 Godmorning. Europæisk Uniti i denne disorderte verden. Hva er en bra panel? Jeg tror vi skal starte med å give dem en stor plass. Hvis dere vet, at denne etterpå er en historisk omvendelse. Det er definitivt de seneste måneder det har vært en historisk omvendelse for Europa. Prof. Fouker Schimas har sagt at det var en end av historisk omvendelse i 1992. Men jeg tror at de seneste måneder har vært en start av historisk omvendelse, og at det har vært en start av en ny etterpå i historisk omvendelse for Europa. Jeg tror vi er alle veldig komfortet med det uniti som Europa har vært. Vi har også sett at resultatene av denne war i Ukraine har ikke vært det som kalkasjonen var i Kremlin. Vi ser to nye kødvendelige lander som har vært med i NATO. Vi har sett en uniti som er sammen med EU som er unikt. Vi har også sett forståelsen i å bygge en ny vision for Europa som er veldig stort. Med denne panelen med Edward Hager, Prime Minister for the Slovak Republic, Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, then the Prime Minister of Ireland, Mr. Marchin, Roberta Metzola, the new President of the European Parliament, and Mark Rutte, the longstanding Prime Minister of the Netherlands. 12 år, vi er stille i demokrati. Hva er stamina? Jeg tror du ikke ender før du begynner å begynne Mrs. Merkels rekord. Det er opp til foto. En bra panel. Let's start with you, Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, and a true European. In March you said it's time to build a stronger, more resilient Europe, and where Europe really needs to be a global player. Will we see this manifesting or will European meetings be discussions among 27 member countries? I believe we should now step up our game. That means for the short term we have to invest in our defence capabilities. We are doing that and spending an extra 5 billion. We have seen the speech of Olaf Scholz at the end of February, spending another 100 billion and bringing Germany structurally to the 2% mark. We have to work very hard to keep the international coalition together on Ukraine, the 141 countries who voted in favour of the resolution condemning the aggression. But the much harder stuff will be for the longer term. And that means that first of all, as a European Union, I believe we should get rid of the unanimity in the European Council on issues like sanctions, but also human rights declaration. Secondly, each of us we need to do much more in Europe to build stronger economies, not enough reforms in place. I'm not talking about fiscal tightening of our economies, but reforming our economies, pensions, housing market, the labour market, etc. that will open up huge possibilities for extra economic growth in Europe. And it will make us stronger. And most importantly to really leverage the strength of the internal market. It is the most powerful internal market in world history. And everybody in the world wants to get connected to the European Union, and we are not really leveraging the power of that internal market. And then asking others if they want to join us or to be part of that internal market in the sense of working with us from Asia, Africa, or whatever part of the world. What do we want in return? Finally, it will also require the very big countries in Europe, Italy, France, and Germany to give up on some sovereignty on their foreign policy. Because if Paris, and Berlin, and Rome want to continue to be foreign policy powers on their own, it will be very difficult for the European Union as a whole to really leverage our collective power. So it will also, I believe, lead to some very fundamental debates in the three biggest European economies. Do you think that will happen? I think it has to happen to a certain extent. I'm not saying that these countries, and the Netherlands, and Spain, and others could not, and the countries present at this platform could not conduct their own foreign policy. Of course we have to do that. We are still independent sovereign nations. But if you really want to leverage the collective power of Europe, and next to being an economic powerhouse, and also being projecting our economic power in a political sense at the world stage, that means that we have to coordinate much more together, and that cannot only be done in the European Council, or for an affairs council, the European Parliament. This also needs to be done in our heads, in a sense that we understand, that we stand stronger together, and that means for the biggest economies to use their power to really support that collective European stance on the world stage. If I understand you correctly also, then Mark, is that if you pull all these powers together, the largest markets in the history of the world, and moving them from bringing a playing field, as you said, to be a player, I guess you're also saying this because there are other big players around too, the G2 for example. But do you think that Europe will be able then to be the third player, so we will in the future have a G3, and so Europe doesn't end between a rock and a hard place? Is that what you're saying? In terms of market size, we should be the G1, because we are bigger than the US, we are far bigger than China, but because we have not really added up that collective GDP, in a sense what it means in terms of our power worldwide, we are not that effective as we should be. And then the question in Europe is, do we support on this issue or the other issue, the Americans or the Chinese, or where are we? Of course we will always have a very strong relationship with the United States. The transatlantic bond for me personally, for the Netherlands, I think for most in Europe is crucial. But it should not mean that we could not have our own foreign policy objectives. Of course working very strongly together with the Americans and where possible with others. But now the crisis in Ukraine shows us how important it is. And I think we were all amazed by how fast we were able to react. Of course now the worry is