President Ursula von der Leyen was in Prague on Friday, where she received the Czech and Slovak Transatlantic Award granted by GLOBSEC. The award recognises the President's decisive engagement in forging stronger Transatlantic ties.
The award was also granted to the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen. President von der Leyen thanked the organisation for the distinction saying: "I see this prize not only as a celebration of our transatlantic values but as an encouragement to keep believing in the transatlantic partnership, to make it fit for a new era."
Earlier in the day, the President also addressed the GLOBSEC Forum 2024. During her speech, the President commended Central and Eastern Europe for its economic dynamism and competitiveness, but notably for its clairvoyance regarding Russia and Vladimir Putin. "You warned already years ago about Putin's intentions. Well, we should have listened better to Central and Eastern Europe," the President said.
The President made reference to those in Europe that try to minimise the horrors of Putin's invasion: "They blame the war not on the invader but on the invaded; not on Putin's lust for power but on Ukraine's thirst for freedom. So I want to ask them: Would you ever blame Hungarians for the Soviet invasion of 1956? Would you ever blame Czechs for the Soviet repression of 1968?"
And she added: "We speak many different languages, but in no language is peace synonymous with surrender. In no language is sovereignty synonymous with occupation. So those who argue to stop support for Ukraine do not argue for peace. They argue for appeasement and the subjugation of Ukraine."
President von der Leyen touched on what Russia's behaviour means for the EU, especially when it comes to energy security and defence spending.
On energy, the President highlighted how the EU overcame Russia's energy blackmail with the support of partners such as the US and Norway, but also through ambitious initiatives. "We built new infrastructure. We bought energy together to have a strong market power. We invested massively in renewable energy. And we are investing in the fuels of the future, like for example clean hydrogen." And the President highlighted that the EU needs to continue producing more of its own energy, including more renewable and more nuclear energy.
Meanwhile, on defence, President von der Leyen expressed her gratitude for the support of the United States to Ukraine, but she emphasised that Europe has a responsibility to be able to protect itself.
Although much progress has been made in the past two years, it is not enough. "The reality is that even if Europeans take the current security threats seriously, it will take time and massive investment to re-structure our defence industries. Our aim must be to build continent-size defence output," the President said, adding that she will appoint a Defence Commissioner in her new Commission.
The President finished her remarks with an eye on the future, stressing that in the years to come Europeans must give special attention to the security dimension of all its actions, and she insisted that Central Europe's role as a cornerstone of this new approach: "We must think about our Union as intrinsically a security project. And Central Europe has a crucial role to play."
Stronger regional bonds
In the margins of the GLOBSEC Forum, President von der Leyen held several bilateral meetings, notably with the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović; the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić; and the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama.
It was an occasion to take stock of the EU's engagement with the Western Balkans, the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, and the partners' progress in their EU integration path.
