SPEECHES AND STATEMENTS

As a president, but also as an engineer, I know for sure: If you want to solve a problem, you need to address the problem, you need to face it and take a bold decision. Unfortunately, today many politicians hide, delay or shift problems to the next governments, even the next generations. In the past political decision was THE DECISION, the ultimate decision. When it is difficult, when there is a deep crisis, when there is no other option, then you take a political decision. Unfortunately, we see many examples today, that political decision is no decision at all. Just one example. In the Iraqi crisis the UN was capable to establish humanitarian aid corridor within days. With the Syrian crises, it takes more than 3 years and there is no safe humanitarian aid corridor even today.  

 

The number of crises around the world is at a record high. The challenges ahead of us are very serious and we cannot afford to wait, delay or shift to the next generation. We need to act, we need to take decisions. A decision could be only right or wrong, but sometimes even a wrong decision is better than no decision at all. A wrong decision could be repaired, no decision creates a dangerous grey zone of illegitimacy and instability. Being indifferent is not an option today. Let me point out some of the global challenges we need to address. 

 

First challenge: Rule of law. Every crises could be traced back to its initial phase when someone violated the rules. But peace could be achieved only when there are rules that apply to everyone. Without rules there is no peace. We need to establish efficient mechanisms to guarantee the rule of law. Today it is possible even for a permanent member of the UN Security Council not to stick with the rules and principles of the international order. Even the EU finds it difficult to guarantee one of its key values and has established a new dialogue among all member states to safeguard the rule of law. 

 

Second challenge: early detection of crises. We see weapons and use of force at so many places around the world today. But the use of weapons is not an argument, it is the absence of arguments. It is the last option. We should not wait for the weapons and for the crises to appear on the TV screens, in order to act. Peace is not just the absence of war. Peace is human rights. Peace is rule of law. We need an early detection system to be activated when these universal values are violated. 

 

Third challenge: Climate change, migration, terrorism and security threads do not start on our borders. To address them we need to integrate and join our efforts. 

 

Fourth challenge: The West and Russia are opponents again. Unfortunately. The game in Europe has changed. The Ukrainian crises is the game changer. We entered a new phase, I call “a cold peace”. It is peace, because nobody wants a war and nobody wants to go back to the cold war. But it is a “cold peace”, because, unfortunately, Russia and the West are opposing to each other today. As EU struggles to stay united on the sanctions, Russia is using every opportunity to divide and weaken the EU.  

 

Fifth challenge: Global interests vs. global principles. Today’s Russia believes and acts based on the ideology of great powers with their spheres of interest and periphery between them. Some others think in the same way. On the other hand we have the European Union, which is a unique project for peace, where big Germany with 80 million and small Estonia with 1, 3 million citizens have same rights. And where consensus-driven policies make every state important. No state is periphery or subordinate. Everyone is a partner and everyone matters, no matter big or small, rich or poor. On the world stage we hope to see global interests that reflect the guiding principles and values of international order and do not oppose or even destroy them. 

 

Sixth challenge: Frozen conflicts – their number rises. East Ukraine could be the next one. Is that what we offer to the people of East Ukraine?  Are they going to live better in the frozen conflict area, run by an illegitimate groups and their guns? Look at the other frozen conflict areas. Do people there live better? Are they more free, more save and more prosperous?  Who is going to invest in a frozen conflict area? If we think about people and their right to live in peace and prosperity, we need to oppose the wrong and dangerous strategy of keeping regions, countries and nations unstable and dependent. 

 

Seventh challenge: Nationalism vs. patriotism. We should make the difference between nationalists and patriots. A wise president, the French president De Gaulle, once said: “Patriots are those who love their country, nationalists are those, who hate the different”. There is a new wave of nationalism in Europe, addressing people’s fears on migration, a lack of economic perspective, high unemployment and others. Nationalists have a loud voice, they are aggressive and they are on the rise. Modern patriotism, not nationalism is needed, more than ever today. 

 

I see some other challenges like the low inclusiveness of globalization, the level of education vs. the unprecedented technological boom, by which it is expected, 80% of the world’s adult population to have a supercomputer in their pocket, by 2020.  I see challenges coming out of the wrong interpretation and even manipulation of history, or not learning from history. 

 

Seventy years ago, at the end of World War II, Europe was in ruins. Millions lost their lives on the battlefields. The determination to never let such devastation happen again gave birth to United Europe. Enemies became partners and friends, working together for a common future, sharing the same values. Integration and cooperation proved to be an antidote to destabilization.

 

We do not want to go back to the time when the Great Powers allocated their spheres of influence. The Balkans have been victims of such policies for centuries and were considered the powder keg of Europe. A region filled with conflict and strife. The engine of EU integration and democratic civil societies drive the region to a historic change. From a region torn apart by wars, to a region joined together in peace. Today the Balkan countries work towards a common European future, building bridges of trust and cooperation. But our business there is not finished yet. This positive process could be reversed.

 

The interests-driven policy of Great Powers and periphery between them provokes the existence of frozen conflicts. Closing our eyes to this threat is not a sustainable political solution. This is a bitter reminder that what the international community has achieved in the last decades cannot be taken for granted; that the principles we built our world upon are not set in stone and it is up to all of us  to respect, promote and protect them. 

 

Dear friends, 

Only through cooperation, respect to the rule of law and value-based policies we will be able to address the challenges we face. No nation, regardless of its political will and military might, can manage on its own. Cooperation is no longer a matter of choice, but of necessity. The Founding fathers of the European Union made history. But if you stop making history, somebody else will. We should continue our journey to a more integrated, peaceful, human and sustainable world order. 

 

Thank you.