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Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to welcome you all this fresh morning here in Vilnius, the city which will be European capital of culture next year. Today we will discuss about different sort of culture - European security culture and how it has evolved during the last decade. The European Security Strategy calls for a development of a “strategic culture that fosters early, rapid, and when necessary, robust intervention”. We are here to assess how far we are down this road and to share our views what threats Europe is facing today, five years since the adoption of the European security strategy and how we respond to them.

The threats which were singled out five years ago – terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, regional conflicts, failed states, and organised crime – are still valid today, and we have to continue our work there. New threats have emerged which have to be added to this list. For us, first of all, such new concern is energy security.

I would also like to add certain European fatigue, which we feel after enlargement, to the list of threats as well. New dynamics in some of the EU “founding fathers” gives us hope that this fatigue will be overcome and will give Europe strength to stay in the race with newly emerging powers.

With the creation of the EU and its successive enlargements Europe has succeeded in pacifying most of the continent. For the last 10 years we were trying hard in equipping the EU with necessary means for promoting peace in the neighbourhood and even globally. We want the European Union voice to be heard widely, we want to further develop common security policy. However, if we want to be heard properly and to be listened to, we have to create and maintain a will to build stronger capacities. This, of course, involves spending more on defence. This is not a popular topic at all. Yet only a strong Europe will be able to secure credible and viable transatlantic bond, which in turn is vital for our own security and prosperity.

Europeans had difficult choices to make in 2003 at the start of Iraq war. We chose to support the American decision then. For us it was an expression of solidarity at the time of hardship.    

Security culture to a large extent is about willingness to take risks, politically and on the ground. Last week Lithuania suffered the first loss in Afghanistan – one Lithuanian soldier was killed in the province of Ghor. This was a very sad moment for Lithuania and a test for our society – we had a chance to reassess how firm our commitments are and what the values, that our soldiers are fighting for, mean to our people. I think we passed this test.

When we speak of European security culture we speak of values at the same time. Respect for human dignity, freedom, democratic society and genuine market economy are and should remain the basis for every European action. They all are listed in EU, Council of Europe and OSCE documents. In this regard, our relations with Russia are of extreme importance. Democratic Russia, closely interlinked with the European Union, adhering to international law and the principles of good neighborhood is a strategic interest to all of us. Russia is undergoing the transformation period and is seeking for an answer to the dilemma - which civilization it belongs, which values it is adhering to. Our shared interest is to influence this process so that we could see a peaceful democratic Russia, respecting human rights, rule of law and other European values. Europe cannot afford to loose Russia. Equally important is Turkey, which we should keep with us as well.  

I would like to refer to the recent Solana’s lecture in Oxford, where he said that EU’s foreign and, by extension, security policy has to be based on spread of rule of law and taming ambitions of states. It was vital for Europe’s pacification, now it is important that we abide to this principle in European external relations.  

You could ask what instruments we have to ensure that Russia remains European in every sense. Unfortunately, our selection is not very rich for the time being. In my view, we have to help Russia to create success stories in its and our neighbourhood. Everything what we can do in Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia would benefit Russia as well. European perspective and MAP for those countries would be the step in the right direction, which Europeans should not be afraid of, if we want to have European Russia.      

The process designed to assess the implementation of the European Security Strategy launched by the European Council last December and the expected entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009, with new provisions on cooperation in the security and defence field, presents a good opportunity for a discussion on these subjects. I wish you an interesting and fruitful discussion and will be looking forward to your findings.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my warmest thanks to all partners for their support and assistance they provided to us while planning and organizing this event - the Slovenian European Union Presidency and the incoming French European Union Presidency, the European Union Institute for Security Studies and the Institute of International Relations and Political Science of Vilnius University.

Thank you.