Attended by 1.300 guests from 63 countries, the 18th edition of the international Globsec 2023 Bratislava Forum took place from May 29th to May 31st, touching three main topics: continuing Western support for Ukraine with weapons; the resilience of Europe facing war on the continent – hence the need to strengthening NATO; and the conflict’s global consequences, from the economy to energy, to welfare. One of the main conference’s takeaways concerned the War in Ukraine: without justice, there cannot be peace. Global security and transatlantic cooperation were high on the agenda as well. On the conference’s first day, Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová addressed the topic of disinformation and the challenges this causes to democracy worldwide. The Slovak Head of State pointed out the sanction’s effectiveness on EU Members’ reactions vis-à-vis the war in Ukraine.
An issue the European Commission’s President, Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Parliament’s President, Roberta Metsola reflected on. Both agreed that the Russian war has strengthened Europe and brought Western and Eastern Europe closer. However, tomorrow’s EU must be governed by vision, resilience, and unity. Globsec 2023 conference head Robert Vass highlighted that the global future is being decided in Central Europe. He also praised ordinary Ukrainians for their remarkable courage. After all, acts of aggression cannot be unanswered: and peace can be just only if Ukraine’s territorial integrity is restored. On a first panel, Ukrainian Deputy PM Olha Stefanishyna affirmed her government is steering the country toward the EU. She addressed specific processes and measures to achieve these goals, especially reporting on the efforts to fight against corruption. Later, Stefanishyna met with Slovak PM Ľudovít Ódor, who reassured her about Slovakia’s support for Ukraine.
Future EU ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová also highlighted Ukraine’s progress since 2014 in the judiciary, stressing the establishment of anti-corruption institutions. Slovak Parliament vice-chair – and leader of Progressive Slovakia, the third party in the country – Michal Šimečka stated that Ukraine’s membership in the EU would be beneficial to everyone. On another panel, during a conversation with his Austrian and Czech counterparts – Alexander Schallenberg and Jan Lipavský – Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Wlachovský too affirmed that Ukraine needs a just peace. If Moscow is not interested in talks, the path to peace will be decided on the battlefield, and our support for Kyiv, the Minister stated, remains crucial. No one in Slovakia wishes to have Russia or a Moscow-installed regime in Ukraine; thus, providing Ukraine with military aid is in Slovakia’s and the whole region’s interest – something the Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau agreed upon.
While all NATO Members should meet the commitment of the two percent of GDP threshold on defence, the Estonian ex-president Kersti Kaljulaid stressed that a lasting peace should have been achieved in Ukraine as early as 2014 and that NATO’s eastern flank needs to be reinforced as much as possible. Finally, on May 31st, after a meeting with President Čaputová, French President Emmanuel Macron, addressed Globsec 2023. He started by saying that Russia is once again trying to undermine the unity and security of Europe – “we will not let Europe be kidnapped a second time”. In fact, what is happening in Ukraine today is not just a European issue, but a question of international order and world peace. The EU must be on Kyiv’s side and it must continue to concretely support it. There is just one peace: a peace that respects international law, based on credible guarantees.
Amedeo Gasparini
(Published on amedeogasparini.com)