[Music]
what if what if the European Union
didn’t exist well I had a dream a couple
of years ago in fact a nightmare and
those from school number five remember
me sharing it a couple of years ago
the year was 2019 Moscow meeting of
presidents Trump Putin and lepen Britain
had just left the European Union and
Scotland has declared its independence
turkey deal thanks to president
Erdogan’s anger collapsed also due to
the Syrian conflict which escalated the
migrant flows increased to do you in
couple of millions Germany was forced to
close the borders as did Austria France
and other countries Schengen zone
collapsed solvent debt crisis spread
from Greece to Italy Portugal and other
southern Member States of the EU thus
pushing the eurozone to actually come to
end of his existence Donald Trump
President of the United States is
patient but not a very patient man he
was waiting for member states of NATO to
pay their dues and spent 2% for their
defence only few have done so he has
frozen the contribution to the NATO
budget NATO as the organisation started
to lose its clout and importance Russia
seeing the opportunity moved in created
three new frozen conflicts in Europe in
Visa Ghana’s Ventspils
and Narva Latvia Estonia and Lithuania
NATO failed to react as there was no
agreement between Paris Berlin and
Washington on common action incited by
the independence by Scotland and
Catalunya Miroslav dodok a certain
president of Republika Srpska in
bosnia-herzegovina declared his own
independence and was immediately
supported by vladimir putin not only
politically but also financially that in
many ways started a new war in
bosnia-herzegovina
in many ways so many other conflicts
have started their their their way
remembers arrival in 1914 this conflict
very quickly spread to Kosovo and Serbia
which left behind their talks and
started again resuming the confrontation
in the Balkans neither the you know NATO
had any agreement to intervene and the
conflict spread further meanwhile in
Asia
meanwhile in Asia President Trump is is
engaged in big confrontation with China
on trade on South China Sea on
artificial islands on so many other
issues that divide the two there’s one
fat boy next door is in North Korea who
uses the opportunity and fires a missile
to South Korea in this way dragging both
United States and China into a major
conflict a major war escalates in the
Koreas to the extent that is difficult
even to imagine the countries and the
member states ODU close their borders
look inside of themselves start sharing
mistrust towards each other and global
trade rules collapse in the World Trade
Organization Paris climate deals fails
as both China and the United States
failed to reach their commitments the
world descends into the space of chaos
uncertainty and a key economic warfare
and military confrontation well you
would say horrible nightmare what a
dream but it’s only a dream right it
never comes true but who could have
imagined
three years ago that today we would be
saying goodbye to one of the most
precious members of this club United
Kingdom that we are about to start
negotiations with on brexit talks who
would have said three years ago that 1
million people will cross the sea from
Turkey to Greece risking their lives and
fleeing one of the worst conflicts our
world has seen in Syria which until
today was 475
and lives and we’ll try to seek shelter
in Europe the biggest migration crisis
we’ve ever seen since World War two that
was not seen and and expected three
years ago and who could have thought
three years ago that one of our closest
partners indeed at that time strategic
partner and one of the most important
trading partners Russia being the
permanent holder of the seat at the
Security Council mandated together with
others to save God international peace
to save God international law to make
sure you Nations Charter is implemented
to its letter that same country
violating two fundamental United United
Nations Charter rules that of
sovereignty and territorial integrity
and invading a sovereign country who
could have seen that coming and finally
who could have seen that coming three
years ago the very thought that our
closest partner the friend
by all means with whom we share all of
our common values and common interests
United States will start doubting
whether European security is in their
interest whether European Union and its
cohesion is in their interest something
which has defined the post-world War
order is today no longer certain and is
being questioned we’re back to square
one where we have for the again to in
many ways convince our American partners
or in fact one partner in America that
Europe matters that European security is
a part of American civic security that
European future is a part of American
future that only together we can still
in many ways retain the initiative in
the world whether that would be on
global trade or climate change also or
fight against terrorism alone we will
not be able to achieve anything we have
to again convince our partners of that
so you know the dreams have to be
treated carefully sometimes they come
true but in order for them not to come
true
you cannot just sit down relax and lie
in the bed you have to do the action for
think about
for a minute what if the united European
Union did not exist you would have
borders between the countries you would
have visas and and and and controls
coming back the nine million people who
have profited from Erasmus scholarship
and many of you probably will profit as
well would not be able would not have
been able to exchange the education the
culture the language and meet so many
friends across the Europe if European
Union would not exist you would not have
the biggest single trading bloc in the
world the biggest single market which
has which is the main trading partner
for even eighty countries in the world
including Russia China and the United
States if unite if European Union did
not exist you would not have the biggest
development a provider in the world
which every year spends 89 billion euros
for aiding countries in Africa in Latin
America in Asia elsewhere 89 billion as
compared to 30 1 billion spent by the
United States EU is a major soft power
in terms of development humanitarian aid
and peacekeeping if the European Union
did not exist the structural funds and
cohesion funds would not aid the most
faraway and a and privileged regions at
the periphery vertical and the regions
with high unemployment and big economic
difficulties just like the Baltic States
which in many ways throughout the last
13 years every year has received 1/5 of
his budget from EU structural funds and
who funds if you did not exist but how
some of your schools would not be the
internet would not have reached many of
the villages in Lithuania and not would
not have made Lida mania one of the most
connected countries in the world if the
you did not exist you wouldn’t have the
roads that you ride today on and the
quality of the food and the water and
the health which was one of the highest
in the world the gold standard in many
ways in the world if you would not exist
who would have taken the lead in Paris
on the climate change talks and shown
the way to the world and if the you did
not exist who would take care of Kosovo
and Serbia talks today and make sure
that the conflict does not come back to
the Balkans if
you did not exist who would maintain
peace through you for in
bosnia-herzegovina if you did not exist
who would provide microfinance systems
to Ukraine to Georgia to Moldova in many
ways help those countries to reform
themselves in every single day while
fighting corruption while fighting all
the all guarding structures while
fighting in many ways
the enemies of the past the post-soviet
mentality and an legacy who would have
taken who would take such a leadership
in trying to make sure that those
countries transformed themselves and
become European models of scientists
think for a minute if the you did not
exist what we would do alone and and and
and and in a single way paul-henri spark
one of the founders of their opinion
once said there are no big countries in
Europe there are only those who still
did not understood it we are all small
small as beautiful as Irish a as Irish
say it’s true however in order to make
an any meaningful contribution to the
world policy we need to be together
because only together we can actually
make a difference today European Union
accounts for 25% of global trade and 20%
of global population if the demographic
trends persist in 15-20 years we will
account only for 10% of global trade and
8% of global population think about it
this is EU together think about
Lithuania alone I’m not sure how many
zeros you’ll have to put a bit below the
comma in order to compare ourselves to
the growing markets in Asia Latin
America and Africa it is quite clear
that we have to be together of course I
don’t want to say there is no
alternative there is always an
alternative absolutely but the
alternative is much worse and also the
alternative can be actually something
that we have left behind our backs
the alternative is only 24 kilometres
from Vilnius if you drive east and you
reach Belarus the Eurasian Union where
neither human rights
no human dignity no rule of law are
respected when people are fearing for
their future where people are fearing
for their Liberty
you don’t know if you will end up in
prison while walking out in the morning
from your door you saw massive crackdown
in Belarus just a few weeks ago you saw
massive arrests in Russia just few weeks
ago when the protests were raging in all
cities in that country this is something
which I think every litter a nyan in its
in his or hers body understands thanks
God we left that behind we’re no longer
worried that we will end up in prison
that our children will not have an
education that our children have health
we we can even criticize the president
of the country or whoever is we can
create an internet television and make
it even more powerful than the national
broadcaster the one Facebook post in
Lithuania can bring down a minister
think about the power of social media of
youth or this free society that would
not be possible if we were not in the
free European community together with
other nations so what is necessary
indeed is as I said try to save God this
very precious gift which was given to us
by Robert Schumann and Romany 60 years
ago when what they did is they United
two war instruments coal and steel to
provide for peace to provide for
cooperation to provide for free market
and free movement that was a visionary
thing to do the negative and the very
powerful war instruments put together
for the for the purpose of peace so
today we also have to make use of our
vulnerabilities and our weaknesses would
it be brexit would it be our divisions
on migration would it be our
insecurities in terms of terrorist
attacks and cyber threats this is a
weakness but we can turn it into a
strength in many ways which could be the
new mobilizing force for the you to
survive it needs to re-establish its
purpose it needs to understand that it’s
not a bureaucratic project but it’s a
project of peace a project of
cooperation a project of in many ways
exchange we have to rediscover our
leadership
is now at the moment on the way of
renewal in France and Germany in the
Netherlands we already had a very
positive result for Europe a very
positive positive yes for European
project were waiting with big anxiety
the results in France in Germany in the
next few months
other than leadership we want to and we
need to strengthen our foundation
strengthen our immunity
especially vzv the threats like putin’s
russia in the east or islamic sow state
in the south or indeed the radical
forces inside of you you you need to be
more immune you need to be more
resilient to cyber threats to
information warfare to a post truth
reality to alternative facts you have to
be more critically minded you have to be
more smart in order to really understand
what is true and what is not and we need
in many ways to regain our
self-confidence Europeans are extremely
nice people very often very humble
people which is a nice quality but
sometimes we’re too humble sometimes we
need to understand that we have reasons
to be happy and very much proud of
Europe and proud of the European project
so many people in the world do not have
this opportunity neither to travel
freely not to feel as normal citizens of
the world but also they don’t have you
even access to water they don’t have
access to a safe food forget about
access to education and health system so
this is something which we have and we
take it for granted but we need to make
sure to safeguard it in order not to
lose it and here the self-confidence of
our American friends can come in handy
and probably we should not forget one of
the sayings which in many ways define
the American nation which I always found
very inspiring when I was studying and
living there and that is that united we
stand and divided we fall
so let us stand united and let us not
even entertain the idea what if the
European Union did not exist thank you you