“A victory for Ukraine means the defence of the democ­ratic order of freedom”.

Over 30 guests from politics, academia and civil society discussed at the Centre for Liberal Modernity’s inter­na­tional conference “Ukraine and Us: What does Russian aggression mean for Europe?” held on 11 October 2023 in Berlin with more than 160 inter­na­tional experts.

“Supporting Ukraine is in the best interests of the democ­ratic world” (Ralf Fücks)

The conference took place only a few days after  Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel. “The two wars have more to do with each other than might appear at first sight. [...] They attack the normative inter­na­tional order and defy all civilised norms,” said Ralf Fücks in his welcoming speech. “If Putin succeeds with his imperial policy of violence towards Ukraine, the next war is only a matter of time. The author­i­tarian poten­tates and violent powers every­where will receive a boost. Supporting Ukraine with all our might is in the best interests of the democ­ratic world. [...] It is about a Europe of freedom from Lisbon to Luhansk, to use Annalena Baerbock’s formula.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also quoted this formula from Foreign Minister Baerbock in his key note at the opening of the conference and went on to say the following with regard to the threat of new aggression from Russia: “I don’t want to sound ominous, but we must all under­stand what is at stake. This war is about so much more than Ukraine. [...] In times of peace, Ukraine is the gateway to Europe. This gate can be opened to allow the movement of people, goods, capital and services. But the gate is closed to those who have come with the sword.”

“The EU must open its doors to countries like Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia” (Marieluise Beck)

In her welcoming speech, Marieluise Beck also warned urgently against an “appeasement policy” towards Russia and pleaded in favour of Ukraine’s rapid accession to the EU: “Yes, the EU must open its doors to countries such as Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, because the larger and more united the EU is, the less total­i­tarian states can blackmail us and destroy the value-based order and inter­na­tional law.”

Conference with 30 inter­na­tional experts on seven panels

At the conference, 30 experts from Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Moldova, Georgia, the UK, Romania, Germany and the USA joined 160 partic­i­pants from politics, academia and civil society on seven panels to discuss the processes that made the war possible and the conse­quences for Europe — and to draw conclu­sions for the future European security order.

The individual panels covered a wide range of topics from recon­struction and energy security in Ukraine to the question of how Russia can be held accountable for war crimes, and the next steps on the path to EU accession for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.

Take-aways from the conference

What conclu­sions can be drawn after the conference? “Don’t under­es­timate Ukraine’s strength and deter­mi­nation,” said Ralf Fücks in his closing remarks, “Ukraine has decided to take the path to real freedom, democracy and Europe. That is an enormous strength. [...] How far Ukraine will go depends crucially on us. It’s not just about solidarity, but supporting Ukraine is an investment in our own security, in our democracy. [...] The opponents of liberal democracy feel strong because they think we are weak, because they think we are fearful and afraid of conflict. This is not a plea for a new militarism, but a plea to respond with strength, trusting that democ­racies are stronger than their author­i­tarian opponents.”

Here are the reports on the individual panels: