Czech President Petr Pavel opened the conference Europe as a task in the Spanish Hall of Prague Castle, where he stressed the need for a strong and self-sufficient Europe.
"Europe should be defensible, competitive and operational," said the President, adding that the EU must be strong externally and internally to defend and promote its interests.
Pavel also stressed the need for debates on increasing defence budgets: "I consider the debate over increasing defense budgets to be inevitable." The key, however, remains the efficient use of resources: "But the key question is how we will use the funds to strengthen real defence capabilities." He added that it is not enough to have a well-equipped army, but that "the real strength of any society is first and foremost the people, their will to defend their way of life."
The conference focuses on topics such as European competitiveness, support for Ukraine, European security, EU enlargement and the future of global trade.
Speakers included Sauli Niinistö, Special Adviser to the President of the European Commission and former President of Finland, and Teresa Ribera, Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Clean, Fair and Competitive Transition. The programme also included a panel discussion on "The Path to Prosperity in a Changing World", featuring Jozef Sikel, Commissioner for International Partnerships at the European Commission, Luuk van Middelaar, Director of the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics, Anders Ahnlid, Director of the National Board of Trade Sweden, and Vesela Cerneva, Deputy Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations.
CPR/gnews.cz - GH
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