A full house gathered on Tuesday 16 December 2025 in the Sint Janskerk in Maastricht for the Third Princess Beatrix Lecture. Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Kęstutis Budrys delivered his keynote speech, offering an insightful assessment of Europe’s current security environment — and a clear call for stronger European cooperation.
A call for stronger European cooperation
In his lecture, Minister Budrys emphasised the urgent need for European countries to work more closely together on defence and security. According to Budrys, Europe can no longer afford fragmented approaches in the face of growing geopolitical pressure. “Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine has fundamentally challenged the European project of peace, bringing it back to its very roots. It has shown that peace is a choice and that still there are countries that choose confrontation and war over cooperation and prosperity. This has changed the very way in which Europe used to think about peace and security of the continent”, Budrys warned.
He explained that cooperation is not only about military capabilities, but also about strategic coordination, political unity, and long-term resilience across Europe.
Russia as a growing security threat
Budrys also warned against underestimating the threat posed by Russia. He argued that the risk of further aggression against European countries is real — and that such aggression is already taking place in various forms.
“The aggressor is skillfully using unconventional hybrid tools, which are quite often under the radar of international law but cause serious harm”
According to the Lithuanian Foreign Minister, Russia is actively testing Europe through military drones, disinformation campaigns, cyber operations, and the sabotage of critical infrastructure. These hybrid threats, he noted, are designed to undermine European unity and weaken democratic societies from within.
Budrys: “The aggressor is skillfully using unconventional hybrid tools, which are quite often under the radar of international law but cause serious harm. Lithuania and other neighbors of Russia are dealing regularly with GNSS spoofing and airspace violations by drones and fighter jets. There were quite a few incidents against critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. Russian ally Belarus has previously attempted state sponsored instrumentalized migration. Now it is using hundreds of smuggling balloons to complicate air trafficking Lithuania.”
Taking these threats seriously, Budrys argued, requires European governments to invest not only in defence capabilities, but also in societal resilience and the protection of critical infrastructure.
The Maastricht Treaty and Europe’s security today
The Princess Beatrix Lecture invites leading European figures to reflect on the legacy of the Maastricht Treaty. In Maastricht — the birthplace of the European Union — Budrys linked today’s security challenges directly to the Treaty’s core promise: that European cooperation is essential to safeguard peace, prosperity, and stability.
“Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands has helped us to bring both our bilateral relations and the European integration where they are today. Her advocacy for European unity, for the dignity of smaller nations and for responsible integration forms part of the moral inheritance – and moral resilience – of Europe. Europe was built not on uniformity, but on unity; not on fear, but on commitment and it was built by people who dared to imagine that cooperation could solve crisis and wars”, Budrys said.
The lecture concluded with a Q&A session, during which audience members raised questions about the keynote, shared their concerns, and reflected on Europe’s future.
The lecture took place within the framework of the European Heritage Label for the Maastricht Treaty, with the support of the Province of Limburg and the City of Maastricht.
Expert panel
Before the keynote speech, four experts in security, defence and international cooperation came together for a panel discussion titled: “Europe on the frontline: Hybrid warfare, defence, and Baltic security”.
The discussion, moderated by foreign affairs correspondent at POLITICO Eva Hartog, featured:
- Joost Flamand — Deputy Director-General for Political Affairs, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Ieva Ilves — Cybersecurity and Digital Policy Advisor, Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine
- Bart van den Berg— Programme Lead Security & Defence, The Clingendael Institute
- Hylke Dijkstra — Professor of International Security and Cooperation, Maastricht University
Princess Beatrix Lecture
The Princess Beatrix Lecture, organised annually by Studio Europa Maastricht, brings prominent European voices to Maastricht to reflect on the legacy of the Maastricht Treaty and Europe’s future. The lecture series honours Princess Beatrix’s involvement in the European integration process and her long-standing advocacy for European unity and cooperation.
Rewatch the lecture
You can rewatch the full lecture in the video below, and find the full speech text here.
Interested in our previous Princess Beatrix Lectures?
You can watch the first one, with Ms Elisabeth Guigou, former Minister of European Affairs under French President François Mitterand here.
And here you can rewatch the second lecture, with NATO Admiral Rob Bauer.
