In the mid-1980s, one of my associates in Amsterdam wrote an article on the continued occupation of the Baltic countries and the Dutch refusal to acknowledge the annexation of the three countries by the USSR. He sent it to one of the main Dutch newspapers for publication, but saw it duly returned with a note saying: “the Baltic countries are part of the USSR and their independence is no longer an issue for discussion.” Five years later, the three republics reinstated their independence and now they are full-fledged parts of the European Union, without any hesitation.