I am very glad to welcome you all in Tallinn. We last met in this format a year ago in Vilnius. The year behind us has been an extremely intense one. A lot has been done; many landmark decisions have been made. Ukraine has proved to the world it can win this war, with the transatlantic family strongly next to it.
But everyday Russia’s atrocities have continued. Mass killings, bombing civilians, deportations including of children – Russia is closely copying the Soviet playbook we in this region know all too well.
I come from a generation that was born without freedom, and now we have it. I don’t take it for granted. I understand freedom is something you must fight for.
That is why I continue to advocate for Ukraine’s victory, victory that means Russia goes back to Russia. Victory means making sure that aggression ends in defeat. Victory means an end to Russia’s cycle of violence and aggressions against its neighbours.
The faster Putin understands he will not reach his objectives, the sooner this war ends. Our strength is our unity. But breaking this unity is the Kremlin’s strategy to win. We will prove them wrong. We cannot agree with Putin’s „Landraub“ (land grabbing).
That’s why the number one focus are arms, ammunition and training – they all must continue at a scale sufficient for Ukraine to win the war. Thank you, Olaf, for the recent historic 2.7 billion military aid package to Ukraine. The air defence systems Germany sent are playing a vital part in Ukraine’s defence, Patriots are protecting Kyiv skies and saving lives.
However, it is not only the battlefield success that will decide the outcome of the war. We have to show the Kremlin it cannot outlast Ukraine and the free world economically. So, Ukraine’s victory also depends on our ability to dry up the Kremlin’s war machine and income to finance its aggression.
There’s the fight for freedom and there’s the fight for justice. Ukraine needs to win both. Without accountability, Russia’s cycle of violence will never stop. Crimes without punishment encourage and inspire new ones. Russia has never been held accountable. Russian leaders today have seen from history that their leaders in the past have never had to face justice for the atrocities committed.
For peace in Europe, we need a geopolitical European Union and a strong and credible NATO. For peace in Europe, we need Ukraine in the EU and NATO. We have seen throughout history how grey zones are a breeding ground for wars while NATO and EU enlargement have increased stability – the three Baltic states are a living example of it.
And for peace in Europe, we need German leadership – be it in NATO, in a geopolitical EU or in making sure Europe is able to defend itself militarily.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Ukraine’s fight for its existence is also a fight for freedom and dignity in Europe. And Russia’s aggression inevitably carries a cost to our own societies. Living next to a pariah state has a its cost.
We must make sure any future aggression would be deterred or pushed back immediately. Looking ahead to the NATO Vilnius Summit, we need first and foremost NATO’s new regional defence in place. And we need to have them backed up by necessary forces. Defence spending above 2% and increased defence investments must become a common commitment for the Allies. And we also need to find ways and money to boost the European defence industry. To illustrate my concern: in real terms, in 2022 the defence spending of European Allies decreased by 11,6 %, compared to 2021.
Estonia is taking its obligations as an Ally extremely seriously – we are raising the defence spending to 3% of GDP and continuously strengthening our national defence. To that end, Estonia and Latvia began negotiations with a German manufacturer to jointly procure medium-range air defence. This is an important milestone for our cooperation, to better protect our skies.
We need to also look into the future and ask how to reduce our vulnerabilities and bad dependencies. Estonia’s goal is 100% renewable electricity by 2030 and offshore wind is key for that. I am glad that German-Baltic energy cooperation is increasing. As an example of this, only two weeks ago, our transmission system operators committed to study the possibility for a new electricity cable to Germany, the Baltic WindConnector, to utilise our offshore potential and boost energy security.
Thank you!
