conference, german chancellor angela merkel talks about the ongoing conflict between russia and ukraine and the international fight against terrorism. this is 40 minutes. 19 63, the international meeting kicked off an andssioned debate, a debate a meeting that left an imprint on this day. and today, it is the munich security conference, a forum

where we have full faith discussions. 125 countries. i bid you a very warm welcome. bavaria is something very special in germany. as chancellor, i would also like to welcome you. was influenced by the cold war, by the conflict between two blocks. by as also in florence nuclear deterrence. at the time, what we then sought was the cohesion of the western an ende and then brought to the cold war in 1990. cooperationantic was actually able to achieve its goal. so i would like to bid a warm

welcome to the delegation of the united states of america here, in particular the vice president and all the others who have come here. a very warm welcome to all of you. [applause] today, more than a quarter of a century later, the world has changed dramatically. there are no longer two blocks and there is a new pattern, a new order and indeed a new balance of power. there is also a transatlantic bond. have a europe of 28 member states and a wide range of emerging economies, including the asian countries. and prepare for the conference, i was looking at the global gdp. over the last 25 years, between

1990 and 2015, it has actually tripled. the gdp of the united states has also tripled. gdp of the european union come 28 europeanthe states, has only doubled. and the gdp of china has gone up to the tune of 28, by a factor of 28. we have 22. the united states of america have been able to increase their share and hold it at a quarter. up 2%.na is starting with 9/11, we have new conflict due to several wars, due to growth of population, due to climate change, and there is an increasing interconnectedness due to globalization, digitization.

so what we have today is a world where there is no fixed international global order. in spite of the cold war, the relationship with russia, in spite the end of the cold war, the relationship with russia is as yet, from a european perspective, not what it should be. the challenges of the world today cannot be mastered by one state alone. it needs a cooperative effort and this means we have to forge ahead with multilateral structures. with the strengthen them. we have to render them more efficient. this is true for the european union, for nato, for the united nations. also,m saying this looking at one firm for which germany holds responsibility, the g 20. thateeting with the level shook the heads of state was

formed at the aftermath of the global crisis. , this global and profound crisis could only be mastered if we work together in a multilateral effort. for the g 20 presidency, our motto is an interconnected world, shaping an interconnected world, because we are firmly convinced that, only if we act together, we will be strung together. these multilateral structures are not as efficient as we would all argue in many places and in many respects. as citizens back home and rest of our if not all of our , is this multilateral approach really the one that is the most effective want to solve problems? some people say should we not concentrate on ourselves and be inward looking? it is worthargue every effort to fight for these

multilateral structures. obviously, we have to improve them. let me start with what is happening at home. the european union right now is in a very difficult situation, due to the result of the british referendum. in the future, we will b 28 member states, but only 27. which is very regrettable, i think. but it's a fact. so the 27 remaining member states have to be even more interested in asking themselves what shape and form should the future union take? so the hallmark of the european union is the single market. this single market is now .hallenged through digitization we have to build on it. we have to show people that it has an added value. that means we have to create jobs. we have to create competitiveness.

market and social market economy have always been tenet weekbecause -- it brings prosperity to everyone. secondly, we have to strengthen our common currency. veryve lived throughout prefrontal in the european union. and we have not left of the crisis completely behind us. we have created a common currency, but it was not sufficiently resilient to weather the crisis. only later did we adopt a mechanism to actually secure this currency and we will have to work and continue to work on this. we've seen the same thing connected to freedom of [indiscernible] all of the member countries can move freely without voter control. but we were not prepared for the kind of pressure we have seen on our external borders, for example, free movements of flight.

we had to rector actively, as it were, install the necessary control mechanisms, the necessary controls come in order to secure our borders. so we have to concentrate as they your opinion more on the really important challenges of competitiveness, jobs, internal security.active my prediction is, in the next few years, we also have to look beregulations that can scrapped, that are obsolete, that in competitiveness. the key toot allow be the be-all end-all. do more also on defense. we have to do more defense. ae lisbon treaty allows structured cooperation of the member states of the european union. the defense ministers of germany and france seized in the opportunity to do more.

