Gitanas Nausėda took part in the public debate “In Defense of Europe” together with Polish President Andrzej Duda, North Macedonian President Stevo Pendarovski, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares Bueno, and Belarusian democratic leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
“Russia’s war against Ukraine, which has been going on for almost a year now, has changed the whole world, threatening the international rules-based order, food and energy security, and global trade. The outcome of this war will determine the future of Europe, which is why we share a common duty to support Ukraine by all means—first and foremost military, but also political, economic, financial, and humanitarian. Assistance to Ukraine has to be sustainable, long-term and closely coordinated between the EU and NATO,” the President said.
Gitanas Nausėda stressed that although in recent years European countries have been steadily increasing their defense budgets, today’s security situation calls for even faster increases.
“Russia’s war in Ukraine has exposed not only Europe’s strengths, but also the areas that need urgent and focused attention from all Europeans. We need to strengthen and accelerate the development of our defense industry in order to fill the gaps that have opened up. The threats from Russia will not go away, whatever the outcome of the war and whenever it ends,” President Gitanas Nausėda spoke.
The Lithuanian leader underlined that the NATO summit in Vilnius July this year is expected to reach an agreement among the Allies on a commitment to increase defense spending. “European countries must keep their promises to increase defense investment and modernize their armed forces. This is what our strategic reality demands. 2% should be the floor for defense funding, not the cap,” the President added, pointing out that Lithuania has increased its 2023 defense budget to 2.5% of GDP.
Speaking on the security of Europe, the Lithuanian President stressed that the transatlantic defense alliance—NATO—was and would remain its cornerstone.
“The North Atlantic Alliance has no alternative. The transatlantic bond is irreplaceable and has to be strengthened. The stronger each link in the Alliance is, the more secure Europe and the Euro-Atlantic area will be. Synergy of action must be our goal in EU-NATO security and defense cooperation,” the President said at the “In Defense of Europe” debate.
The Lithuanian leader also noted that the security of Europe was not and could not be measured only by weapons and military power.
“Europe’s success will be measured by the steps that countries take to end their dependence on Russia, especially on its energy resources. Success will be measured by the steps we take to rebuild Ukraine, to extend sanctions against Russia, to demand accountability for war crimes,” Gitanas Nausėda spoke at the Davos World Economic Forum.
