Baltic Entente
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The Baltic Entente was based on Treaty of Good-Understanding and Co-operation signed between
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
,
Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
, and
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
on September 12, 1934 in
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
. The main objective of the agreement was joint action in foreign policy. It also included commitments to support one another politically and to give diplomatic support in international communication. The endeavour was ultimately unsuccessful, as the combined strength of the three nations and their statements of neutrality were insubstantial in the face of the massive armies of
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
,
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. The plans for division of control of European lands located between the two powers laid out in the 1939
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that enabled those powers to partition Poland between them. The pact was signed in Moscow on 23 August 1939 by German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ri ...
assigned the Baltic countries into Soviet "
sphere of influence In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence (SOI) is a spatial region or concept division over which a state or organization has a level of cultural, economic, military or political exclusivity. While there may be a formal a ...
". In 1940 all three countries were
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and soon annexed into the Soviet Union.


Formation

The idea of setting up a Baltic Union started gaining momentum between 1914 and 1918 and became a direct consequence of people's hopes for independence. The concept of uniting
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
,
Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
, and
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
originated in the minds of the numerous refugees, who had no other choice than to flee to the west to escape the tyranny at home. They pooled their efforts in the struggle to achieve freedom and create nationhood. Their efforts became more evident after the end of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in 1918. Thanks to the victory of Entente in World War I and the relative international weakening of both
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and
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, it became possible for the
Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...
to turn theoretical ideas into practice and to establish themselves politically in the international arena. All three Baltic countries managed to secure their independence by signing individual peace treaties with Russia in 1920. It was a big step in the way of diplomatic co-operation between the Baltic states and allowed each nation to receive recognition of their sovereignty from the other states. Acceptance of the Baltic states as members of the
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
in September 1921 meant that Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian security seemed endorsed. The major outcome of World War I determined a new international order in Europe. Under the new conditions, the issue of solidifying independence for the Baltic States was of paramount importance. However, it was not until 1934 that establishing the union was possible. Lithuania remained reluctant to the idea because its international political strategy contradicted those of Latvia and Estonia. While Latvia and Estonia saw Germany and the Soviet Union as the primary dangers, Lithuania sought to ally with those states. However, in 1934, the
Soviet–Polish Non-Aggression Pact The Soviet–Polish Non-Aggression Pact ( pl, Polsko-radziecki pakt o nieagresji, russian: Договор о ненападении между СССР и Польшей, transliterated as ) was a non-aggression pact signed in 1932 by representa ...
and the German–Polish Non-Aggression Pact both resulted in the collapse of the Lithuanian foreign policy and forced a change of position.


Purpose

At the heart of the establishment of the Entente was the desire of its members to prolong and solidify the peace. The reasons for establishment of the Entente are well expressed in the preamble to the treaty signed on September 12, 1934: "Firmly resolved to contribute to the maintenance and guarantee of the peace, and to coordinate their external policy within the spirit of the principles of the Pact of the League of Nations, the Baltic States have resolved to conclude a treaty".Kaslas, ''The Baltic Nations'', p. 177.


Organisation

At the heart of the organisation was a co-ordinating agency since the plans of the Baltic Entente required a unified foreign policy. The responsibility of the agency was stipulated in the Article 2 of the treaty: "For the purpose stated in the first Article, the contracting parties have elected to institute periodic conferences of the Foreign Ministers of the three countries".


Reasons for failure

Without the "internal weaknesses" and a conflict with Poland, the Baltic Entente "could have been a significant entity". However, one of the first incidents that led to the demise of the union was the Polish-Lithuanian crisis, resulting from the death of a Polish soldier at the Lithuanian border. The Polish government used the incident as leverage to force Lithuania back into diplomatic contact with Poland and to annex the Vilnius region of Lithuania. Moreover, the Entente had never materialized into a real political force because it maintained its miscalculated policy of maintaining its neutrality, even with
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
imminent. As well, it had a vague definition of what was considered to be a threat and who was the mutual enemy. From the very day of its establishment, the Entente lacked a unified conception of what it considered to be a threat and what its enemies were. The ambiguity led to a lack of common goals among its members and brought the feeling that co-operation was not beneficial for mutual advantage. As well, there was a lack of ability to create mutual security. Since the Entente did not become a military alliance, its members could not rely on the organization to provide for their security. Lack of an economic foundation was another factor. The three countries were not integrated into a mutually-beneficial economic domain, which took its toll and significantly weakened the alliance. Despite having similar economic structures, all three were forced to compete, rather than cooperate, with one another. Finally, there was the failure to establish the feeling of unity. Differences in the nations' destinies, mentalities and cultures set precedents for misunderstandings. Since the Baltic nations felt no common historical identity, the Entente intensified those sentiments and made them diverge even more.


Legacy

A reminiscent successor of the Baltic Entente is the
Baltic Assembly The Baltic Assembly (BA) is a regional organisation that promotes intergovernmental cooperation between Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. It attempts to find a common position in relation to many international issues, including economic, politic ...
.


See also

*
Baltic Assembly The Baltic Assembly (BA) is a regional organisation that promotes intergovernmental cooperation between Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. It attempts to find a common position in relation to many international issues, including economic, politic ...
*
Międzymorze Intermarium ( pl, Międzymorze, ) was a post-World War I geopolitical plan conceived by Józef Piłsudski to unite former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth lands within a single polity. The plan went through several iterations, some of which antic ...
* Warsaw Accord


Citations and references


Further reading

* *


External links

* http://www.nato.int/docu/review/1995/9505-6.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20070609155134/http://victorian.fortunecity.com/wooton/34/halecki/22.htm {{Authority control 1930s establishments in Estonia 1930s establishments in Latvia 1934 establishments in Lithuania 1940 disestablishments History of the Baltic states 20th-century military alliances Military alliances involving Lithuania Military alliances involving Latvia Military alliances involving Estonia Interwar-period treaties Treaties concluded in 1934 Treaties entered into force in 1934