almost all member states say, yes, if we want to be in a union of security and defense, we also have to do more on defense and security. allave 16 military missions over the world, in which we participate. we bear more than a third of the expenditure of international missions. we also have the largest -- we are the largest donor in syria and afghanistan. but we have to do more in order to obviously integrate the military. the minister of defense spoke in detail about this. ,e need a leadership capacity command capacity within the european union. shape and insert connected and integrated approach, which not only brings forward our military capacity and capabilities, but also governance and developing cooperation. it has to be an all-encompassing approach. we also have to bring one issue forward in the way that we deal

countries, for example, where we train people on the ground, where we also equip the security forces on the ground. defense capacity of the european union must never be seen as an alternative to nato. beher, it do it -- it must integrated into the overall. the cooperation and defense initiatives have played an important role. terminate and france are also firmly integrated in other areas, apart from military cooperation summit in shaping internal security, protecting external borders. there are initiatives that are

also feeding into european initiatives. there is one essential issue that addresses this now, where we seized the initiative with an army format in the conflict between russia and ukraine. unfortunately, i can i get the report that we have fulfilled all of the defense points of the minsk agreement. theminsk continues to be basis for our cooperation and we have to do everything in order to bring a sustainable cease-fire about. that is what people are very insecure about, very afraid and there is great anxiety. the minsk agreement leads me to nato, the second biggest issue. the importance of nato

i think, in a way, was highlighted through the annexation of crimea, and the conflict in the ukraine where russia is supporting this effort. that is something that saddens and worries me. why has this lead to such insecurity? what is that matter when it comes to security, we all have to remind yourself that the one principle in europe in the postwar. safety and security and peace. we have been the principle of integrity that has been violated. this is something the european order of peace rex. that is must be why we are so strict in enforcing that. it is no longer the tenants that bind us.

-- tenets that bind us. with our world order upset, it is most important to strengthen the flank. we are doing this from the bottom. the united states is and poland is. we did invoke article five where we are ensuring each other of a standby agreement in the case of conflict. we are in a major mission in and this basically started after 9/11. germany is continuing to work together with nato here. with 20 other nations in the north of afghanistan. i had the opportunity to talk to the afghan president. a political solution also is absolutely necessary in order to ensure a peaceful future for afghanistan. when we speak of nato these days, we also always talk about the financial contribution each

and everybody puts on the table. germany and all other member states of nato committed itself to reach the 2% goal. just ask the defense minister has already insured you, we will do everything we can in order to fill this commitment. believedd, however, i nato is very much in the it is very inest, the german interest, but i also believe it is in the american interests. where we are all allied together, united together. we see this in a lie -- and rely on this and see this as a project of common interest. ladies and gentlemen, third, i would like to talk about the enormous challenge i see in afghanistan. through i.s. and organizations

such as boko haram, it will probably be of increasing importance. this islamic terror is being resolutely fought against by anti-i.s. alliance which is active in iraq and syria. thisny is participating in as well. we know that particularly turkey is very much threatened through that challenge of international islamic terrorism but also through the terrorism of pkk. let me address this very openly. the europeans alone could not cope with fighting international islamists. we need the strength of the united states of america. we say this because the border and europe isu.

the border that texas from islamic terrorists. that is very much the same in europe. cooperation with the united states is very important to us. and it is also important that islam, muslim, is incorporated into this. those countries, first and foremost, have to give a contribution. only in this way will we be able to convince people it is not islam that is the problem but a falsely understood islam. their logistical authorities of islam have to find strong language in order to billion eight themselves and -- in order -- delineate eight themslves and distance themselves from a globalist terrorists. we cannot do it. it has to be done by their religious clergy and islam authority.

the consequence is that terrorism lead to flight, expulsion. for example in the neighborhood to pay, we would like tribute to what turkey has done. they have received almost 3 million refugees. lebanon, jordan have received an enormous number of refugees that have brought them to the limit of what they can do. we have a responsibility. the european union has a responsibility to bear. refugees, thee root causes of the fighting. we as germany have shown a bit of responsibility. unfortunately, in the european union, we have not found a common position. borders of the union are the borders that separate us from those areas where people amassed a great

number fleeing from terror. we cannot simply say this has nothing to do with us. we have to deal with this issue. islamic terrorism, let me say one thing. i would say this that unfortunately, from my perspective, the past 25 years we have not yet been able to create a durably stable and good relationship with russia. alsos a neighbor, they are on our external borders. so i will not relent in my efforts to champion the cause of good relations with russia. though there is a difference of opinion, that does not mean -- after all, i think the nato-russia founding act has to be respected. thank you, secretary-general, for hosting these nato-russia

meetings. i think we are also united in the fighting international terrorism. you can see that is where we have common interests. the role of multilateral institutions, here i would like to page eb to the united nations. it is most important to understand that the work of the united nations has a lot to do with providing global security. and it is good that the united nations secretary-general is in attendance today. these days is understood in a much more compounds of way. it is not only defense cooperation. crisisretary-general put prevention at the top of the agenda for the future work of the united nations. i can only support him in this. any crisis that has been prevented will avoid a situation where, again, we have two taps into our defense budgets. we would be able to use that money for development. one area we have to do this is

