RIGA, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Riga Conference, an annual 2-day meeting of regional and international experts in foreign policy and defense, academics, journalists, and business representatives, kicked off in the Latvian capital on Friday, with European and global security, as well as migration and economic issues dominating the conference's agenda.
Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis, who delivered welcoming remarks at the conference, said that Europeans ought to do more to protect their borders and citizens.
The comfortable and comparatively secure world Europe got used to after the fall of the Berlin Wall has disappeared and Europe has come face to face with challenges like such as severe financial crises, necessity for unpopular austerity measures, international terrorism and migration, the Latvian president said.
Unsurprisingly, the reaction to these challenges has been different not only in various countries but also on each side of the Atlantic. Brexit and the U.S. presidential election made us reassess the certainty we used to have before. This has also made us reflect on what we could do to improve our security, the Latvian president said in his speech.
He emphasized that Latvia's defense spending, which next year is expected to rise to 2 percent of GDP, should be in proportion with other budget expenses on needs like health care and education.
Vejonis also stressed the importance of the social cohesion of various ethnic groups. "We have to seize every, even the smallest and symbolic opportunity, to remove obstacles impeding social cohesion," the Latvian president said.
Frans Timmermans, First Vice-President of the European Commission, who is also attending the Riga Conference this year, said at a discussion the European Union needs to enhance its tax policy by raising taxes on large businesses, like major IT companies, and reducing the tax burden on small enterprises.
The European Commission's vice-president pointed to the necessity to build a solidarity-based society without pronounced economic stratification and the need to develop a common EU social and health sector.
The EU is currently facing tectonic transformations, and it is therefore crucial to realize that borders that ignore ethnic divisions can lead to confrontation, Timmermans warned. "The EU's internal borders function more like existential reminders," he said.
It is the approach that might be taken to integrate all Balkan states in the EU, Timmermans believes. He noted, however, that each individual country's situation is different and that countries like Ukraine might have a longer way to go before they can be admitted to the EU.
The European Commission's vice-president mentioned migration as a serious problem for the EU. This problem requires a complex solution that would include beefed-up border controls and sending immigrants without valid documents back to their countries of origin.
It is also necessary to consider investing in countries from which economic migrants are flowing to Europe to improve living conditions there and reduce the inflow of migrants in Europe.
Praising Latvia's approach to the immigration issue, Timmermans said that Latvia has not only come up with criticism of the bloc's policies but has also offered constructive solutions to the problem.
The Riga Conference 2017 in taking place on Friday and Saturday at the National Library of Latvia.
