Of all the stunning transformations that have changed the map of Europe since 1989, the Baltic states' shift from Soviet captivity to membership of the top western clubs is among the most remarkable. In the first fragile years of independence, prosperity and security seemed equally distant. Yet in a few short weeks this autumn, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have been formally offered NATO membership, and now, at this week's Copenhagen summit, they will be invite d to join the European Union, probably in mid-2004. The contrast with the miserable life further east, in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, has never been bigger.
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