,ur neighboring continent africa. the continent neighboring the european union will loom very large in the agenda. how can we see to it that, in africa, we have a dynamic and economic development, as we have seen in asia? people know through digitize asian, through looking at their best through -- through digitization, through their smartphones, how other people live in the world. towe will look at what leads expulsion, what leads to global health crises. particularly education of young girls, women, enabling them and powering them to shape their own lives.

so i would like to invite all of you to help us, support us in .haping this thank you for your attention. and let me tell you, it was an honor and a privilege to address you here today. where we all feel it will be a tremendous challenge to all of us. something is at stake for all of us. act in be able to concert, act together? or will we fall back to our parochial policies? cooperate witho us. let us stand together, making the world a better place. then, it will be a better place for each and every one of us. thank you very much. [applause]

>> i am delighted. thank you, madam chancellor for , that speech. i think we have set the tone for the day. i am pleased that we have the opportunity to accept some questions. if you want to ask questions, it -- i would be happy if it could be one question and it can be precise, and we will answer , and it will be very easy to answer that.

offer quick questions in english and other languages. it would be my privilege to ask the first question. madam chancellor, you said yourself that you are willing to openly address the issue of financial contributions to nato. yesterday, in our first session, we had the minister of defense from germany, we had the u.s. secretary of defense, and others. it was my impression that this, of course, could be the contentious issue in the course of this conference when it comes to the transatlantic relationship, having heard from the u.s. administration. but also from german voices, for example, from your coalition partner, we hear somewhat more

skeptical statements. do you fear that in the course of this year, we will have a controversial issue across the atlantic? not necessarily a bilateral one, but between the e.u. member states of nato? and could it be a topic for the in the wayampaign, that some say we have pro-nato, pro-u.s. and the others are against that. i recall a situation back in 2002. it proved to be quite uncomfortable, quite inconvenient. maybe you can comment on this. chan. merkel: well, i am not the coalition partner. i am myself. ok, seriously. let me say clearly what the

german interest is. i think everyone who holds political responsibility in germany ought to always pursue this line of argument. what we have to do is tell our citizens that we do everything in order to ensure their security. without then is united states of america, even if we stand together in the european union and act in our defense, fight against international terrorism is not something we can do sufficiently. so i think it is absolutely right and understandable if the united states of america and president obama also did this -- that is why we decided to do it. to do more. and germany is aware of its responsibility. i would like to see a situation happening where even in the election campaign, the defense

expenditure, as we increase our defense expenditure last budget by 8%, we cannot do more, because it has to be absorbed. we need capability. sheer numbers will not be sufficient. it has to be absorbed somehow. i think we ought to pursue this course. but the bone of contention will "you do not increase your defense expenditures, so you're not doing something for security." also with development corporation, it goes some way into expanding defense. should -- we have used it for the refugees, but that is not the only thing we need to do. we have to work with the violent cooperation on the ground. security is not to be seen in a

comprehensive way. we look at our conservation to the united nations. when we help in crisis prevention. when we help people in their home countries live a better life and therefore prevent crises, this is also a contribution. so i will not be drawn into a debate who is more or less military minded. i think we need more capabilities for this, more defense expenditure. i do not think this is a bone of contention. after all, the decision in wales was taken together. the defense mr. was there. but also the foreign minister. everything ought to run smoothly, because this is a common thought in the coalition. a famous bavarian would say, "let's see what happens." i have only seen a couple of hands raised. i do not know if we can admit

them all. but i have one question here on paper. let me just read it out, or would you like to ask it yourself? thank you very much for an eloquent speech. in essence, you have been talking about more defense for europe. yesterday, there were also speeches that were very eloquent in this issues. since elections were mentioned, there is also an election coming up in france. assuming that we are going to a pro-e.u., pro-reform

president next may, what would be your expectation of the french-german role in this area of more defense, more europe. thank you very much. well, obviously, i hope that there is a continuation of what the to them andnse ministers of france germany have already initiated. they have been given a lot of support by most of the member states of the european union. the defense union actually worked there when the european union was established. unfortunately, the french at the thathad reservations, so failed. now many years later, we are again working on the verge of bringing that about. 70 years after the treaties of rome, i think it is good we talk about a possible defense union again. i think we have to look at the reality of the day, particularly