about the oil sanctions and can we be able in the six sanctions inspections to agree on an oil embargo against Russia and we know that some countries have issues here. But I really hope we can crack that nut, be it a Monday Tuesday in the European Council or as soon as possible after that. Thank you. Moving to you, Roberta Menzola, you just took our as the present of the European Parliament just very shortly before the war in Ukraine. And this of course also has shaped your role as president in the European Parliament. And what we have seen is that what is happening in the periphery or in the proximity of Europe also has huge impact on Europe. This time it was Ukraine. But we also know that the West Balkans are there. So Europe's role is also not only then to become a global player, as Mark Rutte was saying, but isn't it also to export stability in its neighborhood. And there is no ten years since Europe enlarged itself and got Croatia on board. And Europe has created a lot of hope in the West Balkans, Albanien, Nord Macedonia are waiting for your response. And Ukraine also no hope for a European path. What could you say about this? Can Europe walk the talker or are they going to take ten more years before any decisions are made on new member countries? Thanks a lot for having me here. I would never have imagined on the day of my election that this conversation we would be having here has all the multilayered nuances and real existential questions of a post-24th February world. Pre-24th February is not one world we can ever go back to. And I think picking up on what Mark said, that rather than talk about where the decisions are taken but start from what happens in our head, I think we look at the European Union and the European project is a very successful coming together of countries that share fundamental principles, beliefs and fight against autocracy. And anyone who does not believe that democracy is the basis of what we are all in this for, then I think we can really talk about the European Union as being a transformative power politically with successful, very successful enlargements. I come from a country that whose generation campaigned for years to enter the European Union. This is why I entered politics because I wanted my country to hold up those standards and also to offer that protection collectively if something went wrong. And I think if we start from that departing point then for all those countries who share those values and principles and of course enlargements are always difficult, every country has its own path, every country has its own different realities. We're talking about, you mentioned the latest enlargement but also countries that have been for over a decade waiting to be given the hope for the doors to be open but also now this has also fundamentally shifted with the war on Ukraine and the new applications of George and Moldova. And I think the question we need to ask ourselves is are we ready to open our doors for countries that are fighting for the principles that we share? And if we are ready to say yes, then it is not only about economies, it is not only about numbers, it is not only about how many seats and how much power goes in that institution, it is about whether the European Union wants to be the global democratic power in an immediate neighborhood where we have a common adversary. So I think that I would answer that question with now is the time that we are faced with crucial decisions next week but also in the months to come if we are ready to hold that unity going forward then I think we can really show that we are ready to take those decisions that are needed from us. No, thank you so much. I was just also reflecting on the past when new members were invited to the EU. It was also an aspiration for making them stronger democracies and stronger believers in the values that the EU holds there. When Spain, Portugal, Greece were let, what was opened and invited as members, they were not totally perfect democracies at the time but they have no developed into very strong democracies and beacons of this in Europe. So is this now, you think it's a game changer we're faced with also in the EU that the EU will see that if Ukraine is not invited, if the West Balkans are not invited, this will be areas where Russia will then use this as a playground for their way of doing politics and then the EU will regret it ten years later because those problems end on the EU's table and you feel that this momentum is there in the EU now that they can be consensus and can one small country, for example, stop the whole process and was not thinking about Malta. Thanks for that. Well, I think that what we are looking at now with war not in our neighbourhood but in our continent, on our continent, in Europe, where there is a country that has for far too long blackmailed and threatened the rest of the European Union and we, I think for far too long looked away when our colleagues from those countries that border Russia who told us we have a problem, for too long we have dependent on for far too, let's say it was way too easy for us to continue to rely on gas with some countries being 100% reliant. For way too long we did not actually seriously consider creating an energy union where we can rely on each other rather than on a country that could switch us off at any time and of course there are different discussions in different member states, it makes a difference between whether you are on the neighbourhood or with a common border with that country or whether you have invested more in renewables you are further ahead also economically but at the same time what we cannot risk is that we ourselves cause instability in those neighbouring countries because of our failure to act and this is a fear and a concern that I have it is a concern that the European Parliament has and this is a parliament that is very difficult to find majorities, at least of all broad majorities on anything but on this, members