Daniela Schwarzer: Security has become much more important issue in European debates

“Security has become the much more important issue in the European debates. There are many reasons for that. One of them is Russia, but there are others are the fight against Islamism and terrorism. Many believe that the threat to their security is the emigration. And we are facing a challenge of great importance – to separate them”, Daniela Schwarzer, Director of the Research Institute of the German Council on Foreign Relations, stated in her speech at 10th Kyiv Security Forum held by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation Open Ukraine. 

At the same time, she noted that even more issues concerning global security had emerged after the election of Donald Trump as the President of the United States: “Many regard Donald Trump as a threat to security”.

According to Daniela Schwarzer, the security circles in Germany and the German government believe that it is important to work together on a common security policy. “We observe this through the prism of the common European order and global institutions”. The expert added that the German government made attempts to preserve the relevant institutions, but this was impossible without the participation of other countries. “This work cannot be done by one country”, she added.

In the course of the discussion, Daniela Schwarzer also said that the issues of security could not be determined in the way it was traditionally done, as security had many aspects, including the financial and economic dimensions.

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Kyiv Security Forum was launched by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation Open Ukraine in 2007 is an annual international event to high-level discussions on the current issues in the Black Sea region and wider Europe. The Forum aims at increasing security cooperation between the EU and the Black Sea region, raising awareness about regional developments among key regional players, promoting the role of independent and non-governmental actors in setting the security agenda in Europe.