KERSTI KALJULAID

Governments don't want to be the last ones in the digital sphere if their people and businesses are already there. We have to make clear that the free movement of services in the E.U. also applies in the digital sphere. The shortcut is to create a digital union.

Globally, we need to make sure that markets are open... If we see that there are restrictions on free trade, then simple economic logic will demonstrate that this is not beneficial.

NATO's deterrence has always been adequate, and I'm not worried about the physical security of my country. Not at all.

People everywhere in the world have Russian connections. There is nothing wrong with having Russian connections as long as you're transparent about it.

Our people are willing to work with the government on new technologies. Now, it's a habit; every Estonian looks at it as part of our national identity. We understand that this allows us to provide better services to our people than our money would allow.

Sometimes I hear, particularly from Russia, that we simply hate Russia and don't like to co-operate, that we are hysterical about the risks. But this is totally untrue. We would greatly benefit economically if our neighbour was a democratic, developing country.

Too many people in the world associate democracy with their ability to go and buy more and more every year. I come from a country where it's much more popular to remind people that democracy is available at every income level, and this is something which you need to protect.

It is interesting that cyberwarfare is developing into something conventional and attacking objects, infrastructure, and critical services.

From kindergarten, I knew that politics is something that you talk about only at home, because if you weren't quiet, your parents might be taken to prison. All Estonian families have these kind of stories.

I don't believe Russia would attack a NATO country or NATO as such, no matter which country we are talking about.

Small nations have no time for small goals - they have to think big in order to become contributors.

The E.U. is very popular in Estonia, and for very good reasons - not because Estonia has received considerable support from the E.U., but because Europe supports the values which keep small states safe in this world.

I don't know of any problems countries in Europe are facing - environment, infrastructure, markets, market development, the fifth freedom being digital freedom, border security, terrorism, migration - that can be better solved alone.

Most new jobs created by global digital opportunities make people more independent. Fewer people will work for one company at a time or in the same country all the time. More will work remotely across borders.

Cyber attacks rain down on us from many places. You have to make your systems secure and safe and teach your people cyber hygiene.

Digital society is born when your people refuse to use paper. And in our country, we know that our people refuse to use paper. If you arrive at such a point in your development, you have to make your digital state always secure.

I am very worried about politicians who know that their countries are greatly benefiting financially and at the same time are saying that the European Union is not good for us. The message has to be coherent.

Estonians are much more used to Internet banking rather than an online credit card.

Estonia maintains a two-language school system. I don't know many countries in the world that provide a system like ours. We are making sure that our Russian-speaking minority feels comfortable and involved in this country.

We are past the stage in our relations that you come to Washington with an empty goody bag and then you go back with a bag filled with stuff.

In Estonia, the Russian minority can move freely, travel freely, work anywhere in Europe.

I don't want to sound like I'm a special type of Russia hater. There are very few heads of state in Europe that would not like to have very good relations with Russia.

The E.U. is more resilient than we give it credit for. We always muddle through.

The U.S., together with trans-Atlantic allies, never recognized the occupation of the Baltic states by the Soviet Union. Moscow faced pressure or retaliation every time it tried to move toward official recognition, or at least acceptance, of its claim that the Baltic states were Soviet republics.

Not everything is so bad... Whichever way you look at it, we feel that we can face the future when the liberal, democracy-based world sticks together. We have great trust that it will.