about procurements. there is healthy competition between german and french companies sometimes. we need them all over the world, where we bid and our competitors. but maybe our defense if this companies our defense could find a common approach. i do not think in any other time in history has there been such a positive willingness to cooperate among the french and germans to cooperate now. case in point. germany has gone out on a limb there. we have this long-standing experience in africa. a peacekeepings mission, but we know there is lively terrorist activity. we have done this in order to demonstrate our bond with the

french to try and alleviate the burden on the french forces, because the french have a very high boarburden through terrorit activity in their home ground. so we have shoulder that and it shows we are ready to embark on a new course. >> the next question comes from the front row here. do we have a microphone? what question to you is can i do to protect our democratic processes from fake and false news? are you worried about the important elections we face this year in europe? well, whether we can actually do that before the elections, i do not know. but obviously, we ought to be vigilant.

you areknows well what talking about. you have had that experience. in the civil area, we have initiated and adopted a new cyber strategy. defense minister has theblished a domain within ministry that deals only with cyber activity. russia,now that actually, is very much actively considers is also this hybrid warfare to be part of its legitimate policy. i think it would be good if, in the framework of the russia-nato council, this could be put in the agenda. we have very new possibilities here. you can deal a blow to critical infrastructure. you can spread fake news about and spread misleading information.

i have every intention, when we --k about news and fake news all of a sudden, it seems to be conventional wisdom on i feel the lips -- citizens in germany will be confident in taking their own free will. but this is something we have to tackle resolutely from day one. the back, he wanted to ask a question concerning ukraine. minskunderstand the agreement is dead. and yesterday, we understand it is dead two times over. where can we take it from here? presidentel: is, just looking at

him, denying this strongly. i have been in contact with the president of ukraine very often. agreement is the only basis we have in order to keep up this channel of communication, trying to bring a solution for the problems forward. absolutely against throwing something out that might still be useful when it is the only thing you actually have and it hopes earned degree of connected to it. as i see it, there are 2 p.m. huge problems. agreement relied on the fact that we had a roadmap. the problem is that when the minsk agreement came into force, .here was no real peace we never had a continuous for five-day cease-fire.

so you can argue we cannot do anything politically. but because we are reasonable and sensible people, ukraine said we will and howard and initiate this article process. that is why we are in contact with several working groups and in the reform process. i can only warn you against highlighting all about failures. i could talk with some length about where we failed. i talk about the challenges all over the world. we would love to fight together with russia against international terrorism. we would love to establish sensible trade on some kind of union from vladivostok to europe. but we cannot give this up. we not only always to ukraine, we only to many other countries -- we not only owe it to ukraine, we owe it to many other

countries. we have to find something here and they are more than willing to put every effort towards this. [applause] >> with your permission, madam chancellor i think we have time , for one question. chan. merkel: yes, sure. >> i would like to give it to stefan. >> madame chancellor, i am sure that you are not like -- you would not like to comment on what is going on in the new u.s. administration. there is criticism when it comes to the trade surplus, and we have had heated debate. will this be a problem when you take the first step towards the new u.s. administration? second question, what would you say or do you doubt the u.s.

media coverage when it comes to u.s. domestic policy? well, mykel: information usually comes from german newspapers. i suppose you would be happy to hear that. as for the rest, i think a free and independent press is of the essence. i have great respect for journalists. this year in germany, we have always done the best one we show respect for each other, when we show mutual respect. freedom of the press is a pillar of democracy. that is something i think we all accept. obviously, the trade allen's will play a role when you talk about economic issues. i do not want to go into greater the root causes. we are proud to have good

products, as the americans are proud of their good polity -- good quality products. due to the eurozone, we have a valuation problem of the euro. because the european central bank is pursuing a monetary policy that is not oriented only towards germany but from portugal to slovenia or slovakia. for all member countries. if we still have the storage -- mark, it would stand as a different value from the euro. but that is an independent monetary policy. as chancellor, i have zero influence over this.

different demographics, interplay -- come into play. germany will have one of the greatest demographic changes to contend with, apart from japan, the next 20 years. which means we have to save our money to whether that great -- weather that great challenge. there are a lot of things on our agenda, and i look forward to that discussion. >> thank you very much, madame chancellor. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> at the munich security conference, russian foreign minister sergey lavrov challenged claims of russian interference in the 2016 u.s. elections. he also discussed future relations with europe. this is 35 minutes.