Roberta METSOLA, EP President speaks at the Lennart Meri Conference "Too Old to Rock'n'Roll, Too Young to Die, the OSCE at 50" - pre event "Tempus Fugit, Time Flees" - opening session

Visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Tallinn, Estonia, speaks at the Lennart Meri Conference

Cutaway Room of the Lennart Meri Conference centre

SOUNDBITE (English), Jonatan VSEVIOV, Secretary-General Foreign Affairs of Estonia, We have the president of the European Parliament, Roberto Mazzola, who represents the body that represents 500 million Europeans. She is the European on our panel telling us, commenting on the significance of this war beyond Ukraine, which is self-evident. What is the significance of this war against Ukraine? For Europe, the European Union and European security architecture

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, "Too Old to Rock'n'Roll, to Young to Die, The OSCE at 50 " : If I had to look back growing up in a country that looked to Europe for protection. Of Rights, no backsliding on the rule of law, territorial integrity. And at the end of the day, if something had to happen. There would be somebody to protect us. And I thought that that's the message that the Ukrainians who are fighting for precisely those reasons, for their territorial integrity, for justice, for the protection of rights, and for someone to protect them when things go wrong. I have to say that Europe is not only the home, but it has to open fully its doors to these people.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, "Too Old to Rock'n'Roll, to Young to Die, The OSCE at 50" : And I then met with President Zelensky, who had a very significant list of things that was needed by from the European Parliament. My case specific both on a diplomatic but also logistical, financial assistance. But it was also about how are we going to go back to Ukraine after Ukraine wins the war? That was the language we used in order for us not only to rebuild it, but for us to visit it as a city that is vibrant, that has shared for so many years and has experienced or wants to experience of a life with its people. The life that we guarantee

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, "Too Old to Rock'n'Roll, to Young to Die, The OSCE at 50": I didn't know when I was elected president few weeks before Russian invasion that I would be dealing not only with our climate ambitions, our migration challenges, but with a war on our continent. That at the end of the day, when we talk about multilateralism, I would look at it as never having been stronger. If I had to think that Nord Stream two would be canceled, if I had to think that we're talking about our environment and energy policy finally, also as a political and security issue and not only as an environmental policy, when I'm going to look at countries that trigger mechanisms of solidarity that this continent has not seen since the Second World War. And that is because of cooperation. It is because of coordination, and it is because of an understanding that what Russia is doing is unacceptable for everyone

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, "Too Old to Rock'n'Roll, to Young to Die, The OSCE at 50":  I think that this is the time where all the rules that Russia has broken, we use that in order for us to reaffirm what unites us against what is unacceptable and should not be forgotten. (Applause)

Opening of the discussion on "Tempus Fugit, Time Flees" : Presentation pf Kaja Kallas, Estonian Prime Minister and Roberta Metsola, EP President

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, Because for many years Kaja and her colleagues said, we have a problem. And we ignored it. We said we are comfortable and looking away at a very unpredictable, volatile, menacing neighbor

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, Today, I think we all need to look very carefully at why the European Union has succeeded. But also where it has not. I felt it was our responsibility as a European Parliament to say immediately upon the invasion of the 24 February. But not only that, what has happened was unacceptable. Brutal. That the response had to be strong. But also that we can never go back to the world that we lived in pre 24 to February

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, Energy has always been political. That our security is dependent on anything we do to achieve our goals in transport and environment, on migration, on being able to be more seamless and not immediately re introduce borders between our Member States. The minute there is this virus that we think comes from outside and stops at police checks

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, if we don't take the commitment that we are going to protect our continent because what the Ukrainians are doing are fighting our war for the same fundamental values and principles and beliefs that we grew up looking to the European Union to protect. Then I think we would really not only be failing our Ukrainian friends, we would not only be failing our continent our union that we like to talk so much about, but also how are we going to look at our children and the next generations that would say What did you to.

Visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Tallinn, Estonia, speaks at the Lennart Meri Conference

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Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament