Greece: The EU's Anchor of Stability in a Troubled Region

Despite being a small state, with some ten million citizens, Greece will play a major role in anchoring the future stability and prosperity of Southeast Europe and the eastern Mediterranean. Greece is uniquely positioned to play such a role. It has exhibited a record of democratic stability unmatched by any neighboring state; it is the region's most affluent country and its only member of the European Union (EU).

As a fully integrated European state, Greece is playing its part in facing such twenty-first-century challenges as globalization, technological change, environmental degradation, and organized crime. However, the problems of Southeast Europe are in certain respects more traditional and involve age-old issues of nationalism, peace, and security. Greece's history and geographic location give it unique standing to assist in the Europeanization of the Balkans and bring them into a common future of prosperity. Central to this new approach is a regional strategy based on the three pillars: sanctity of national borders, peaceful resolution of disputes, and expansion of the EU's membership and activities.

As Greece's imminent entry into the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) suggests, our chief priority for the coming decade should be to seek further integration within the EU. Greece's mission should be to become an anchor of stability in the Balkans, actively contributing to the prosperity and security of Southeast Europe by promoting regional cooperation in reconstruction and development. At the same time, Greece could work out a modus vivendi with Turkey that guarantees Greece's sovereign rights and the external security of all its citizens. Fulfilling this role requires vision, leadership, precise planning and strict adherence to basic principles of international law. Although some of these issues will be contested in Greece's upcoming parliamentary elections, the commitment to stability, human rights, and development are accepted by all. By the same token, proposed institutional improvements, such as the establishment of a National Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, are likely to provide a much-needed degree of bipartisanship in the formulation of Greece's international presence.

The EU, Turkey, and the Cyprus Issue

Greek accession in 1981 to the European Community (EC) was, to a considerable extent, the achievement of the statesmanship of former Greek president, the late Konstantinos Karamanlis. Unfortunately since then, considerable delays have attended the process of the country's integration within the EU. Greece remains firmly committed to European integration in all its dimensions. As its economy grows stronger, and as a result of its imminent membership in EMU, Greece will be able to participate fully in all major initiatives, thus deepening the process of its European integration.

Greece wholeheartedly supports the ongoing enlargement of the EU. The process of accession to full-membership status constitutes the ultimate incentive to eligible states emerging from a half-century of communism or experiencing difficulty with human rights and democratization. In turn, the EU will have a mechanism for monitoring the progress of reform in these prospective member countries.

The adoption of the euro by a number of EU countries should be followed by strengthened political elements of European integration. In practical terms, this means that the EU's international role must be upgraded. The Common Foreign and Security Policy should be further complemented with better-coordinated defense capabilities. The recent decision at the Helsinki European Council to create an EU rapid-deployment military capability consisting of 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers by 2003 is welcome progress. Greece should actively participate in the development of this military capability, which will probably entail a wider representation of EU members than that of the Eurocorps. The development of an autonomous EU defense capability should be pursued in parallel and consistent with North Atlatic Treaty Organization (NATO) obligations. Although decision making and planning within these new European structures should not necessarily be shared with non-EU countries, mechanisms could be developed to ensure that the process...