of the European Parliament from all countries, bar none, have gotten together and said this is Europe's moment, we did not think that we could do so much during the pandemic we did not think that we could push to the European level our competences over health, we could not think that we are really going to talk about potentially now this is sensitive, opening the treaty up and saying where can we fill the gaps because ten years have passed and we look like we are realising that we are not addressing the problems that we really have and I think that now after the conference on the future of Europe with leaders of our countries that are saying we can do more both from a financial aspect we have done so much during the pandemic are we ready to look at our countries on our neighbourhood and say you are on the path, there are rules that you need to follow once you are in, I link back to your question you need to continue following those rules because we have those countries to tell us it is far harder to get into the European Union and follow the rules than we hold ourselves accountable to and that is a big question that we need to ask ourselves as European Union and Member States and whether all those countries are ready to say we can see Europe as a project for peace I am convinced that this is the moment and if we don't I think we would have failed No, thank you so much that is an extremely interesting point you have to stick to the highest standards to become a member today and if you first became a member you can be more complacent about them and it doesn't necessarily have any impact on you do you even see that members do you think members should be kicked out if they continuously don't stick to the rules short answer and then we will go to Prime Minister of Ireland No, no, Roberta, maybe you can do you think they should be kicked out if they over time neglect what the commission is saying I'm not going to use football analogies and who could be kicked off the playing field I think that I would continue to wish that the United Kingdom was a member of the European Union I really would think that we would be stronger today in the current scenario with the United Kingdom still being a member so I'm not going into who's in and who's out but I'm going to say that our when we talk about rule of law we need to take it seriously and we did not take it seriously we did not even, you know, you asked citizens at elections what rule of law meant in countries they would not, they would either not answer or give you different answers of what they thought it meant we have been extremely strong on the fact that conditionality needs to mean that you cannot disperse funds to countries that are not played by the rules and that they do not get minorities that think that they are above the law and that they think politicians should be protected even if they break it and that's not a question that we that is not something that we will move away from Thank you so we have yellow cards we have red cards and then you also if you get enough red cards you can play for a while Prime Minister Martin of Ireland Roberta just said that this is Europe's moment and for Ireland 50 years for membership this year it's also the country in Europe when I saw the last statistics that the support of the EU is the strongest I think Ireland has benefited a lot from the EU but also has contributed a lot to the EU we are at the historical turning point so where would you like to see the EU moving and also where can, where are the new projects is it in the green transition with freedom fuels is it in the technology field where we know you have been a big player also know with the vision of also microchips and also building a stronger Europe in that sense Yeah well first of all we're celebrating 100 years of an unbroken democracy in Ireland this year and 50 years in terms of accession to the European Union and accession to the European Union was one of the most transformative events in modern Ireland not just economically but in terms of the broader area of public policy liberalisation and self confidence and outward looking nation so it was quite the transformative event in itself and interestingly the Brexit experience has actually if you like developed a stronger pro-European position because people have just looked at Brexit and said no no we don't want that in any shape or form because it hasn't been well planned well prepared with respect to my good neighbours and so on that has not landed well in terms of Irish public opinion in terms of how that was conducted in terms of the future in terms of the green economy in terms of digitalisation but also I would agree with Roberta in terms of enlargement as a country that benefits so much we were one of the poorest countries in Europe before we joined so we know the transformative impact it has on countries so we're very reluctant I am anyway to say to another country you cannot join or you should not join I find that difficult given that we benefited in joining the European Union that's the kind of starting point when I was at the Western Balkan Summit I felt the situation with Albania and North Macedonia is now beyond really comprehension I understand the politics of it and so on but they should be members by now they've done a lot of work and so on like that we cannot complain about Russia's manipulation and geopolitical manipulation if we're not proactive enough in terms of dealing with that by promoting and supporting those who are of a pro-European union disposition in the neighbourhood countries and so we really have to work on that much more proactively than we have because the world simply does not stand still back to Marks playing field if you hang around the pitch too long watching a few goals will go in against you and I think there's that element to what we're about and so you have to keep moving because the world doesn't stop and so that enlargement question is one that's going to