The Baltic States and the New Europe:
Cultural Identity and Regional Integration

Photo: Royal Danish Consul Lasse Reimann (left)
and State Secretary Jørgen Ørstrøm Møller.

Speaking on the issue of EU expansion, Møller stressed the likelihood of acceptance of Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian bids for membership in the coming round of EU accession talks. As Møller described, ten European countries have expressed the intention to apply for membership when the EU again entertains accession proposals in late 1997. While some countries appeared likely for initial rejection (e.g., Bulgaria, Romania, and Slovakia), Møller viewed the Baltic countries as among the strongest candidates for acceptance. Membership of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania would allow for the development of productive economic relations between these countries and the current Nordic EU members Oman, Finland, and Sweden). Møller regards such cooperation as the cornerstone to a new era of economic vitality for Northern Europe, marking the emergence of the Baltic Sea region as one of the most productive and successful crossborder economic regions in modern Europe.

Although Møller expressed skepticism that Russia would apply for EU membership or be accepted to the Union, he stressed the importance of building good economic relations between the EU and its eastern neighbor. Because the Baltics represent a key link between the predominantly north-south transport systems of Western Europe and the pre-dominantly east-west transport systems of Eastern Europe, Baltic harbors like Riga and Tallinn stand to become crucial trading and transport centers.

Speaking on the issue of NATO expansion, Møller expressed concerns for the security of the Baltics, and of all of Europe, should Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania be asked to wait before accession into Western Europe's most important defence league. "It is an all-or-nothing proposition," Møller stated: "either we create security for all of Europe or we have no security for any of Europe." Echoing the words of Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, Møller called Baltic security the "litmus test of the European Union." Møller noted that current predictions indicate that the Baltics may be asked to wait before being allowing into the NATO alliance. Møller underscored the importance of finding ways to assure Baltic security should that be the case and expressed the concern that Russian politicians might misinterpret a negative decision on the NATO question as a sign of Western Europe's disinterest in the security, sovereignty, or people of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania From the tone and content of Møller's remarks, it was clear to all in attendance that Denmark, as well as other Nordic countries, has been an active and supportive behind-the-scene advocate for its Baltic neighbors in Europe's various economic and defence-related organizations. Møller saw the current situation as historic and pivotal: "Can Europe create a system that assures security and economic welfare for all or will it fail?" Møller, and Denmark, clearly hope that it can.

NATO and the Economic Security of Estonia

Jaan Salulaid, First Secretary for Economic Affairs at the Embassy of Estonia, spoke in Parrington hall on February 21, in a lecture sponsored by the UW Russian, East European and Central Asian Center, the Baltic Studies Program and the Seattle Estonian Society.

Salulaid is a graduate of the Faculty of Law at Tartu University (1991), and the Estonian School of Diplomacy (1993). He studied International Law at The American University in Washington DC, where he was awarded the LLM degree in 1995. From 1989 to 1993, he served as Vice Mayor of Kiviõli, a city in northeast Estonia. From 1993 to 1997, he worked at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a lawyer, and later as Director of the International Treaties Division.

In his lecture, Salulaid outlined the reasons why Estonia wishes to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO is a defense alliance based on common democratic values, and Estonia shares those values. Estonia wishes to participate in the maintenance of European security. Decisions regarding NATO enlargement, continued Salulaid, should be transparent to all countries, both members and nonmembers. It is particularly important that security of NATO members not be increased at the expense of other countries, and that the door to NATO be left open to those countries not included in the first round of expansion. A gray zone of East European countries denied membership in NATO would create political instability.

Alignment with NATO also has economic dimensions, providing a secure environment for foreign investment, perhaps more secure than could be offered by membership in the European Union. NATO expansion will begin in 1999, while optimistic predictions of years when the EU will expand are as late as 2002 or 2005. If Estonia had a choice of either NATO or EU, it would choose NATO, because no other structure can guarantee Estonia's security in the event of negative political change in Russia. Membership in the EU might cause Estonia to change its successful course of economic reform based on a liberal, open economy to accommodate EU protectionism, without providing the political security which Estonia needs. Estonia views NATO and the EU as complementary, and seeks to join both, but each for different reasons.

Academic Calendar: Upcoming Lectures and Performances

Vaizgantas. Hutchinson Hall Room 205 ("The Cabaret"), Thursday, February 27, 7:00 pm.

Conference: NATO Expansion and the Baltic Region. Tuesday and Wednesday, May 6-7.

Professor Bill Darden will present two lectures: "The Problem of the Indo-European Homeland: Evidence from the History of Baltic Languages," Wednesday evening, May 21, 7:00 (place to be announced), and "The Development of the Balto-Slavic Verb," Thursday afternoon, May 22 (time and place to be announced). Bill Darden is Professor of Linguistics and Chair of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Chicago. He has numerous publications about the history of the Baltic, Slavic and Indo-European languages.

Meet the Students of the Baltic Studies Program! Friday evening, June 6.

University of Washington Report

Due to financial exigencies, the Latvian Studies Center in Association with Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, Mich.), is closing its library. The Center will be donating its collection of some 30,000 Latvian books and 1,000 serials to the following institutions: the University of Washington Libraries (which will be the recipient of the Center's core collection of some 12,000 books and 200 serials) the Latvian Academic Library in Riga (rare or unique materials not yet held in the Academy's Lettica collection), the Toronto Latvian Centre, the Latvian National Library, the Immigration History Research Center (St. Paul, Minn.), and other selected research and public libraries in North America and Latvia

The first shipment of LSC books is received by Linda Gould (Associate Director for Collections, UW Libraries), Richard J. Dunn Dean for the Humanities, UW College of arts and Sciences), Terje Leiren (Chair, UW Department of Scandinavian Studies), and James D. West (Chair, UW Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies Program). Photo by Michael Milligan.

