00:00People in the Baltic countries have been experiencing what many believed belonged to another area.
00:08Air raid alerts, families sheltering, schools closing, transport interrupted.
00:17This is the reality on Europe's eastern border in 2026.
00:22Today it's here. Tomorrow it will be elsewhere along the eastern border.
00:28And we must be clear about what it means.
00:32These are not isolated incidents.
00:36This is a deliberate strategy from Russia, trying to destabilize our democratic societies.
00:44But very much like on the battlefields of Ukraine, Russia is failing.
00:50As before, when it weaponized migrants and pushed them through the border,
00:54once again, I want to praise the resilience of the Baltic people.
01:02You have responded with calm and responsibility,
01:07and with a clear message to Russia.
01:10We will prevail.
01:13Europe stands in full solidarity and unity with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
01:20Because when Baltic states are being tested, Europe as a whole is being tested.
01:28I want to shed a light on four points.
01:33The first is readiness.
01:36On top of their significant national efforts,
01:41the Baltics will receive an additional 12 billion euro through SAFE.
01:47We have already signed Lithuania's SAFE plan,
01:51and we are ready to sign with Estonia and Latvia anytime.
01:56We are investing right now in anti-drone capabilities,
02:00advanced air defense,
02:03and the protection of critical infrastructure.
02:08Besides that, we have already selected 16 new projects under the European Readiness Flagships,
02:15from the Eastern Flank Watch to the European Air Shield.
02:21And I'm very glad to see Baltic companies contributing to these projects.
02:26Your cutting-edge expertise in cyber defense and counter-drone systems
02:33is instrumental for the whole of Europe.
02:37I also want to mention the role of cohesion policy.
02:41In our mid-term review, we opened, actually for the first time ever,
02:47cohesion funds for defense-related expenditure.
02:52And thus, we have redirected 1.5 billion euro across the Baltic states
02:59for defense preparedness, border surveillance, and economic security.
03:04So, basically, we have adapted our existing tools
03:09to the new realities on the ground,
03:12and we will follow the same approach in the next long-term budget.
03:18My second point is on the need to bridge our preparedness gaps.
03:24These incidents have exposed vulnerabilities.
03:28Preparedness must be the organizing principle
03:32for the resilience of our societies,
03:35our economic policies,
03:37and, of course, for our security architecture.
03:41And the Eastern member states will set the standards.
03:47Because what you are experiencing today,
03:50the rest of Europe could face tomorrow.
03:54So, we will bridge the gaps systematically,
03:58starting with more unified alert systems
04:02and improved cross-border coordination.
04:06The Eastern Flank Watch flagship must become a central pillar
04:10of Europe's security architecture.
04:14We must also better connect national systems,
04:17for example, with Copernicus and Galileo.
04:20It would allow better information sharing across borders
04:24and early warning capacity.
04:29We could initiate, of course, in full coordination with NATO,
04:35a comprehensive assessment of existing counter-drone
04:40and early warning systems across the region,
04:43so that we can identify critical gaps together
04:48and then accelerate the support where it is most needed
04:52and fill these gaps.
04:55My third point is on integrating Ukraine
04:58into Europe's defense industrial strategy.
05:02It will complement our own European flagship air defense projects
05:09because Ukraine's battlefield experience
05:11is helping our own defense adaptation.
05:16It's in our strategic interest to deepen the coordination
05:19on next-generation defense technology
05:23so that we can produce more,
05:25we can produce better,
05:27and, of course, smarter.
05:29Our objective is very clear.
05:32Together, Europe and Ukraine must build
05:36the industrial capacity to out-innovate our adversaries.
05:42And finally, I would like to reflect together
05:45on a broader strategic lesson.
05:48Unfortunately, today, hybrid and cyber attacks,
05:52foreign interference and disinformation
05:54are appearing regularly.
05:58Member states facing such threats
06:01should be able to count on European solidarity.
06:06And this is why I believe that Europe should develop
06:08a protocol for such hybrid situations.
06:12It would enable rapid mobilization
06:14of all available EU instruments,
06:17because, after all,
06:19deterrence is the best strategy to preserve peace.
06:23So let's stay vigilant and let's stay united.
06:27Thank you very much.
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