loom also the question of power and what do we mean by a superpower I felt, we were talking about this earlier that people have underestimated the European response to COVID-19 I would have been a Minister for Health during SARS in the early 2000s and Europe was not equipped to deal with a potential pandemic then on this occasion the capacity of the commission and member states to pull industry together with member states and become the largest exporter of vaccines in the world and the largest donor and also developing supply chains and the production capacity to make all of that happen was a very significant achievement and likewise in respect of Ukraine the unanimity on the first round of sanctions was something to behold I mean when the prime ministers came together sometimes historically there might have been a view that maybe people will try and roll back some of the sanctions in fact prime ministers said we want to strengthen what's on the table already in a unanimous way and I think that was quite a significant moment in itself and I agree with Mark in respect of the economic potential of Europe but we should do so based on values it's not about being powerful for the sake of being powerful it's about also having a clear set of values basing our relationships on trust with other countries and other areas of the world and we do need stronger alignment between democracies and people who believe in fundamental rights in terms of free media the freedom of the individual freedom of expression all of which are under attack to varying degrees in different countries you actually think that one of the great challenges over the next 50 years will be the continuing if like campaign to hold onto those fundamental values and not compromise on them because we can see the slippery slope in many countries in terms of media control and so forth no thank you so much prime minister beyond comprehension that there is no final agreement on North Macedonia and Albania does the EU need to look also at the right of current members and new members to veto processes to veto processes because everyone has to agree is that something that has to come on the table one question the other one you said it cannot compromise in the EU on the values freedom of speech freedom of press then I'm coming back to my football the cards, the football playing field red cards, yellow cards and all that because let's be frank there are members of the EU today that there are questions raised from many if they are really complying with this that is portrayed as a bit of complacency and you also said prime minister that we have to learn from the approach to Russia maybe we were too complacent on this also on the energy field and etc do you think we're too complacent with those that are not sticking to the rules today and we can regret it more down the road if we keep kicking the can down the road I'm not sure we're kicking it down the road that much longer either I think we need a strong referee I think that is needed with layers of sanctions when I became prime minister my very first EU council meeting was on the next generation and it was quite tough conversations in terms of rule of law and the connection between rule of law and the size and deployment of funds that did happen and that was a very, very serious debate that went in late in the morning so I think actually that change has happened already Berger, if I may say so and I think you are looking at more challenging debates we are already witnessing this in terms of some member states who are seeking the deployment of funds that has been stalled because of these very, very questions but the point about Russia is valid when you look back and you look at Salisbury or you look at the Colonium in London and I watched documentaries on the first one recently and it struck me that was a public health attack on citizens of Europe in the United Kingdom it wasn't just, it was terrible that there were indivisible but there was a wider public health alarm and threat to many, many people and kind of a few diplomats were sent home and that was kind of it and I think that in hindsight when you look back one can indulge too much and we can be too complacent or we can hope that the better side of the country will emerge eventually we cannot take that for granted any longer and we have to be very careful I think of state control of media any attempts by governments no matter who they are to encroach on that independence of media or to target various groups and so forth in society and we do really have to call that out particularly in terms of the freedoms of the LGBTQI community for eksempel where there have been unacceptable moves in member states against people and so on and that's not something we can indulge or be complacent about on the veto rights and yeah we're open even though we've had concerns about some aspects but if Europe is to move and coming out of the conference for Europe I take a more open approach I may have colleagues who may not agree with me we will have a debate internally but we can't stand still is my point and if we enlarge then there are obvious consequences to enlargement in terms of covenants mechanisms by which we make decisions take decisions we have to move with that too no thank you Prime Minister moving now to present of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde the largest market in the history of humankind Europe single market Europe saw quite considerable growth so post COVID but now it is loving after the war Secretary General Stoltenberg said yesterday we have to be willing to pay a price for our freedom we have put trade and access to cheap energy first and not the principles seen from your viewpoint Christine you have lost experience from IMF but also as a minister in France hope to keep the optimism and the progress for Europe if you know see a slowing economy and also higher energy prices hope to keep the European idea and unity alive press something