Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused many problems for Europe. Individual countries and organisations, such as the EU and NATO, as well as companies in industries ranging from social media to grocery store chains must all take part in the fight against these problems. The issue was discussed at the panel, “Europe in the face of war and its consequences.”

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Professor Piotr Gliński, Minister of Culture and National Heritage, pointed out that Europe was not ready for the outbreak of war and is still largely unable to respond to it appropriately.

He noted that the response of countries, such as Lithuania or Poland, significantly differed from the response of other countries, including the most important ones. According to the Minister, the European Commission did not take appropriate action, either, to support the border countries that are most involved in the aid and the sanctions imposed by the EU are still not effective.

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He referred to negligence over the years, including buying energy resources from Russia and failing to respond to Russia’s attacks on other countries. Europe still has not developed a proper security policy. Therefore, if we do not help Ukraine, talking about the security of Europe and overcoming the energy crisis, food crisis, rising inflation and recession is pointless. If Ukraine loses, Europe is in the crosshairs.

Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Chairwoman of the Lithuanian Parliament, said that we must look to the future and not hold other to account for the mistakes of the past. This is an opportunity to create more resilient Europe in terms of energy, politics, and information.

This process is underway. We must support Ukraine until victory to complete it and strengthen NATO’s eastern flank. To achieve this, we need unity within the EU and NATO as any sign of disunity will be used by Russia.

Andriy Sadovyi, Mayor of Lviv, thanked all the Poles and others who provided assistance and assured that Ukraine would prevail, but this is only if we act together and never give up. He pointed out that the events in eastern Ukraine helped us understand what solidarity, friendship, and brotherhood mean. He emphasised that Russia will not stop at Ukraine. It will threaten Poland and the Baltic States.

The panel was also attended by business representative Włodzimierz Wlaźlak, President of Lidl Polska, who talked about how his company helped Ukraine and Ukrainians who came to Poland. He noted that the involvement in the aid process was expected by both customers and employees (who got involved in helping). Moreover, the company is trying to fight the effects of inflation, working with both the government and Polish suppliers to provide food at the lowest possible price.

Theo Bertram, Vice President of TikTok in the UK, pointed out the role of social media. They have shown stories of ordinary Ukrainians in an emergency since the beginning of the war. This generated great interest among users and contributed to massive public support for Ukraine.