State Minister for Europe Dr Lührmann,
Excellencies, Friends,
Fellow countrymen,
It is my sincere pleasure and indeed an honour to be visiting Germany, a close, strong, powerful partner and ally. With Germans we share not only cultural and historical ties, but also the mindset and values. From Hanseatic Union to today, the road from Estonia to Europe has mostly led through Germany.
This year we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Estonia’s accession to NATO. In this alliance we have worked together shoulder to shoulder to enhance common peace and security. Luckily, now that Finland and Sweden have become fully fledged members of the alliance, Estonia is no longer a ‘new’ member state in NATO. That feels very good.
We are truly full of admiration for Germany´s leadership and dedication to NATOs collective defence, focusing especially in the Baltic region, with your brigade in Lithuania, your Navy initiatives on the Baltic Sea and for your long-term commitment to Baltic Air Policing.
Together we are making our alliance stronger, to defend the values we are ready to fight/die for - our national freedom and a rules-based international order. To quote you, President Gauck, “Freedom is our shared bond. For this reason, it is our duty today – as it was in the past – to shoulder responsibility and to work with and for each other.” Let’s continue to make NATO stronger still.
Exactly in two weeks, we can celebrate the 20-year anniversary as a member of the European Union. We have tried to be a good partner for all member states and, we have always strived to praise the importance of the EU at home.
Over the course of our EU membership, Estonia’s GDP per capita has risen by 64% in constant prices, while the value of our exports has increased six-fold and the average salary has almost quadrupled. EU membership has allowed our prosperity to flourish, but it is not only about economy – it is about peace and increasing the area of peace and security that we can do best working together.
Europe and the Free world are experiencing turbulent times. For the third year Russia’s imperialist war is raging in Europe, in Ukraine. Russia’s bad example is catching on – just a few days ago we witnessed Iran´s unprecedented attack against Israel. The wars in Ukraine and in the Middle East are touching us all in one way or another. The same Iranian weapons are used both against Israel as well as Ukraine.
These times call on us to gather our strength to defend our core values. If world´s great democratic powers seem weak we risk provoking aggressors. But it is our strength that paves the way to peace. Therefore, I praise Germany for your gigantic shift in mindset, Zeitenwende, for being the biggest supporter of Ukraine in Europe. And for supporting Israel and helping to ease the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Palestine. I call on others to follow the German lead. For NATO allies to increase their defence spending. And for greater defence spending within the EU budget.
We want a world where right makes might, where doing the morally and ethically right things, will lead us to strength, power and success. Acting in accordance with agreed principles will lead to positive outcomes and empowerment. We want to be certain, that if there´s a crime, there’s justice. If there´s an aggressor who will not stop, we have a right to fight him by any means.
If Ukraine does not manage to overcome the evil which is assailing it, this evil will not stop. We do not want to fearfully contemplate whose door it will knock on next? For this reason, the war in Ukraine is an existential question for us all.
The European Union has been the most successful peace project. Extending the space of freedom and prosperity is not just a goal, for us it is a duty. Duty to help those who deserve peace and opportunity for better future, I think of Ukraine and Moldova as well as the Western Balkan countries. I firmly believe that the enlargement process will also breathe new life into the union itself and make it a stronger, more prosperous and more secure place for everyone.
Friends,
In the 1930s a boy lived in this very building. He was the son of an Estonian diplomat at the Embassy at the time. The boy was Lennart Meri. After going through the darkest of times, the second world war, deportation to Siberia, and soviet occupation of Estonia, he became the President of Estonia in 1992. /PAUS/ Victorious ends are not impossible even in the darkest circumstances.
I express my gratitude to all of you gathered here today for your trust in and unwavering support of Estonia throughout the years. To have true friends and allies is the most precious gift you can have.
Vielen Dank!