I don't need to press anything thank you very much Morgan and good morning to all of you you know I often ask myself this wonderful European idea is it dawn, dusk or twilight and what can we do about it and what the Ukraine war has revealed to all of us certainly in Europe is that we did not have the right understanding of our large powerful and how strong we are collectively so to also I'm an athlete by background but I'm not a football player but I will still use the football analogy I think it's a good one I think Europe can be at a new dawn of playing a formidable team of players while at the same time acting as a referee I know it's a bit inconsistent but that's okay we've been playing field for long enough and we could actually claim that what the Ukraine war has revealed to all of us is actually the weaknesses of being that open playing field weaknesses in two respects when you look at the global value chains Europe is 20% more opened to global value chains vulnerabilities than any other markets in the world so it's not surprising that the breaking down and the bottlenecks of global value chains affect European companies and us more than others second vulnerability that has been revealed and continues to be revealed by the war in Ukraine is that our sources of energy at large but also our sources of certain minerals that will prove extremely helpful and necessary for the next generation of our energy mix are actually located in countries that are not very friendly and can actually be extremely aggressive and terrible so those two vulnerabilities are two that we had not paid enough attention to now luckily the European commission that I'm not representing here but I would like to give them the credit have identified a list of products where we have vulnerabilities and where we are at risk that's one of the areas where we have to fix vulnerabilities when you're an athlete and part of your body doesn't function you deal with it the second point I'd like to make and that's in response to your question is that as often in Europe united in diversity and rising in adversity we are in that situation of adversity and we need to flex our muscles we do have collective incredible muscles I'll give you a few areas where we actually do that a bit and we can do more in competition policies yes we do take action yes we can actually affect companies that are doing things outside Europe but will have an impact on the European territories we can stop mergers that are taking place in other places if it is going to affect Europe in trade we represent a monumental market that can actually set terms and conditions in negotiations with others in monetary policy it so happens that those 19 countries soon to be joined by two new members you are asking about new members Croatia across fingers should soon be joining the club and Bulgaria is next online so it will soon be 21 countries in one single club by one single currency standards well this is the second international currency in the world it doesn't have the exorbitant privilege of the dollar but it is the second international currency of the world and when monetary policy decisions are made in Frankfurt the rest of the world in financial circles actually pays attention it wouldn't have happened if it had been 19 soon to be 20 and 21 different central banks so when we put our teams together when we treat our vulnerabilities and flex our muscles of course we can act now there are lots of areas where we are not doing as good a job as we should and you alluded to that Mark the service sector within the European Union if only it was in line with the directive that has been approved it would be formidably larger there is a potential of about 390 billion euros that can be deployed and leveraged subsequently when Europe decides to affect as much as it should to defence expenditures under the rules of the NATO club that's another significant add on to GDP and if it was I'm not sure it's desirable but economically we have to measure if it was to return to the cold war times defence spending then that would be a significant add on to that so when the muscles are flexed Europe is an incredible force but we score against our own team occasionally and by just slowing down the process by looking at instead of European national interest eventually we put a little break on our efforts so given the vulnerabilities we have given the war at our doorstep that we have to really take a stand and participate in our own way obviously those muscles I hope will continue to be flexed thank you thank you so much Christine we have to also be willing to flex our muscles we did flex a lot of muscles when it came to fiscal stimulus after and during the pandemic I think globally we launched 14 trillion euros or 13 trillion euros never seen this since the second world war if we now see a clear slowing of the European economy partly based on the geoeconomic situation a slowing China but also based on the war what muscles do we have moving forward to flex to avoid a very slow growth in Europe and high inflation I don't think we will see recession but we might see a stagnflation if we don't get it right okay Borger, I'm not in the business of creating headlines here but what I will say is that in addition to being the largest market in the world we can also be the largest purchaser in the world and the leaders at the European level decide that they are going to possibly have common purchase action and policies when it comes to gas, when it comes to petrol, when it comes to all sorts of minerals that we're going to need in the near future it's a formidable concerted legitimate action we do have concerted actions on the part of the sellers it's about time that the purchasers also have concerted actions I would contend thank you I had to try to create some headlines that's part of my job coming now to Prime Minister Heger Slovakia being also a neighbor with Ukraine you yourself has shown strong leadership and