The panel of speakers consisted of three renowned individuals with a multifaceted expertise on the matter: Captain Kurt Engelen (Centre for the Study of Security and Defence of the Royal Higher Institute for Defence (RHID) of Belgium; General (ret.) Riho Terras (European Parliament and former Commander of the Estonian Armed Forces); and Kyriacos Kouros. (High Commissioner of Cyprus to the United Kingdom).
Finding solutions to energy insecurity will further stimulate growth, which the most important factor in regaining confidence amongst the developing world, which has recently been damaged.
Nonetheless, the importance of thwarting Russia’s advance in Ukraine was noted, with some speakers suggesting that ‘Ukraine is not losing’, due to the immense casualty-per-mile-gained ratio Russia faces. Concurrently, two of the speakers noted the importance of citizens actively engaging in supporting Ukraine, through personal initiatives and donations, with the war currently costing each EU citizen, on average, not more than €3 per month. That said, the necessity for EU member states to start spending more on defence was raised, with some speakers noting their regret that Ireland commits a mere 0.5% on defence, even though an Irish official was appointed to head the European Union Military Committee (EUMC), with Austria only committing 0.7% of its GDP.
