Address by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Urmas Paet

117th Session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
11 May 2007, Strasbourg

Let me first congratulate you, Mr. Chairman, and your team on the excellent work and efficiency with which San Marino has managed its Chairmanship. We wish the Serbian Minister every success in making his contribution to the organisation as the new Chairman.

We all warmly welcome minister Milan Rocen to this meeting. Estonia was the first country to establish diplomatic relations with Montenegro. Therefore, the admission ceremony this morning had a very special meaning for me.

The finalization of the Memorandum of Understanding between the EU and the Council of Europe is another source of deep satisfaction today. The efforts made by the San Marino Chairmanship are remarkable. We fully accept the necessary compromises, which both parties and all the Member States, including Estonia, had to make. A more unified Europe in the area of human rights, democracy and rule of law is just as important, today as it was immediately after the end of the Cold War.

Mr Chairman,

Let me refer to one challenge of fundamental significance facing the Council of Europe – the enhancing of the efficiency of the European Court of Human Rights. We can say that the number of applications to the Court from Member States is rising exponentially. There is a certain truth in the saying that the Court is a victim of its own success. Ratification of Protocol No. 14 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is just one necessary measure helping to resolve the serious problems facing the Court. Therefore, it is extremely regretful and damaging that this Protocol has not come into force.

Like other Member States, who have fulfilled their commitment regarding ratification, I take this opportunity to urge the authorities of the country, that has not ratified the Protocol yet, to show more political will and to make more of an effort in ratifying it, so that it can enter into force. We welcome the adoption and wide dissemination of the Wise Persons Report and find that the proposals contained in the report deserve attention and further discussion. These ideas are developed in the Opinion of the Court as presented to the Committee of Ministers, as well as in the contributions of the Secretary General, the Commissioner for Human rights and the Parliamentary Assembly. Now it is time to move ahead. I am sure that our Governments can reach a common understanding on how to proceed with the reform process. The lasting efficiency of the Court should remain a concern for us all.

Mr Chairman,

With 47 members in its ranks, the Council of Europe is an organisation with undisputed moral authority. It is one of the most important legal and political guardians of democracy, rule of law and stability in Europe. These are values to which its member states have committed themselves to respect.

 Therefore, it is deeply regrettable that I have to state here, that in the course of the last two weeks, a number of coordinated offences have been carried out against Estonia aimed at destabilising our country. They are all a flagrant intervention in the internal affairs of Estonia.

Recent Russian hostility has been diverse: a blockade of the Estonian Embassy in Moscow, undertaken by local youth organisations and tolerated by the authorities; completely intolerable attacks on the Embassy premises and personnel, including an ambassador, were blatant violations of the Vienna Convention deserving condemnation; a shameless propaganda and disinformation campaign waged against Estonia by mainly state-controlled Russian media.

In addition, there have been many reports of “grey” economic sanctions imposed by Russia on Estonia – a result of the methodically fuelled hysteria against a neighbour. I appeal to the Russian authorities not to encourage or provide an excuse for aggressive attitudes against Estonia or Estonians in Russian public opinion – as it was also pointed out in the recent statement by Secretary General Terry Davis.

But, at this moment, I would like to draw your attention to just one particular aspect of recent unacceptable events.

Namely, as of April 27th, Estonia has been under a heavy and consistent cyber attack against the integrity, and availability of computer data and systems. Estonian servers are professionally swamped with information packages in order to paralyse state and public websites and servers. These activities have not subsided. Instead, they have constantly increased in sophistication. But most importantly – they are carried out systematically against the Estonian state as well as vitally important infrastructure. They continue, as I speak here today.

We analyse the logs of these ongoing actions. However, there is already clear evidence that these attacks are well-coordinated and a significant amount of them originate from Russia. (Russian government agencies have also been involved in cyber attacks against Estonia.) As we know, cyber crime does not recognise borders and it will not stop of its own free will. Undeterred by the prospect of arrest, cyber criminals lurk on the Net, as an emerging threat to people’s lives and nations’ security. Estonia has been one of the initiators of the Council of Europe’s Convention on Cybercrime. Current developments clearly confirm that we need to combat cyber crime in co-operation and international understanding. Therefore, we call upon all members of the Council of Europe to accede to the Convention on Cybercrime. We also strongly urge Russia to take adequate countermeasures against cyber criminals operating in Russia, since they pose a serious threat not only to a neighbour, but also to wider security.

For years, Estonia has maintained a pragmatic approach towards the Eastern neighbour. We have not responded to each and every criticism from Russia. We have been open to dialogue in an effort to build normal relations with our neighbour. Pragmatic, good neighbourly relations continue to be our goal. But this, of course, can only happen if there is political will and respect on both sides.