Panel 1: Lessons learnt? The war as a moment of truth for Europe
In view of the threat of aggression from violent powers and attacks on international law, to what extent should the war against Ukraine be seen as a “turning point” for Europe? And what conclusions must European policymakers draw? After a contribution from Timothy Garton Ash, the panel of Olha Stefanishyna, Robin Wagener, Karolina Wigura and Andrius Kubilius explored these questions.
“Europe must do more — militarily, but above all economically, socially and politically” (Timothy Garton Ash)
Timothy Garton Ash, Professor of European Studies at the University of Oxford, put it in a nutshell in his video message: “Europe needs to do more, including to persuade the US to stay engaged with its crucial role in military support. We need to do more militarily, [...] but above all economically, socially and politically.” In order to create an intact, free and post-imperial Europe in this new era, reconstruction, reforms and Ukrainian successes on the road to EU membership could not wait until after the war, but must take place directly and consistently.
Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, and Karolina Wigura, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Liberal Modernity, emphasised the importance of remaining focused in the face of all challenges and not losing sight of the most important goal: winning the war.
“The ‘turning point’ must be an awakening” (Robin Wagener)
Andrius Kubilius, Member of the European Parliament and former Prime Minister of Lithuania, also cited Ukraine’s NATO membership as a very important point. “Our biggest mistake was that we left Ukraine in a grey zone of security,” said Kubilius.
“The ‘turning point’ must be a wake-up call. This must go hand in hand with the defence of our own strategic interests,” said Robin Wagener, Member of the German Bundestag (Alliance 90/The Greens), “our strategic interest is to support Ukraine as strongly as possible. The victory of Ukraine means the defence of the democratic order of freedom.”
At the end of Panel 1, Ralf Fücks stated: “We must not let our policies be guided by fear. A collapse of the Russian regime harbours dangers. But the dangers of a successful Russian aggression would far outweigh these risks. The answer cannot be appeasement, but must be deterrence.”
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