Prime Minister Kaja Kallas: if Europe is united and strong, Estonia will also be strong

The year 2022 stands out as a watershed moment for Europe. This has been a turning point for the European Union. Russia's unjustified war against Ukraine has made us act more united than ever contrary to Russia's aims. The strength of the European Union and Estonia lie in unity" said Prime Minister Kaja Kallas before the Riigikogu. The Prime Minister said that the European Union and Estonia as a member have been at the forefront of supporting Ukraine and opposing Russian aggression. We have supported Ukraine economically, militarily, diplomatically and with humanitarian aid. The European Union has also imposed sanctions to stop the Russian war machine and secure Ukraine's victory.

The Prime Minister noted that the European Union is a union of member states based on shared values and capabilities, which is also the main security guarantee for the internal and external peace for Estonia and Europe. "In 2022, we have opened the path to the European Union for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, started accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania, and we hope to see a decision on the status of the candidate country for Bosnia and Herzegovina soon. We look forward to Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia joining the Schengen area," said Kallas. "Adherence to these promises is becoming more and more important over time, as the impact and significance of the decisions we have made since February grows every day," the Prime Minister noted, adding that none of these decisions would have been made as quickly as if there had been no war. "War requires quick decisions. War requires bold and forward-looking decisions. This is something that Russia did not take into account," said Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.

"High inflation is directly due to the war started by Russia, and most of our concerns today are inevitably related to the war in one way or another," the Prime Minister noted. "The Russian war has also forced investments in renewable energy to be accelerated, making the achievement of climate goals even more important, and the European Union's decisions to abandon Russian energy sources are remarkable," added Kallas. "Fortunately, economic prosperity can be decoupled from fossil fuels and we should remember that renewable energy is also a profitable energy, which brings us energy security and independence and favourable prices," said Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.

"The government has developed an action plan to accelerate the use of renewable energy, but concrete and responsible choices must be made already by the new government and the Riigikogu," said Kallas. The Prime Minister emphasised that European Union funds play a significant role in investing in Estonia's growth - supporting a fair transition in Ida-Viru County with more than 350 million euros and more than 3 billion euros to achieve climate goals.

"The 24th of February of this year will forever unite the aspirations of the Estonian and Ukrainian people for freedom and independence. The anniversary is also the darkest hour of our generation, when not only the Ukrainian War of Independence began, but it also means a full-scale war for a world order and Europe based on rules, values and justice," the Prime Minister noted. "The beginning of a full-scale war on 24 February was a turning point for Europe, which has made us more united and created more solidarity than ever before. I hope that 2022 will be looked back as the year that brought out the best in us in terms of security and economic policy, because our actions today define our way of life, freedom, prosperity and security tomorrow. If Europe is united and strong, Estonia will also be strong," said Prime Minister Kallas.

Full text of Prime Minister's speech: https://valitsus.ee/en/news/speech-prime-minister-kaja-kallas-riigikogu-implementation-eu-policy

Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/stenbockimaja/albums/72177720303894381/with/52516764050/