also been very clear on condemning Russia's war Madame Lagarde just said that once in a while we do also score against our own team we maybe have done that in the past when it comes to our approach to Russia Prime Minister of Ireland was mentioning also that we were a bit complacent or were complacent we had many indications that this could come but now there is a war and what is your strategic outlook and aspiration for Europe now based on what we know now how do you look at the transatlantic relations moving forward 80% of NATO's military capacity is outside the EU do we address that elephant in the room inside the EU and where will we see the support inside EU also to continue to support Ukraine when we might see the economy slowing down and populist using this populist that are maybe also using social unregulated media well thank you very much definitely we do address this elephant in the room and please let me give you a perspective of a country from Central Europe and Eastern as it was mentioned first you know we have to realize that Europe is a very unique continent it's diverse and developed and it's a great opportunity at this moment to become not just a leader but a translator in much more areas than it was until now what I mean by that Europe proved over the last two years that it can be very fast it can be decisive and it can be very efficient because look at it from this perspective we have 27 democracies 27 governments 27 parliaments who needed to decide during the pandemic during the energy crisis during the war on Ukraine and decisions that took for years in the last decade during the pandemic it took months and weeks during the war in Ukraine days and hours we were actually able to agree on certain decisions during hours 27 governments 27 parliaments amazing what we conducted and why was it because we understood that the priorities must be shaped in a way unity and cooperation if the priorities are set in this manner then we can be very fast we can actually show the whole world that the most difficult the most diverse and developed continent very active and could be a leader and translator and when we look at the war in Ukraine it wasn't just because the pandemic was about cooperation helping each other so being the solidarity between the countries within but with war in Ukraine we proved the solidarity outside of Europe the fast reaction we as a country next bordering to Ukraine first we came in place we immediately helped with the refugees to Slovakia and it was 400,000 people came to Slovakia across the border 5 million nation, 400,000 70,000 state in Slovakia but immediately I got call from my colleagues hey Edward, how can we help you such a wonderful response the unity that was there and one more thing the energies and the transatlantic the energies we have to realize that also Slovakia is an example that we underestimated the the connection to the Russian oil and gas we basically we basically traded our values for cheap gas and oil for too long there was a decision of a government from 2006 that we need to diversify and we still not there yet but now we are very close to it and we need the solidarity because we were a very reliable partner on transiting the Russian gas for decades to the west now we say we need to disconnect we need to disconnect as soon as possible decision has been made but for this we need the cooperation of the countries because we are landlocked we need the same reliability of the partners around us and we can do it I'm sure we will be able to achieve and one more thing we need to learn from this we have to stop compromising because compromising Putin caused that we have a war in Ukraine aggressive war, people all dying we compromise too long with him and it's such a big lesson to learn for us and the same thing compromising among us and I think the first step to get out of compromising is to be honest to each other that's the first step, we don't have to go immediately into get somebody out of you I think that's the very last step and we should never get there because if we get there we did something wrong in the unity and in the cooperation if we have the priority said right and we keep the priorities we'll never get to that scenario we'll just become stronger and that's what Mark said we are a player we're not playing field and we are the biggest market let's utilize it for the world the world needs it because we can be a translator thank you Prime Minister and thank you Edward thank you also for the solidarity you have shown with the Ukrainian people I know as a neighbor the country of Ukraine and also deep understanding of the West Balkans but also on the dynamics in your region I guess you also have thought through what can the next steps be from Mr Putin because I think we think no there is of course no more question for Rapposhamal the genie is out of the bottle and we are acting accordingly but also for someone that knows Russian history and Russian thinking and I think we both have dealt a lot with Russia for decades there are always some new surprises possibly around the corner Transnistria for example Moldova in the West Balkans so where do you think the next trouble will come and already are we to move very fast as you underlined in the most diverse and developed part of the world and the trend center first of all it's not going to be a trouble it's going to be a challenge we need to look at the troubles as challenges because right now look at the last decade we had crisis 2008 2011 and then we had very good years of growth this decade will be different we had huge crisis so many in such a short time and there are other challenges still facing because it was such a shock to the whole world to the democratic world woke up our values waking up us whether we are truthful to these values so that's the first thing we need to understand it's challenges we have to be very I would say offensive and please understand me correctly with Putin we were too