The Prime Minister began his speech with a quote from Jacques Delors, who led the European Commission from 1985–1995, from the days of the fall of the Berlin Wall: “History is accelerating. We must accelerate as well.” “Today, Europe needs the same kind of acceleration,” said Michal. Michal said that hard choices must be made, political courage and unity must be shown to avoid treating Europe’s concerns with cosmetic changes.
Michal emphasised that Estonia has acted with determination in ensuring its defence readiness and resilience and expects the same approach from the European Union as a whole: “We need joint action to kick-start Europe’s defence industry and fill the critical gaps in capabilities. The White Paper on the future of European defence, to be published within the first 100 days of the new Commission, must contain specific proposals on this. We’ve suggested the introduction of defence bonds for this. Access to finance for defence companies must also be improved. The role of the European Investment Bank as a financier of defence capabilities needs to grow, including by enabling the financing of fully defence-related projects.”
The Prime Minister reminded the audience that the outcome of the war in Ukraine will also determine the future of Europe, which is why we must support Ukraine until victory. “We can't stop halfway. The victory plan presented by President Zelensky contains the elements necessary for victory and for the implementation of Ukraine’s ten-point peace formula. Estonia supports this plan. It can be done,” emphasised Michal. He said that we must maintain the ambition and pace of EU enlargement by supporting the European integration of Ukraine, Moldova and other pro-European countries and by honestly drawing the attention of countries that have deviated from European values to the consequences of such steps.
Michal recalled that 79% of the exports and 87% of the imports of Estonia are linked to countries of the European Economic Area, and the functioning of the EU internal market is as important for us as restoring Estonia’s economic growth. “We must find and implement agreements to increase the competitiveness of the European economy with the same determination we showed as we acted together in the EU to fight Covid and the energy crisis, and support Ukraine,” the Prime Minister said. “Estonia’s four main goals are a simple and efficient business environment on the internal market, a level playing field for businesses regardless of the wealth of their home countries, the development of clean technologies and cross-border infrastructure without which the single market cannot function.” He added that the effective solutions tried and tested in the business environment in Estonia should also reach the EU level, as was the case with the digital identity back in the day. According to Michal, green technologies also need to be transformed into a source of growth and competitiveness to achieve climate neutrality in a cost-effective way for the economy.
The Prime Minister also touched on infrastructure projects important to our region, such as the synchronisation of the Baltic electricity systems with continental Europe, the creation of new energy connections between Estonia and Finland and Latvia, and Rail Baltic. Michal said he was pleased that this year, Rail Baltic became a real construction project and by the end of the year, more than 70 km of the main line will be under construction. “It’s important to have trains running from Tallinn to Warsaw by 2030,” emphasised the head of government.
The full speech of the Prime Minister on the European Union can be found here (in Estonian): https://www.valitsus.ee/uudised/peaminister-kristen-michali-kone-euroopa-liidu-poliitika-prioriteetidest-riigikogus-5
The English translation of the speech can be found here: https://www.valitsus.ee/en/news/prime-minister-kristen-michals-speech-european-union-policy-priorities-riigikogu-november-5
Photo: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBQDnD
