Elmar Brok: Western World should Restore Unity

“I hope that the West will regain strategic capabilities in the security and economic architecture of this world and preserve it for all,” Elmar Brok, a Member of the European Parliament and the former Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, stated in a video address to the participants of the 11^th Kyiv Security Forum on April 12.

He expressed his belief that the European Union should become stronger in the militaristic perspective. The EU member states spend billions of dollars a year on security, but without a real synergy effect, as he stressed: “When we will do this properly, we will become much more powerful.”

“We must reach a new definition of security. It should include trade, and the military capabilities, and structural assistance,” Elmar Brok emphasized, pointing out that Russia and China are doing so.

“About 900 billion dollars have been spent on the Chinese silk path, and this can lead us to a situation where many countries would become dependent on China. This is not only the economic interest of China – this is a clear political concept,” the MEP believes.

The Western societies should also be able to broaden the definition of security thus protecting their interests while supporting the values of the Western world – the values of democracy and the rule of law, he said.

“I hope that in spite of the current tensions with the United States, we will return to the unity of the Western world. I also hope that this Western world would restore its strategic capabilities in the security and economic architecture of this world and preserve it for all,” Elmar Brok emphasized.

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The annual international event Kyiv Security Forum was launched by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation Open Ukraine in 2007 as a platform for high-level discussions on the current issues in Europe and the Black Sea region. 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.

The event is being held with the support of NATO Information and Documentation Center in Ukraine, the German Marshall Fund, The Victor Pinchuk Foundation, The Royal Institute of International Relations, Chatham House (UK), and The Regional Representative Office of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Ukraine.