defensive for too long we have to be bold democratic world must be bold and show this is the best way of living to the whole world and we will show you by action and the action is we will support Ukraine they must win we will support them with humanitarian aid but also military aid because they defending themselves they shedding their own blood for our values if Ukraine fails Slovakia is next we don't want to allow that and I believe you will help us not to happen so that's why we need to help them to win we need to give them hope they need hope these people are fighting every day not for a week for months every day wake up and you must be tired of it but you have to fight so they need our hope and they want to work as hard we as Slovakia almost missed the train to European Union in 1998 the government changed and we were able to catch up we are one of the last countries that joined European Union and it caused such a transformation just like Prime Minister of Ireland said Michael and we experienced how much it helped us let's provide this to any country but reforms and investments must go hand in hand the country must understand you wanna be part of EU please accept our principles accept our rules and work with us will help you but you must meet the criteria Ukraine is very willing to meet the criteria they don't want to lower the criteria they want our help so let's provide it to them and the same goes with western Balkans to any country we will help you we will help you to be ready once you are ready you join let's not give them timelines of decades why? if they work hard we were able to catch up we were able to catch up with Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary and we were missing two years the European Commission came and helped us we are the example that it works so let's give the same example to Ukraine let's help them to Georgia, to Moldova I think they can prove how fast they can achieve it and once they do, once they meet the criteria be welcome I'm speaking in general principles but I really believe that this is the great opportunity for us and we have to we have to be bold, hard working and committed and we'll succeed definitely we'll succeed thank you Prime Minister what a fascinating panel I feel very privileged to be a moderator here I know we could continue for a long time we have a few minutes left I was thinking Mark going back to your opening picture about not being the playing field or not being played but start to be a real player and G1 was even launched but coming back to being a real power playing this economic aspect Europe is the largest market in the world but to my point about 80% of the military capacity in NATO is outside the EU can that continue like that? can your EU be a real player if it doesn't also have the military strength in such a polarized world will it happen and do we have talked a lot about the risk from the east but we also know that some actors say that the big political risk that we are faced with is the polarization in the United States of America Well first of all the basis of all of this has to be our economy and I very much agreed with Christine that we still have a large untapped potential in the internal market particularly in the area of services and there was a report I think by the European Parliament a couple of years ago the cost of non-Europe and the cost of non-Europe was the then size of the Russian economy was added to the collective of the European economies the size of the Russian economy not them joining obviously but collectively as 27 creating more economic power between 1.2 and 1.5 billion euros the size of the Russian economy if you would have the services market as part of our internal market and luckily we have now agreed on the digital services act digital markets act but it has to be implemented so I just wanted to emphasize that point and of course our national reforms, pensions housing market, labor market that will untapped the potential at the national level as the only way really to become a powerful at the world states to your question I believe there is no problem in the world for the next 50 to 100 years we can solve without the United States they are so powerful and I'm so happy that we are in that transatlantic relationship but you are completely right in what you are basically implying with your question we cannot leave the bill to them we have to pay our part for ourselves we are at this moment 50% of the complete total economy Canada, US, European Union we are 50% they are 50% they are now paying 75% to bill we are paying 25% to bill that is completely unsustainable and I'm so happy that after this horrible invasion we all decided to step up our defence spending we already had committed in January to 3 billion extra we have now committed to another 2.2 or 2.4 billion extra so that will mean an extra 40% defence spending bringing us in 2024 to the 2% what Germany did what all the others are doing and that is crucial because yes that bond is we are inseparable in NATO from the US and they are inseparable from us because there is also in their interest that we stay independent and connected to the US and that Russia and others are not gaining power over us it's also a crucial strategic interest for the United States but we have to pay our part of the bill here Trump was right when he emphasized this in 2018 in the NATO summit Obama started this with the well splash in 2014 they were right I'm happy we are now fulfilling that and it's the only way to also become next to a soft power you also have to be a hard power so last question to you Mark, Prime Minister Martin said it's beyond comprehension that we are not giving a clear answer to North Macedonia and Albania do you agree? Completely and this is really an issue North Macedonia and Albania have worked for years to gain candidate status for years my country was extremely reluctant for many years and we agreed in 2019 with all the others to grant candidate