The cross. September 9, 2005. Interview with Milan Kucan.

- You are taking part in the “Interdependence Day” organized in Paris on September 12th. What is the objective of this event?

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Milan Kucan: The most important thing is to raise awareness of the importance of interdependence in the contemporary world, in its negative aspects as well as in its positive aspects. Most politicians are aware of the acceleration of interdependence in the economic, financial, ecological, cultural, scientific and technological fields. On the other hand, this phenomenon is not yet sufficiently recognized and understood by the general public, not only at the level of observation but as an opportunity to build a more united world.

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- In 1990 you led Slovenia to independence. Fifteen years later, isn't your country rediscovering the virtues of interdependence as a member of the European Union?

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From the very beginning of the process leading to independence, we were aware that we were part of Europe and of the international community. Our objective was twofold: membership in the European Union and NATO. The notion of interdependence has always been present in our minds. We know very well that no country today can live alone, whether economically or in the field of security, culture, science and technology. We wanted independence not to be isolated but to participate on an equal footing in a process of international integration.

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- Are the Slovenes not today discovering the negative aspects of the policy followed by their leaders? Isn't economic interdependence seen as a threat, through relocations, openness to foreign capital and layoffs?

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When the Slovenes gained independence, they did not have an idealistic view of the liberal economy and entry into the European Union. As president, I was hostile to a too rapid and insufficiently selective arrival of foreign investments and we managed to avoid it in the first phase of privatization. We followed a policy that distinguished between sectors where foreign capital was welcome and those of national interest that needed to be protected. The conditions are now in place for accelerated privatization in the telecommunications, banking and energy sectors, but the question is whether the government in power has adopted a strategy. It is not only a question of knowing when to sell, at what and at what price, but also what to do with the privatization money. If these revenues are not invested in the creation of new jobs and the training of a skilled workforce, they will only fuel public finances and weaken the country. In Slovenia, as elsewhere, we are feeling the negative effects of globalization. Today, the capital defines the rules of conduct of the world economy and the States are powerless, even though they are still held responsible for social peace. The only rules accepted worldwide are those of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In other areas, they are non-existent or ineffective.

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- After the rejection of the draft European Constitution in France and the Netherlands, is the European model of interdependence still relevant?

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The victory of the “no” in France and the Netherlands reflects the uncertainty of European citizens in the face of the process of globalization, in the absence of a system of values ​​which underlies the process of European integration. European policy has not been able to respond to these challenges in cooperation with citizens and civil society. The decision to enlarge the European Union to twenty-five members was politically justified, but it triggered a great deal of mistrust among the citizens of the fifteen as well as among those of the new member states. Neither was ready to live in such a vast Europe. Europe needs a debate on the role of the European Union in the world. The Euro-American conception of democracy and values ​​cannot be uniformly accepted across the planet. Europe should take the initiative in favor of a dialogue between the great civilizations, in search of a consensus on a minimum of common values ​​which allow a world governance as little conflict as possible, a coexistence and a sharing. of responsibility in the conduct of world affairs.

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- Can the European Union become something other than a simple free trade area?

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The logic of capital alone will not be able to keep the European Union alive. More than the economy, these are values ​​which constitute the backbone of European integration. Faced with the fragmentation of societies, the lack of a feeling of belonging and the development of competition between individuals from the start of schooling, Europe should encourage the values ​​of solidarity and justice in interpersonal relations. as in international relations.

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COLLECTED BY FRANÇOIS D'ALANÇON (IN Ljubljana)

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Milan Kucan, was born January 14, 1941 in Krizevci, a village in eastern Slovenia, near the Hungarian border. He graduated from the law faculty of the University of Lublijana in 1964. At the head of the Slovenian section of the League of Yugoslav Communists from 1986, he was elected in 1990 President of Slovenia, which is still a republic in within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He led the country to independence on June 25, 1991, then was elected in 1992 as the first president of the independent Republic of Slovenia. Reelected in 1997, he retired from power in November 2002, on the eve of the new elections. He participates in this Day of Interdependence alongside many personalities such as Harry Belafonte, singer and goodwill ambassador to the UN, Andreas van Agt, former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Ruth Dreifuss, former President of the Federal Council Switzerland, Olara Otunnu, Under-Secretary of the United Nations, Andrea Pastrana, former President of Colombia and Dennis Kucinich, elected Democrat in the American Congress.