But our policy cannot be regarded as something sacrosanct and unalterable. The Berlin Wall, which symbolized a divided Europe, is gone. Five months ago, Sweden became a member of the European Union. We are taking part in building a new Europe in a different world. Our objective should be to make war in all of Europe as inconceivable as the use of armed force between the Nordic countries, or between France and Germany.
Security is no longer primarily a military issue.
While euphoria reigned in 1989, a deep pessimism settled over Europe only a few years later as the dimension of both the tragedy in former Yugoslavia and the failure of the international community to address it began to unfold. Today, that pessimism still prevails. We have witnessed during the last few days totally unacceptable acts by the Bosnian Serbs, which rightly have been condemned by the EU and the international community. At this point, it is too early to sum up the lessons to be learned from the conflict in former Yugoslavia. There are, however, some remarks I would like to make.