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After regaining national independence in the early 1990s, the then leaders of our country looked for ways to make Latvia an economically and militarily secure country. Joining the European Union (EU) and the military North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was recognized as the best solution. This year, on March 29th, it will be 20 years since we joined NATO, but on May 1st we can celebrate such an anniversary as part of the EU. Hence the big question: “What benefits does Latvia have from EU and NATO membership?” Jauns.lv asked the physicist and former rector of the University of Latvia, Professor Mārcis Auziņas.
It should be recalled that in 1997 Russia unilaterally guaranteed the security of the Baltic states, but all three Baltic states rejected these guarantees. 67% of eligible voters voted for Latvia’s participation in the EU referendum, the same as in Estonia, and this was one of the lowest indicators among EU candidate countries (at the top of the skeptics was Malta, where 54% of eligible voters voted in favor). joining the EU; for comparison: in Lithuania 91% voted for the EU).
This Article 5, as well as the presence of troops from various NATO countries in Latvia, gives us a certain feeling of security, emphasizes Mārcis Auziņš. (Photo: from the archives of the publishing house “Rīgas Vilņi”)
Mārcis Auziņš remembers the year 2004, when the referendum on EU accession took place: “It wasn’t that clear at all.” The vote was clear, but I still remember the discussions in the community well. In addition, there were different, opposing opinions from very respected representatives of the Latvian intelligentsia.
Now, after 20 years, I have more than positive feelings about EU membership, it couldn’t be more positive. Starting with the purely emotional feeling that when you travel through Europe you feel like you are part of this society. I also think that entrepreneurs living in the common Eurozone have many advantages when building a business.
We currently have at our disposal Cohesion Funds (EU Structural Funds intended for EU Member States whose GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is below 90% of the EU average). But the question is how effectively we can use them ourselves. Think not only of a corrupt element that is also possible in this process, but rather of how formal and regulated we have made this process without any interest or attention to the goals.”
The professor considers membership in a single eurozone to be an essential national security issue, although it is difficult to argue against the fact that our national currency – lats and centimes – was beautiful and something to be proud of. However, it is clear that maintaining its own currency could be “dangerous” for a country with fewer than two million inhabitants: “If someone from outside wanted to destabilize the situation in Latvia with malicious intentions, then it is easier to do so. “ (with the help of our “small” currency) too easy.”
About our participation in NATO he says: “I very much hope that at no point will we have to review how Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty works (an armed attack on one or more NATO countries is considered an attack on the whole). bloc as a whole and thus the mechanism of collective self-defense is triggered), but the fact that it exists scares off many who want to make various plans against Latvia as our eastern neighbor, which is taken into account and probably prevents them from taking action to take.
This Article 5, as well as the presence of troops from various NATO countries in Latvia, gives us a certain feeling of security, emphasizes Mārcis Auziņš and says, however: “One of my colleagues said that only an insurance policy gives a guarantee, and even then not always. Of course it’s not a guarantee, but it’s a great feeling of security.”
How Mārcis Auziņš assesses our membership in the EU and NATO, watch the video from Jauns.lv.
All discussions on the Big Question can be found here.
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