In her speech of thanks after receiving the award, at CEPA's annual forum, Kallas highlighted the role of the transatlantic partnership in the history of Estonia, saying: "The transatlantic alliance for we Estonians is the real-world expression of freedom. When Estonia became free again after half a century of Soviet occupation, strong transatlantic support gave us the backing and inspiration we needed when building up our democracy."

"Now in Ukraine we are defending the very same idea of freedom, including the idea of territorial integrity, and sovereignty – that is, the right to exist as a country and the right to live free from repressions," she continued.

Honoured to be awarded Transatlantic Leadership Award by @CEPA. #MeetTheMoment

Transatlantic alliance for us in Estonia is the real-world expression of freedom.

We're defending the very same idea of freedom, including territorial integrity and sovereignty, in #Ukraine now. 1/5 pic.twitter.com/rcXcjeQJ2x

— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) September 27, 2022

Kallas acknowledged the transatlantic partners' unity in actions and goals so far, but warned that Russia will continue to test that, meaning continued military support for Ukraine.

CEPA's three-day annual forum brings together academics, opinion leaders, entrepreneurs and politicians, who primarily focus on how transatlantic cooperation can both help protect democracy and bring aggressors to justice.

Kallas' Latvian, Lithuanian and Polish counterparts, Krišjānis Kariņš, Ingrida Šimonytė and Mateusz Morawiecki were also honored at the event.

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