people, but their fate, during most of their history, was dominated by much larger, more powerful neighbors.  It is therefore understandable that many Slovenes would view the role of EU President with some trepidation.  And while Slovenia, through its success in creating a prosperous, democratic country is a model for other nations in transition, managing global issues and speaking out about strategic or human rights issues in other regions of the world can be difficult.  But this is what leading the EU will mean.      

I am often bemused by the degree to which Slovenians talk about how small their country is.  There is a tendency to feel that what “little” Slovenia does or says is not so important.  It’s almost as if “nobody’s really watching, so who cares what we do.”  But as a person who has traveled the length and breadth of Slovenia and who appreciates the many marvels this country has to offer, I am confident that Slovenians have the talent, organizational skills and grit to project their small country onto the big stage and make a mark on the issues that Slovenia will surely face as EU President.  Feeling and acting “small” is a state of mind that Slovenia will have to put aside.  

I have also noticed a certain conservatism in Slovenian society that is reticent about changing things quickly, inviting in foreign investment, and promoting Slovenia too much.  The argument is that Slovenes have a good thing going here.  What if everybody finds out about it?  Slovenia needs to be protected.  I gather globalization has a negative sound to a lot of Slovenian ears.  Globalization, many might argue, threatens your small culture, your language, your natural beauty.  So why not take it slow, and don’t draw too much attention to yourselves, and everything will be just fine.  But the challenge of the EU is to manage the upsides and downsides of globalization, to advance intercultural dialogue, to position economies for future economic prosperity and energy security, and to make fundamental decisions about the future of the European community.  Conservatism is fine as it is, but it must be combined with a clear-eyed vision of the future if one is to lead effectively.

Progress on the domestic front will not wait until after the EU Presidency.  The economic reform issues that face Slovenia are shared by others in Europe.  If it’s going to lead Europe, Slovenia needs to show that it is working to resolve tough issues a number of which have been on the docket for years, but that are still not fully resolved.  Completion of property denationalization.  Privatization.  Removing legal and administrative barriers for foreign direct investment.  Reforming labor and pension laws to compete successfully in the global economy in the next generation.  Reconciliation.  Transparency.  Back logs of court cases.  The government has recognized all of these issues, and is working to solve them.  But while there has been movement in some areas, there has been less in others.  Slovenia will have more credibility with other members by showing more progress.

Almost sixteen years ago, as Slovenia declared its independence, President KuÄ?an spoke of the rights of Slovenes to dream, to draw life and dreams together, of future generations who would build a new world upon those dreams.  The following sixteen years has seen great progress, accomplished through hard work and a vision of Slovenia anchored in Western institutions.  Last year, on the fifteenth anniversary of that declaration of independence, Prime Minister Janša spoke compellingly about leadership.  He said, “We are facing a global world that is changing every day... I often meet people who say, “as long as it doesn’t get worse.”  But my answer is, “this is by no means enough.  It has to get better.  We can do much more.  When if not now?””

As Slovenia prepares to assume the EU Presidency, it should remember these words of the Prime Minister:   “We will never be the biggest.  We will never be the strongest.  But we can be the best.”  A big challenge, but one that Slovenians can meet, particularly if you work hard, and work together. That is all that Europe and your friends in America can ask of you.  And I assure you that as Slovenia leads, it will have a close ally in the US every step of the way. 

Thank you.