Dear Evika,

It is good to be in Riga today. Thank you for this visit of Origin Robotics. The future of our collective capacity to deter and defend is being designed right here, with the support of EU funds. It was impressive to see how innovative this company is and how fast this company is growing. I really want to congratulate Latvia. You are on your way to become a true drone and anti-drone powerhouse. And this is impressive to see. Your expertise will help shape Europes security and NATOs defence strategies for the years to come. That is why I am proud to start my Eastern borders travel right here in Latvia. And I want to make it clear that we know that Europe is only safe if the Eastern border is safe. And therefore, the Eastern border defence line is one of the most important flagships that has my full support. The work you are doing there is impressive and count on me to be by your side.

Dear Evika, the risks your country and the other Baltic States warned us about have unfortunately materialised. Russias brutal war against Ukraine is in its fourth year. Putin is a predator. Putins proxies have been targeting our societies for years with hybrid attacks, with cyberattacks, the weaponisation of migrants is another example. This is unfortunately something Latvia knows all too well. You have a bitter experience in all these fields. So, as we strengthen Ukraines defence, we must also take greater responsibility for our own defence. This is the logic of our EUR 800 billion Defence Industrial Plan that we have launched together, and part of this plan is this joint procurement instrument, SAFE, of EUR 150 billion. With SAFE, we are delivering the capabilities Europe needs most. So as I said, it is a joint procurement. It means air and missile defence, cyber-defence – and of course, drones. I am very glad that 19 Member States, including Latvia, have now requested support from SAFE. I am pleased to announce that we have reached full subscription of the whole EUR 150 billion. Many Member States have indicated that they will also use it to support the Ukrainian defence industry. So that is a true European success.

Dear Evika,

Latvia is already among NATOs top defence spenders relative to GDP. Congratulations for that. In addition, you have asked for budget flexibility to boost defence spending under the national escape clause. 15 Member States have done the same. We are investing more, we are investing together and we are investing European. So Europe is on the right track. There is a lot of hard work ahead of us, but we are on the right track.

Now we have three tasks to work on. First, in October, we will take stock together at the European Council with our Roadmap for Readiness 2030. So we are going to look into the capability gaps and how to close them. Second, by 2030, our aim is to have significantly strengthened our defence capacities and closed the gaps. And third, we will contribute to make sure that Ukraine has ironclad security guarantees. This is also the reason why in the new EU budget, which we just have proposed, we have a fivefold increase in defence spending and a tenfold increase in [funding for] military mobility. Because we think it is high time for readiness. And we have tripled the proposal for migration and border strengthening. Thank you.