Ræða í tilefni af Evrópudeginum
Excellencies, dear friends,
It‘s an honour to be with you today to to commemorate Europe Day, a day designated to celebrate peace and unity in Europe.
For over 70 years, the European family has grown to include more countries that work together for peace and prosperity, and to prevent the terrors of war.
The European Union is a part of a structure that was carefully thought out and put in place and is a part of a whole system of thought that is based on the believe that civilised countries resolve their differences through shared instutions and mechanisms. That world order is governed not brute force, but by law, rules and norms.
The foundational norm in international relations since the end of the second World War is that a country cannot invade another country for the purpose of claiming its territory.
This international system, based on multilateral co-operation, has served humanity well.
Celebrated on May 9th every year, Europe Day coincides with another annual event, celebrated in what is now a rogue European state. The contrast could not be clearer. While the heart of Europe beats with Ukrainians in their fight for their lives, their sovereignty and our common values, Russia promotes war and spreads lies to advance its horrible cause.
As you know, Iceland‘s democratic traditions date back more than a thousand years. Today President Zelensky of Ukraine became the first foreign head of state to address parliament in our parliamentary chamber. In his moving speech he spoke of the reasons for Russia’s invasion. He said that Russia’s aim is – and I quote:
To ensure that we do not have democracy, to ensure that we do not have independence, to ensure that our soil and our nature are used contrary to our interest, to ensure that our resources service another country to ensure that our people are nothing more than labor.
Dear friends.
As we celebrate, our Ukrainian brothers and sisters are suffering. And they are suffering because of an aspiring tyrants who wants to deny them their hopes, dreams and human rights.
The invasion in Ukraine is about fundamental values that are increasingly under threat. These are the fundamental values that unite us here in this room, and the values that the people of Ukraine aspire to. These are the values that unite the European family – which in my mind includes all like-minded nations, not only members of the European Union or the European Economic Area.
Russia's decision to invade Ukraine is because its leaders are threatened by the values we in this room cherish. Putin offers a worldview based on lies, where his own people are suppressed and his neighbours are threatened with violence. On the other hand we defend a system where dissent is an integral part of public discourse. Our values do not have to be beaten into our citizens with violence and subjugation.
The events in Ukraine should be a reminder for the entire European faimily that there is so much more that unites us than divides us. Iceland has aligned itself completely with EU sanctions against Russia and will continue to do so. The same applies to sanctions against Belarus.
Dear friends.
When I have visited the European Union as minister of foreign affairs I feel that I am very much in good company. Iceland truly appreciates the close ties we have with the European Union, and I am very happy to be here to celebrate Europe Day with you today and the values that we all share.