2002 NATO membership could happen

TALLINN - Estonia received two boosts of confidence last week from high ranking European officials that its goal of joining NATO by 2002 is not unrealistic.

French Defense Minister Alain Richard told the daily Postimees that Estonia is a leading candidate for accession into the military alliance, and Czech Ambassador to NATO Karel Kovanda said to reporters in Brussels that it is not unlikely that the Baltic nation will receive a membership invitation during the next round of expansion in two years.

"It is still too early to say exactly when new members will be accepted, [but] Estonia is in our eyes among the leading countries," Richard said.

Estonia missed out on membership last year when NATO expanded to include the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary.

Since restoring its independence after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Estonia has made it clear that joining the military alliance is a top foreign policy priority.

Last year, the government formed a NATO committee headed by Prime Minister Mart Laar and composed of the defense, finance, interior, foreign affairs and justice ministers to work towards meeting membership requirements.

One of the government's main goals before joining the alliance is to increase its defense expenditure to 2 percent of Estonia's gross domestic product.

Laar assured ambassadors of NATO countries during a speech in Brussels on March 22 that Estonia will be able to contribute the recommended - but not required for membership - 2 percent of GDP to defense within a couple of years.

This year, Estonia will spend 1.6 percent of GDP on defense, with a plan to increase that to 1.8 percent in 2001 and 2 percent the following year.

"In making these calculations, we had in mind a stable economic growth of at least 4 percent to 5 percent per year, which means a real growth in the expenditure," Laar said while he presented Estonia's plan to meet membership requirements at a session of the North-Atlantic Council, Baltic News Service reported.

Laar added that additionally, Estonia will concentrate on increasing its military capability and continue its military cooperation with its Baltic neighbors, Latvia and Lithuania, who are also vying for a NATO invitation.

Estonia was the first applicant country to present its annual membership action plan to NATO officials, a fact Laar said indicated the alliance's continued interest in Estonia.

The Estonian Defense Ministry received in January from the alliance the Partnership Goals document with 62 chapters of membership requirements. The ministry is confident the state can complete the tasks by the 2002 target date. "Estonia considers the Partnership Goals document very useful because it says what we need to do in each field," said Madis Mikko, ministry spokesman. "We have the budget now and we are sure we can do it. Estonia is a small country, you can't compare it to a place like Germany."

Defense Minister Juri Luik and acting defense forces commander Col. Mart Tiru joined Laar in Brussels. Laar also met with NATO Secretary General George Robertson during his visit.