Estonian president: EU budget must correspond to changed circumstances

TALLINN – Speaking at the Globsec international security forum in Bratislava on Saturday, Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid said that the budget of the European Union must correspond to changed circumstances.

"The euro and the migration crisis, as well as the changed security situation are difficulties through which the European Union will develop. We will not retreat. Coping with the challenges facing Europe shows the ability of the member states to adhere to the set values. Development definitely implies financial costs and the EU's budgetary decisions must correspond to the new circumstances," Kaljulaid said.

"The European Union must move forward, evolve and develop. More important than speed is to move together with the member states toward the same goals," Kaljulaid said. She added that the EU budget must definitely be based on the main goals and provide money to those specific fields as agreed.

Kaljulaid said that the EU must contribute more than ever to the creation of a digital single market and become more digital in various other fields.

"A digital society is a society of the future. It will allow countries to exchange information in real time, which today is of key importance when it comes to security," the Estonian president said.

Kaljulaid participated in the Globsec international security forum, where she spoke in a panel discussion on the future of Europe alongside Peter Kazimir, Slovakia's minister of finance; Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, former prime minister of Poland; Yves Bertoncini, director of the Jacques Delors Institute; and Ivan Korcok, state secretary of the Slovakian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.

Bringing together opinion leaders in European foreign and security policy as well as politicians and representatives of think tanks, Globsec is the most high-level security forum in Central Europe.