At the end of last year Estonia witnessed two landmark events which have been crucial since the partnership with the Southern Mediterranean countries is under the question.
On the one hand, the first edition of the Holy Koran appeared in Estonia and the fact that the book was already sold out on the first day should show the Estonians’ keen interest in the Arab culture. Let’s be honest: so far only very few books have been translated from Arabic into Estonian and only a handful of people can speak Arabic. Even the famous One Thousand and One Nights was translated into Estonian through Russian.
Of course, it would be very premature to assume that the translation of the Holy Koran will solve all the questions one may have about the Arab culture in Estonia, but certainly it can be considered as a beginning of the dialogue with the Mediterranean countries.
On the other hand, Estonia, as well as other nine new member states of the European Union, joined the Schengen area in December 2007. This means two main things: firstly, the abolition of border controls and, secondly, the fact that mentally Estonia has enlarged its confines till the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean. Thus the next border for the Estonians lies on the southern shores of the Mediterranean.
As a matter of fact, many Estonians have already familiarized with some of the Arab countries. For instance, in Tallinn Airport, besides the European currencies and US dollar, Egyptian currency is also exchanged. This is due to the fact that Egypt is the most popular tourist destination in winter, and the joke in whether there is any Estonian left who has not been to Finland, very popular in the 1990s, can be extended to Egypt now.
Thus, on a daily basis many Estonians may have some knowledge which can lead to develop some interest, even respect, for Southern Mediterranean countries. However, the problem appears in political discussions.
The Estonian government has always supported the European Common Foreign and Security Policy, especially regarding its difficult relations with the big Eastern neighbour Russia. Estonia has always hoped and worked for a more united approach towards Russia from the EU side.
Nevertheless, it is rather inevitable that Estonia has not a great decision-making power when the use of EU resources in Mediterranean countries is discussed. Therefore, the country lacks a Foreign Service in the Mediterranean countries and has to rely on foreign embassies while dealing with them. Only lately Estonia has introduced its own diplomat in Cairo. In this light, the possible creation of a common EU foreign service according to Lisbon Treaty has a great significance for Estonia.
Historically, there have been many reasons that can explain the lack of relations between Estonia and Southern Mediterranean countries, along with the vagueness of the official experience with them. While Estonia was a part of the Soviet Union no Arabic and international relations were taught in national universities, and it was necessary to go either to Moscow or to Leningrad in order to study these subjects. Moreover, international relations were confined to the Soviet elite, which was mainly Russian, and hardly any Estonian had the opportunity to deal with Arab countries.
After the re-independence in 1991, Estonia was keen to join Western organisations like European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and naturally almost all country’s resources went in this direction. There was hardly any attention paid to Southern Mediterranean countries. After the so-called colour revolutions in Georgia in 2003 and in Ukraine in 2004, Estonia decided to support the development of democracy in these countries by sharing with them its own experience, i.e. how to approach Western organisations and how to establish a rule of law and liberal democracy.
The big question now is whether the same activity can be applied to the Southern Mediterranean countries. Furthermore, the point is whether the EU is ready to take such a position and let the new member states introduce their experience in the Southern Mediterranean. Besides, is Estonia itself ready for such an action? As a country of 1.3 million inhabitants, Estonia can not play a role as important as some big EU member states in this region. Consequently, in addition to find out his own space in the EU’s common policy, Estonia must determine exactly the areas where its experience is worth of introduction.
However, it is clear from the very beginning that Estonia cannot pour big money into this region and, therefore, the help or cooperation has to be set on advising and supporting action lines rather than economic. Of course, the Georgian or the Ukrainian model cannot be fully copied to the Southern Mediterranean, but I think it is at least worth considering cooperation in different fields such as legislation, media, border control and good governance. And, of course, very much depends on the Southern Mediterranean countries themselves, whether they are willing to accept such cooperation. It is also possible to find out together with the countries involved which are the interesting fields to work on from their perspective.
There is still one great advantage for Estonia: due to its history, the country has never been a colonial power and should not therefore evoke strong emotions among Southern Mediterranean nations. Thus the reception of Estonian diplomats, politicians, official institutions and so on should be rather positive in this region.
However, the fact that Estonia has sent its troops to Afghanistan and Iraq may have some setbacks in Southern Mediterranean as well. Partnership with the USA may echo back negatively. Differences among EU nations in their relations with USA are also an obstacle to find a common approach towards the Southern Mediterranean.
To sum up, Estonia as a new EU member could take both disadvantages and advantages as for the Mediterranean region. And, of course, it is not only up to Estonia whether the first steps towards the region prove successful. However, Estonia has made a start so that in the coming years we may see an increased cooperation between our country and the Mediterranean region.