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European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Keynote speech by Jozef Síkela at the Ambrela Development Forum 2026: Re-centering Human Development in the Global Gateway Bratislava, 1 October 2026 Distinguished guests, It is a pleasure to be back in Bratislava. For five years, as CEO of Slovenská sporiteľňa, this city was my home. Today I come in a different role: as the European Commissioner responsible for G...
European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Keynote speech by Jozef Síkela at the Ambrela Development Forum 2026: Re-centering Human Development in the Global Gateway Bratislava, 1 October 2026 Distinguished guests, It is a pleasure to be back in Bratislava. For five years, as CEO of Slovenská sporiteľňa, this city was my home. Today I come in a different role: as the European Commissioner responsible for Global Gateway and Europe's strong action abroad. So thank you for inviting me to open the Ambrela Development Forum. Ladies and gentlemen, Perhaps, you know about my banking career. But before that, I was a student and in November 1989, when I was 22, I stood on Národní třída in Prague with my girlfriend and my friends, while young people filled Námestie SNP here in Bratislava. We did not know what the next morning would bring. We only knew we wanted freedom. Thirty-seven years later, I know how extraordinary that moment was. My generation went from demonstrating in the streets to living, working and travelling in a Europe without the borders that had divided us. That is the power of civil society: what people achieve when they organise and stand together. Many of the organisations present here carry that same spirit. Today, we face different challenges. Russia's war against Ukraine continues. Great-power rivalry has intensified. Climate change is accelerating, and AI is advancing faster than the rules we need to manage it. Last week, I participated in the UN General Assembly in New York and I saw how openly some now challenge international law, and how others use trade as a bargaining chip. How should Europe respond? My answer is strong, strategic partnerships that reduce our dependencies, strengthen our partners, and make societies fairer and more stable. And that is what Global Gateway is for. Since 2021, we have mobilised more than 306 billion euros for clean energy, digital connectivity, transport, health and education. But the amount is not what makes it different. How we invest is: locally owned, socially accountable, environmentally sustainable, and shaped with the people it is meant to serve. Take critical raw materials. Everyone here with a smartphone depends on them. One phone contains up to 50 different metals. The real value lies increasingly in processing, refining and manufacturing. Yet on my missions, I too often visit ports in resource-rich countries with piles of raw materials ready to be shipped to China, while much of the value, technology and better-paid jobs are created elsewhere. Europe's offer is different. In Zambia, we are supporting Kobaloni, planned as Africa's first refinery for battery-grade cobalt sulphate, with a capacity of around 6,000 tonnes a year - enough for roughly a million electric vehicles. The aim is to keep more of the value in Zambia: processing, skills, local industry and better jobs. But European investments like this also depend on strong institutions, transparency, accountability and the involvement of local communities. That last part is not a side project. It is what makes the rest possible. And it is done by organisations like those present at this event. Colleagues, Europe today provides nearly half of the world's development assistance. However, at home, many voters question it, and budgets are under pressure. Cutting development and cooperation with non-governmental organisations is a tempting answer. It is also a false one. And some governments are using this temptation to silence their critics. The work of civil society is increasingly questioned: their funding, their motives, sometimes even their place in public debate. Let me be clear. A strong civil society is not a threat to the state. It is one of the things that makes a state strong. Our region should remember that. And in development, the role of civil society is also a practical one. A government can sign an agreement. A bank can finance a factory. A company can build infrastructure. But only people on the ground can make sure that a community accepts a project, protects it and benefits from it in the long term. Without that trust, even the best investment fails. Look at the example of Slovakia. Under Team Europe, it is part of Investing in Young Businesses in Africa, helping young entrepreneurs get finance and advice, including through work in countries such as Kenya. And in Kenya, another Team Europe initiative is helping more than 277,000 children in underserved areas gain access to digital education. So Team Europe is not only governments and banks. European institutions bring finance and political weight. Companies bring technology and investment. Civil society brings local knowledge, networks and trust, and helps make sure European money delivers what it promises. Leave one out, and everything we do becomes weaker. And we need a strong external action based on strong Team Europe. On migration, on secure supplies of raw materials, on new markets for our companies, we cannot succeed alone. Our investments abroad are investments in our own security and prosperity. I have visited more than 40 countries in less than two years. Everywhere, partners tell me the same thing: they want a partner that is fair, predictable and reliable. That is Europe's offer. And the non-governmental sector is an indispensable part of it. Thank you. SPEECH/26/2033 <@rel_link@>
Speech Brief