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From October 23 to 25, Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, will host the conference “Peace Through Strength: Defending Europe,” organized by the European Conservatives and Reformists Party. This new ECR event will bring together leading figures from the European political and military spheres, as well as prominent representatives of the intellectual and media environments across the Old Continent. A key debate is expected, centered on achieving peace through strength – a topic that, while far from new, has become highly relevant, driven by the new geopolitical and military realities facing Europe today. Four decades after U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s “peace through strength,” the civilized world is once again talking about what appears to be the only way to protect what we hold most dear.
The conference organized by the ECR in Lithuania – the largest of the Baltic states – is dedicated, as the announcement states, to “security, sovereignty, and a stronger tomorrow”, three concepts that are as fundamental today as they are closely connected. The defense of Europe, of Western civilization, of individual freedoms, of borders, and national priorities has long since ceased to be some abstract concepts. As Europeans, nothing should concern us more than preserving what belongs to us and building a more prosperous and secure future for our children and our peoples. This begins with our own security and with what we must do to ensure it.
Choosing Vilnius as the host city for a conference dedicated to European defense and the sovereignty of European states was a natural choice. Following the Russian Federation’s military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Lithuania’s concern with countering security threats has intensified. This is also reflected in the Lithuanian state budget, which allocates the highest percentage to defense among all European countries. In 2026, 5.38% of Lithuania’s gross domestic product was used for defense purposes. Furthermore, Vilnius announced that it will continue to allocate at least 5% each year until 2030. When it comes to modernizing its military capabilities, the Baltic state on NATO’s eastern flank has a full agenda. Two months ago, Lithuania began to deploy a new Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, near Vilnius.
The “Peace Through Strength: Defending Europe” conference is taking place at a highly sensitive time. Europe is only four months away from the fifth anniversary of the Russian-Ukrainian war, and the prospect of ending it through a highest-level summit is already making headlines across the world.
At the European level, discussions about increasing defense budgets, strengthening the military presences, SAFE instrument, NATO’s role today, purchasing cutting-edge military technology, deterrence, reinforcing the eastern flank and so on dominate the public square. Regardless of when the conflict in Ukraine ends, these topics will continue to be at the center of the European discourse. As such, an international conference where key issues, and more, are debated by experts, journalists, and policymakers alike is an equally challenging and necessary endeavor.
Our Europe is seeking peace – that enduring peace – a concept we hear more and more, even from those who, through their actions, prove they actually want the opposite. Is peace through strength an imperative and the only effective way, or merely the rhetoric of offensive realists? How much of a voice does the European Union still have on the global geopolitical stage? Are we closer to peace today, or is this goal still a distant one? Will Europe be a continent of peace or a continent of war? These are some of the most important questions to which we will likely receive answers from the guest speakers at the ECR conference taking place at the end of this week in Vilnius. “Peace Through Strength: Defending Europe” is one of the most anticipated events of this European fall.