Rules-based international order has no alternative for small states, leaders of four European countries said on Tuesday at the Bled Strategic Forum, where they discussed the role of the European Union in an increasingly turbulent world.
Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar, Czech President Petr Pavel, Estonian President Alar Karis and Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović joined the panel.
Pirc Musar said Europe’s “glory days are behind it” as the continent is no longer a global political and economic powerhouse. Still, she argued, many countries see the EU as a reliable partner, especially those unwilling to depend on other powers.
“To return to the global stage, EU states must act in unity,” she said. “If we are not vocal on fundamental values, human rights and democracy, who else will be?”
She voiced “sadness and frustration” over the limited influence of small states on global affairs but insisted they have a voice in the United Nations and the EU. “That is why multilateralism matters,” she said.
Karis agreed, noting that “for small states there is no alternative” to defending multilateral order. “Most countries in the world are small. We must unite,” he said.
Pavel described a “new bipolar world,” split between democracies and autocracies. He warned that autocracies are currently “winning the battle of minds,” as some states find them more attractive than democracies that have failed to persuade others of the value of freedoms and rule of law.
“If we still believe liberal democracy is the best system humanity has invented, then we must defend it with all means, including military ones,” said Pavel, a former NATO military committee chief. “The EU may be economically and politically strong, but without a credible military, it will not be seen as a relevant actor.”
Milatović, citing Italian Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci, said: “The old world is dying, and the new one is not yet born. We are entering the age of monsters.”
As the only non-EU leader on the panel, he said European politicians were too pessimistic. “Europe remains the best place in the world,” the 38-year-old president said. “The EU is more united than ever before.”
He pointed out that just 80 years ago Europe was divided and powerless between the United States and the Soviet Union. “Every response to new challenges has been more unity,” he said, calling for “more Europe,” including enlargement.
Montenegro’s accession, he added, could demonstrate that EU expansion is possible and that the bloc can solve its internal challenges.
Pirc Musar urged the creation of “United European States” to restore influence on the global stage, while Karis cautioned against pushing for deeper integration too quickly, given Estonia only gained independence 35 years ago.
Milatović said integration must proceed “gradually, as it already is,” while Pavel argued that Europe has “greater potential than the United States” and could rival China economically – but only if it acts as one.