In her speech at the award ceremony, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas stressed that we must continue to do all we can to end Russian aggression and help Ukraine win. “Some believe that if Ukraine stops fighting, the war will be over. History has proved the opposite. Letting tyranny march through Europe is the road to unfreedom,” said Kallas.
The prime minister quoted Pope John Paul II, saying that if you want peace, work for justice. “There was no justice for victims of Soviet terror after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russian crimes in Ukraine make it brutally clear why accountability matters – unless unpunished, it continues over and over again,” said Kallas.
In her speech, Kallas also highlighted that this year marks the 20th anniversary of Estonia’s accession to the European Union and NATO. “Along the way, our society has undergone enormous change. In the beginning of the 1990s, our GDP was about 3.7 billion dollars. 20 years later, our GDP is ten times higher – about 37 billion dollars. The average salary in Estonia has increased 45 times and the average pension 60 times,” Kallas said. The prime minister added that these impressive figures show that joining the European Union has boosted the economies of the new member states, benefiting Europe as a whole.
In her speech, Kallas also warned against misinformation and various influence operations by the Kremlin. “The frontline of Putin’s so-called shadow war runs through the hearts of our own democracies: universities, parliaments, media and other institutions,” she said. The aim is to create distrust and change our policies, spark domestic divisions, and influence democratic decision-making – including the decisions we make at the ballot-boxes,” Kallas added.
According to Kallas, we live in a world where misinformation, AI-generated content, and fake news are a daily reality. “For example, on the messaging platform Telegram, disinformation is spreading openly and completely unchecked today. Similar due diligence obligations should apply to it as with other very large online platforms, such as Facebook, YouTube, and others,” said Kallas. “In addition to the responsibility of tech companies, our primary goal is to foster intelligent and educated members of society who can successfully navigate a complex information environment. It’s hard to overstate the importance of media and information literacy in today’s world,” the prime minister emphasised.
The prize, named in honour of former German Foreign Minister Walther Rathenau has been awarded by the Walther Rathenau Institute since 2008. Walther Rathenau was a German industrialist, politician, writer, thinker, and in 1922, the foreign minister of Germany, who was assassinated by far-right extremists.
Yesterday, on 19 March, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas also met with Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany, in Berlin to discuss support for Ukraine, the need to increase investments in European defence, and the development of relations between Estonia and Germany. Read more about the meeting here: Kallas in Berlin: either we invest more in defence or risk the future of the free world as a whole
Full text of the speech of Prime Minister Kallas at the Walther Rathenau Prize ceremony: Speech by Prime Minister Kaja Kallas at the Walther Rathenau Prize Ceremony.
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/stenbockimaja/albums/72177720315533330/with/53598594530
