President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova participated today, alongside 50 European heads of state and government, in the European Political Community (EPC) Summit in Dublin, which focused on the central topic: “Europe: Strong, Secure and Connected”.
Siljanovska-Davkova spoke during the panel discussion titled “Building a Competitive Europe – Innovation, Connectivity and Affordable Energy” and addressed the linkage between European competitiveness, innovation, energy security and the integration of the Western Balkans.
In her remarks, the President said that Europe derives its strength from its ability to transform diversity into cooperation and cooperation into joint action, noting that this very capacity serves as one of the keys to European competitiveness.
Siljanovska-Davkova pointed out that, today, competitiveness cannot be reduced merely to capital, market size or labor costs; rather, it increasingly depends on the capacity to connect knowledge, technology, infrastructure, energy and people and to translate these connections into innovation, productivity and sustainable growth. Connectivity, she said, is not only a geographical issue, but an economic necessity, a security imperative and a political decision.
Speaking about the Western Balkans, the President stressed that the region is not outside of Europe; rather, it is an integral part of Europe’s history, infrastructure and security architecture. She described Europe and the Western Balkans as a ‘system of interconnected vessels’, where developments in one part inevitably affect the other.
According to Siljanovska-Davkova, the question is not just how the Western Balkans can better connect with Europe, but whether Europe can afford to remain insufficiently connected to a region situated at the crossroads of its strategic routes, energy corridors, markets and human potential.
“Every delay in connectivity is a missed opportunity. Every delayed investment carries economic consequences. And every political objective comes at a price, a price paid not by institutions, but by the citizens”, the President pointed out.
Energy security was also a central focus of her address; she noted that the recent crises have demonstrated how economic dependence can, under certain circumstances, evolve into a strategic vulnerability. Therefore, according to her, energy security should not be understood merely as security of supply, but also as the diversification of sources and routes, interconnection of systems, technological capacity and ability to make sovereign decisions.
The green transition, Siljanovska-Davkova pointed out, should not be framed as a choice between sustainability and competitiveness; rather, it should be viewed as an opportunity for sustainability to become a source of technological innovation, industrial renewal and economic resilience, whereby innovation takes on the significance of a strategic capability, rather than serving merely as an economic instrument.