The Center's collection includes nearly everything that Latvians have published outside of Latvia since World War II, as well as publications from Latvia, and is the largest Latvian library collection in North America. The library was collected to serve the Latvian Studies program at Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, MI), a national center of Latvian education on the university level since the 1960s. The Center's library has stood as one of the greatest cultural accomplishments of Latvians living outside of Latvia. The University of Washington is proud to have been chosen as a successor of this outstanding collection.

While the UW Library's Latvian collection grows at an exponential rate, there has also been good news lately for the development of our Lithuanian and Estonian collections. Generous gifts from donors in the Lithuanian communities of Chicago and Southern California have vastly expanded the Library's holdings in Lithuanian emigre literature and history. A recent exchange of East European duplicate books between UW and the University of Wisconsin Madison Library has supplemented UW's holdings in Lithuanian folklore and linguistics while nearly doubling our holdings in older Lithuanian literature. Together, these gifts and exchanges represent a major addition to the UW's Lithuanian literature collection. Yet even with gifts this substantial, many fundamental gaps remain in the Library's retrospective Lithuanian collections for literature and history, and work continues to develop the library holdings.

New book exchanges between the UW Library and the National Libraries of both Lithuania and Estonia have been well underway since autumn 1996. The Library's Baltic exchange partners have shown particular interest in receiving UW Press books, including titles in the UW Press's East and Central European series; the UW Library, in turn, has been receiving new editions of established and younger Lithuanian and Estonian authors; literary journals; new histories of the Baltic nations, including collections of documentary materials pertaining to the interwar and Soviet periods; linguistic and folklore studies; art albums, subject bibliographies, and statistical and other reference works.

Baltic Representative on the Scandinavian Department Advisory Board

Ms. Blekys is an active member of the Committee for the Baltic Program at the University of Washington, where she represents the Washington Chapter of the Lithuanian American Community. As a member of the Scandinavian Advisory Board, she will serve as a liaison to the Baltic Committee and its fundraising drive for the Baltic Studies Program Endowment.

Visit the Department of Scandinavian Studies through the Internet!

E-mail: uwscand@u.washington.edu

For updated information, visit our homepage: http://depts.washington.edu/scand/

The event is planned as a memorable evening, full of Baltic surprises, desserts, entertainment and fun. Admission is $10.

If you wish to donate items for the auction, call one of the following community representatives by March 15:
Ene-Lüs Arrowsmith (206) 937-8830, Vaira Pelekis-Christopher (206) 778-6087, or Zita Petkus (206) 827-0378.

Congratulations!

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the Baltic Studies Program Endowment

The Baltic Studies Program Endowment is invested together with the half-billion dollar University of Washington Foundation to earn high interest. Half of this interest is reinvested to keep the Endowment growing in pace with inflation. The other half is used for the Baltic Program.

Baltic Studies have now become a permanent part of the University of Washington's programs. The Endowment presently produces enough income to bring in several prominent Baltic speakers each year. As the Endowment grows, it will play an increasing role as a permanent source of support for language courses, courses in Baltic history and culture, and graduate assistantships.

Tax Deductible Donations

In the USA, pursuant to RCW 19.09, the University of Washington is registered as a charitable organization with the Secretary of State, State of Washington. In Canada, Section 3503 of the Canadian Income Tax Regulations allows a tax credit for contributions to American Universities "the student body of which ordinarily includes students from Canada". The University of Washington appears in the list of universities provided in Schedule VIII of the Regulations. This means that you receive the same tax benefits from a gift to our institution as from a gift to a Canadian charity.

Matching Grants

Give it Away and keep it, too!

Here's a preview:

Charitable Gift Annuities. You can give the University readily marketable assets in exchange for the University 's agreement to pay you a fixed annuity every year for the rest of your life. The difference between the value of the annuity you will receive and the value of the assets you transfer is a gift to the University and you will be entitled to an immediate income tax charitable deduction. You can designate the Baltic Studies Program to receive the remaining assets after your death.

Charitable Remainder Trusts. You can transfer assets of almost any kind to a charitable remainder trust If the assets have appreciated a lot over the years, so much the better. When the trust sells the assets, neither you nor the trust will pay any capital gains tax. The trustee will reinvest the entire sale proceeds to produce a stream of income that will be paid to you for the rest of your life (a term of up to 20 years). When the trust terminates, the remaining trust assets will be distributed to the University to fund a program that interests you - like the Baltic Studies Program. Again, you receive an immediate income tax charitable deduction for the value of the University's right to receive the assets in the future. You avoid paying the capital gains tax you would pay if you sold the assets. And you make a wonderful gift to the University.

Gift of Remainder Interest in Residence. If you own your home (or a vacation home), you can give it to the University but keep the right to live in it for the rest of your life. You won't notice any difference - you'll continue to pay for maintenance, insurance and property taxes, and you can change the wallpaper any time you choose. But upon your death, instead of the home passing to your heirs, it will belong to the University. The University will sell the home and use the sale proceeds to support a program that you designate, such as the Baltic Studies Program. You'll be entitled to an immediate income tax charitable deduction for the value of the University's right to receive the home in the future. And you'll be making an outstanding contribution to higher education.

Pooled Income Fund. One last way you can give assets to the University while keeping the benefits is to contribute to a University pooled income fund. Your assets will be pooled with other donors' assets and you will be allocated a number of "units" representing your share of the total fund. Each year you will receive your proportionate share of the total fund. And upon your death, the Baltic Studies Program can be designated as the recipient of your share of the assets in the fund. You will, of course, be entitled to an immediate income tax charitable deduction.

Interested?

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