May got off to a busy start for many Estonian officials who were called on to share their expertise in various aspects of European and transatlantic security.
Several think tanks hosted events looking at challenges ranging from the adoption of artificial intelligence into NATO’s toolbox to regional concerns such as America’s role in the Three Seas Initiative and Estonia’s role in collaboration on security in the Arctic.
The events featuring the most senior officials are summarized here.
A list of other events with links is provided at the end of this article for further exploration.
The Atlantic Council and the European Union Delegation to the U.S. held the EU-US Future Forum, a multiday event that looked at a broad spectrum of issues of mutual concern to the U.S. and the EU member nations.
Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid and European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson were featured in discussions on strengthening the foundations of liberal democracy and U.S.-EU leadership and strategies to address climate change.
In the discussion on strengthening democracy, President Kaljulaid welcomed the recent clear message from the U.S. that they are following Russian activity close to the Ukraine border.
She expressed support for the proposed summit between President Biden and President Putin, indicating that there is no perfect time for such a meeting, stating: “better moments don’t arrive, we make them.”
She offered insight on Putin’s strategy to secure a power-based vs. a rules and values-based world order.
She observed that Putin “needs to act quickly, cheaply, and unpredictably… His window for changing the game is closing because of economic realities.”
She also shared her view on the importance of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) to render Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany obsolete.
3SI’s plan to build smart and safe connectivity from the Baltic to the Black and Adriatic Seas in the form of smart roads, Western gauge rail, and pipelines suitable for clean hydrogen would give Ukraine alternatives to Russian gas and could reshape eastern Europe’s economic future.
Commissioner Simson discussed the EU’s goals to become the world’s first climate neutral continent by 2050.
She saw many opportunities for transatlantic cooperation to make positive changes in Europe’s energy sector and beyond to a global scale.
She recognized the need to respect the history of the fossil fuel industry while bringing those skills and knowledge into the development of clean energy sources, and the importance of private sector partnerships in technical innovation.
She acknowledged that no country and no sector can solve the global energy challenges alone and that global cooperation will be necessary to create meaningful global change.
More information on the EU-US Future Forum 2021 is available at www.atlanticcouncil.org/programs/europe-center/eu-us-future-forum .
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas gave a keynote address at the Riga StratCom Dialog 2021.
The NATO Strategic Communications Center of Excellence has hosted this annual event since 2015 to examine current issues that shape the information domain.
Prime Minister Kallas used the context of the global COVID crisis to discuss how we have reached “a seemingly new and troubling point where facts tend to be over-weighed by emotions.”
She noted that “a functioning democracy depends on the ability of citizens to make informed decisions…even more so in times of crisis.
It’s literally a matter of life and death whether we act upon adequate information or toxic noise.”
She cited empowerment as key to bringing focus back to facts: empowering the people with tools to increase awareness and media literacy, and more channels to provide accurate information in times of crisis; and empowering the experts to create their own fact checking platforms and initiatives to provide the best information straight from the most knowledgeable source.
At the same time, she concluded that even with tools and empowerment, convincing the unconvinced will remain a challenge.
Please see rigastratcomdialogue.org for more information and recordings of the discussions.
Other recent events featuring Estonian officials include:
Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), Converging Allied Perspectives on AI Adoption, May 4th, featuring Kadi Silde, Undersecretary for Defense Policy, Ministry of Defense of Estonia: cepa.org/event/converging-allied-perspectives-on-ai-adoption
Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), America’s Approach to the Three Seas Initiative in Central Europe, May 7th, featuring Marko Koplimaa, Charge d’Affaires at the Embassy of Estonia: www.youtube.com/c/FpriOrg/videos
American Enterprise Institute (AEI), The Joint Expeditionary Force: A European Asset, May 13th, featuring Lieutenant General Martin Herem, Commander of the Defence Forces of Estonia: www.aei.org/events/the-joint-expeditionary-force-a-european-asset
Wilson Center Polar Institute, Supporting Sustainable Development in the Arctic: Estonia’s Role in Advancing Arctic Collaboration, Apr 26th, featuring Ambassador Märt Volmer, Undersecretary for European Affairs, Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ambassador Kaja Tael, Special Envoy for Climate and Energy Policy, Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Tarmo Soomere, President, Estonian Academy of Sciences; and Aimar Ventsel, Associate Professor in Ethnology, University of Tartu: www.wilsoncenter.org/event/supporting-sustainable-development-arctic-estonias-role-advancing-arctic-collaboration
Karin Shuey
Washington, DC Director
Estonian American National Council
www.estosite.org
