The European Union must strengthen its resilience and security capacities through closer cooperation with transatlantic partners and increased investments in defense in order to respond to contemporary challenges. This was one of the key takeaways from the panel “Europe’s Moment of Truth: Can the Union Act Strategically?” held at the 2BS Forum, where European experts and officials discussed resilience, security, and growing challenges in the European environment.
Thorsten Benner, Director of the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi), emphasized that Europe remains under constant pressure and continues to be tested:
“We can learn a lot from countries that have undergone transitions since 1989. Our colleagues from the Baltic states often say they are not doing enough for security, while in Germany we are still debating what needs to be done. Nonetheless, we are on the right path to rebuilding resilience,” Benner said.
When asked why European countries were previously unprepared for security challenges, Benner responded:
“Preparing for war is never a desirable goal, but we must be ready in order to prevent conflict from spilling over onto NATO territory. We can learn a great deal from Ukraine, which has adapted quickly, while our procurement systems remain slow. The drone incidents have shown we still don’t have effective ways to deal with such threats.”
He added that it is essential to work on different aspects of resilience to ensure Europe is prepared for future challenges.
Megi Fino, Deputy Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania, highlighted the importance of the credibility of transatlantic partners:
“What connects us even more closely is the credibility of the United States. For Albania, this is natural, we have always looked to the West. We strongly support European integration in the region and focus on comprehensive domestic reforms to overcome obstacles. But we also need credibility from the European side,” Fino said.
She stressed the need for unity and resilience among the countries of the region:
“It’s not enough to just express concern, we must demonstrate that we can overcome challenges through joint efforts.”
She added that the EU enlargement process is not only political, but also highly technical. According to her, there must be willingness to enlarge both from candidate countries and from EU member states:
“I believe the time is now,” she said.
Marek Kohv, Head of the Security and Resilience Programme at the International Centre for Defence and Security (ICDS) in Estonia, stated that NATO’s response to recent drone incidents was both adequate and timely:
“The drones that entered Polish airspace and the Russian aircraft that violated Estonian airspace are different types of incidents. NATO responded swiftly and decisively in Estonia, Italian, Swedish, and Finnish fighter jets reacted immediately.”
Kohv emphasized that the Baltic states have been facing Russian provocations for decades and that the increasing frequency of such incidents requires additional attention:
“We must understand that Russia is attacking Europe and our internal security. That’s why it’s essential to invest in police and security service capabilities.”
Péter Sztáray, State Secretary for Security Policy and Energy Security at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, stressed the need to balance social spending with investments in defense:
“Hungary is developing in a pro-European direction when it comes to defense. Europe currently lacks the capacity to independently ensure full resilience, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t build our own capacities,” Sztáray noted.
He added that the long-term presence of U.S. forces in Europe is vital for the continent’s security:
“Europe cannot defend itself from any direction on its own. While many countries have significantly increased defense spending over the past decade, without U.S. support, we do not have a sustainable deterrence system.”
Sztáray stated that Hungary’s position is that the country should focus on its own defense first, and only then support Ukraine.
Speaking on EU enlargement, he noted that candidate countries face demanding conditions that must be met in order to join the Union:
“Montenegro, Albania, and other countries must meet serious requirements for accession. Ukraine, which has been a candidate country for two years, has not yet opened accession negotiations because much remains to be done and it is at war. So, it’s difficult to imagine opening negotiations with a country at war. Many things will change once peace is achieved, but until then, it’s impossible to seriously discuss EU membership”, the Hungarian State Secretary concluded.