RIGA - In response to security and economic challenges, Europe needs to take a more active role in the world to defend its interests, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina (New Unity) said at the meeting of the European Political Community in Budapest, Hungary.
The prime minister's spokeswoman Edite Matusevica told LETA that 47 leaders of the European Political Community met on Thursday for the summit to discuss Europe's security challenges, including Russian aggression in Ukraine and economic security.
"The changing geopolitical situation in the world requires Europe to be more proactive in defending its interests in both the security and economic spheres. This means closer and more active cooperation not only within the European Union (EU), but also with other European countries," the prime minister said.
She believes that European-wide solutions can respond powerfully to our common security and economic challenges.
"Russia's aggression in Ukraine continues. Latvia can lead by example to encourage other countries to strengthen their security, support Ukraine and reduce economic ties with Russia," said Silina.
She chaired a discussion on economic security at the summit. The leaders of Armenia, Estonia, Georgia, Moldova, Portugal, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine and the NATO secretary general took part in the discussion. The participants stressed that peace and stability are prerequisites for economic security. This requires closer cooperation between countries and greater investment in defense.
As Silina underlined in her conclusions shared at the closing session of the Summit, countries need to work together to achieve security and prosperity in Europe. Stronger sanctions are needed to prevent Russia from regaining the strength to continue the war in Ukraine.
On the sidelines of the summit, Silina had a bilateral meeting with the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu. During the meeting, the two officials discussed Kosovo's objective to join the EU and become a member of the Council of Europe. Silina said that Latvia has always supported Kosovo's integration into Europe. Latvia provides support to peacekeeping in the Western Balkans, with Kosovo hosting Latvia's largest military mission abroad.
This was the fifth summit of the European Political Community. In addition to the 27 EU Member States, 20 other countries were attending, including Georgia, Moldova, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Norway.
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