Vaira Freiberga Quotations

Since Latvia and Bulgaria both became members of the NATO alliance last year, the stability and security of our countries has reached a new level, with a most beneficial effect on our business climate. I am confident that Bulgaria will soon join the EU as well. Both of our countries will then share the EU common market, with additional benefits for our economic co-operation.

For us, the Second World War and its sequels will end only ... when we become members of the NATO alliance and when we can be assured of not ever being occupied again as we were by two occupying powers: Stalinist Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.

We have a great opportunity to move beyond the past and learn the lessons of that painful history,

We have seen the results of appeasement. ... It is much easier to tolerate a dictator when he is dictating over somebody else's life and not your own,

We have achieved objective assessment of past events that so far have been neglected, we have induced Europe to think about lessons from Europe's history in a more penetrating, broader and balanced manner. We have received confirmations of understanding about the occupation period we had to endure in the past and sincere support to our further efforts to develop democracy,

They have a choice to become citizens -- or not. It's their free choice.

Certainly we are gaining this very large market which actually will now be larger than the United States in terms of numbers of inhabitants,

The losses are that this market, in order to have access to it, we have to comply with this enormous body of severe restrictions and severe requirements.