Press point by Roberta METSOLA, EP President and by Egils LEVITS, President of Latvia. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Strasbourg

press point

plenary session

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

EU - Latvia (T)

president's agenda

LEVITS, Egils (LV)

Joint Press Point by Roberta METSOLA, EP President and by Egils LEVITS, President of Latvia

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, Good morning to you all. I'm very pleased to welcome the president of Latvia, Egils Levitz, to Strasbourg and to the European Parliament. The President will shortly address the plenary at the symbolic time, just a week before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. If there are countries that know first hand of what it means to be under political pressure from an oppressive authoritarian regime, yours is certainly one of them.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, You also have a 214 kilometre border that you share with Russia. And regardless of this, or maybe just because of it, Latvia has since the first day of the Russian aggression, been a leader and helped to shape European Union policy with your unwavering support for Ukraine. Your country has also been leading the efforts in showing concrete solidarity with the Ukrainian people, giving protection to more than 45,000 Ukrainians corresponding to 2% of your population.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, Finally, let me reiterate once again that continued European unity will be essential to hold Russia accountable for its crimes and to end the war. And I am positive that Latvia will continue to play a crucial role in the EU's determined response to the illegal aggression, be it through political, financial, humanitarian or military support. Only together can we meet the challenges of our time. As we are short on time and in order to allow for a couple of questions, I would leave it at this. Dear President, the floor is yours.

SOUNDBITE (English), Egils LEVITS, President of Latvia, Thank you very much, Madam President. Thank you for the invitation to share my thoughts with Parliamentarians. I would first address the issue of common European perspective, because we are all national citizens of 27 Member States, but in the same time as citizens of the European Union and therefore we have a double task we should think about and care about our National States, but at the same time to develop our European perspective. So that we can all together achieve the goals, which we cannot achieve as a National States alone.

SOUNDBITE (English), Egils LEVITS, President of Latvia, This is a sense why the European Union is founded to be together stronger as alone. But I see also the problems that this European perspective is sometimes not in the focus in our work. Also here in the European Parliament by the European Union, but also in National Parliaments, and therefore in order to have better results for us as citizens, European National, we should develop this European perspective more targeted, more focussed, and then we will have together more ability to act and achieve our goals.

SOUNDBITE (English), Egils LEVITS, President of Latvia, I will also address one of the problems of democracy in European Union, its populism. And in particular the problem is with the rule of law in our European Union. Because there are populists demands to shift the balance between politically legitimised Parliament and Government on one side and independent judiciary on the other side. But modern constitutional democracy is based and can work only if the balance is kept.

SOUNDBITE (English), Egils LEVITS, President of Latvia, And therefore, I think we should address also the problem of rule of law. And I am firm that we all understand that the rule of law is indispensable for the functioning of democracy on national level in our countries, but also on the European level. Then I will address the situation in Ukraine, the Russian aggression of Ukraine and I will adress one, I think one problem, which is maybe not so in the centre of our appreciation of the war, that this is ideological war.

SOUNDBITE (English), Egils LEVITS, President of Latvia, Russia has fallen back in the ideology of imperialism, colonial colonialism and racism of the 19th century and this is behind the Russian aggression against the Ukraine. And it is not so easy to overcome. We have seen this by German example, how it is possible to overcome a toxic ideology after the Second World War and until Russian society has overcome and recognised this toxic ideology, we should reckon with Russia and as an aggressive State.

SOUNDBITE (English), Egils LEVITS, President of Latvia, And therefore we should be realistic on that. Our response is deterrence through credible defence capacities, its on military field of course, but also in all other fields. We spoke previously about the interference in our Democratic processes through authoritarian regimes, we should be aware of that. And one of the specific project is a special tribunal on Russian aggression against Ukraine.

SOUNDBITE (English), Egils LEVITS, President of Latvia, And I thank you personally, Madam President, but as whole European Parliament for the resolution of the 19th of January this year, where you are supporting this idea to create a special tribunal. Because a crime of aggression and I can say and this is a mother of all crimes which followed war crimes and genocide and all others. It's a starting of a aggressive war. This is absolutely prohibited by the charter of the United Nations. But till now, that is not the a judiciary, which is responsible to deal with that.

SOUNDBITE (English), Egils LEVITS, President of Latvia, And therefore, we should create a special tribunal, international community has done that already in the case of Yugoslavia, Cambodia, Rwanda, Liberia, Sierra Leone and others. So it's also now much more necessary to do it in the case of Russia, because this is the most of the gravest international crime possible, starting aggressive war. So they are my my thoughts about these issues. And I thank again, Madam President, for the possibility and for being here to speak and for the invitation. Thank you.

Q&amp;A Question regarding the tribunal of the Russian crimes of aggression against Ukraine and what ekse can the Parliament do in regards to that.