status to Albania and North Macedonia now it is being blocked not on Albania but on North Macedonia and most of us couple the two together but here I think we also have to be very precise how we deal with Ukraine accession wish and Moldova in Georgia over the next 3 or 4 months take Bosnia Bosnia at this moment does not have candidate status it has the perspective of candidate status and still has to fulfill 14 task before they can move from prospective candidate to candidate so I think we have to take all of this into account when we discuss what the commission will come up with is the avi on Moldova Georgia and of course on Ukraine I asked Ursula von der Leyen to be brutally honest with us on the plusses and the minuses of these 3 countries and then to have a very thorough debate but we cannot have that debate in the European Council without thinking of the western Balkans and stability in that part of the European Union it has to be also part of our discussions thank you I can now give the 4 remaining remaining panelists one minute and then we will end on time so Roberta going to you one minute one thought I am increasingly faced by journalists asking questions about using the words face saving appeasement how can we title this over so that we can move on my answer is this is not the time to talk about face saving for Russia this is not the time to talk for appeasement it is the time where we have to put all our efforts all our efforts no using of legal arguments lack of political will excuses for Ukraine not to win this war this is I think the thread that we will see throughout all the meetings that we have not only this day but in the next few days they think after the European Council next week I do not want to hear the word appeasement I do not want to hear the word appeasement so thank you Madam President Prime Minister I would strongly agree with that and I think what has happened at this moment in time it is not just the political leadership across Europe but the people of Europe have said enough is enough in respect of Russian aggression the idea that big countries have spheres of influence and that smaller states don't have the right to make their own political choices and decision making in terms of whatever group they wish to join is completely unacceptable and people have said very clearly enough is enough I think we have to double down ourselves within the European Union in terms of strengthening our capacities but also and it has been mentioned here in terms of leveraging our economic power but also doing things creatively I like what we are doing in Africa in respect of health at long last we are putting strategic investment to give African countries the capacity to develop mRNA technology not just in respect of vaccines but in terms of other medicines to technology transfer but to building up know how and real capacity on the ground in Africa and we have to trust in ourselves to build on those relationships which will take time and there will be ups and downs and we feel let down from time to time but you just have to keep at it because the long haul works and we just have to if we have a clear guiding star and our values are that then I think we will be a very strong player in the best sense of that concept to bring good to the world not to control the world not to dominate, not to be naive either but really to change the dial in terms of quality of life in terms of hunger and starvation and so on and to give economic capacity to less develop regions within the world in the context of a strong proactive relationship with the European Union Thank you Prime Minister a player that are arguing for compliance with the UN Charter that might be a good idea Madame Lagarde I think it's really time for Europe to play team to flex muscles and I can think of five areas where we can be a formidable power I've mentioned the purchasing power I would mention the trading power we are the top trading partner of 80 countries in the world and that is power we are a formidable technology power why is Airbus winning the race? because we've put our strength our innovation capacity together and I would add that we are a pension power you know we always talk about the financial power of Japan when it uses its pension funds we have incredible pension resources and capacity that could be deployed on a much broader basis and if we played as a team and I would finally add that we have to be that moral power that puts values ahead of some of the gains and the savings that we have focused too much here and there in the past thank you Christine Prime Minister Hegger moral power thank you very much my colleagues I mean great thoughts that you shared just now and so I'll just add you know the founders of European Union they had a great vision great dream and they wanted us to live in peace and in a high quality of life and they knew that to reach this we need to be faithful to basic principles freedom, rule of law human dignity equal rights and when you look at these values you might think easy well in everyday life we know that's not easy at all and they knew as well we know that democracy is not for granted we know now that peace is not for granted so basically I think the recipe is let's be faithful to our values everyday in every our decision that we make let's compare the decision to these values let's check it whether we are in line with these values and please let's not compromise because the comfort that we live gets us easy as stray gets us away from these values we stick to these values we're faithful to these values I'm sure we'll do the right decisions and I'm sure we'll be so attractive for the whole world, thank you I think I'm talking on behalf of all the people that have listened to this panel I think we got even more optimistic on behalf of European leadership it's been a pleasure sharing this panel a panel that I think you said and I know you all are faithful to our European values so thank you so much