First of all, thank you very much for this invitation to celebrate the sixty-eighth anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, in this session of the European Policy Centre. Sixty-eight years ago today, at the Musei Capitolini, six European Leaders, moved by a sense of urgency and courage, set in stone the principles of the most unique experiment in the history of statehood. Countries that were at war with each other twelve years before, embarked on a peace project, merging resources and power with a common destiny. A destiny shared by citizens and nations. From the ashes of the war. Weathering the threats of global crises. Bringing an unseen level of peace and prosperity and openness. A destiny that has been ensuring our geopolitical weight and resilience since then. A destiny rooted in values adopted in every nation that freely chose to join our community. A community that became larger, more prosperous, more peaceful, more integrated. For the benefit of millions. Since 1957. It is a great pleasure to be here on the sixty-eighth anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. The treaty with which we embarked on our common journey. We must be proud of what we achieved over these sixty-eight years. Proud of how we delivered on our increased ambition. On how we overcame successive challenges and crisis after crisis. We need to approach today’s new era inspired by the same confidence, courage and creativity of our Founding Fathers. Inspired by the same principles set in stone in the Treaty of Rome. Expanded and deepened in Maastricht, Amsterdam, Nice, and Lisbon. A history forged in crises, as Jean Monnet has said. When, in 1957, Europe abolished tariffs and created a common market of prosperity and trust, we knew that tariffs are taxes on consumers and businesses. When, in the 1970s, the first enlargement took place, we knew the power of enlarging peace and prosperity to others. Since then, enlargement has become the greatest geostrategic achievement of the European Union, together with peace. Ten years later, Jacques Delors and Lord Cockfield found the courage to propose a Single Market in 1985. Some of their ideas required difficult choices, with no immediate benefits, but for generations to come. It took time but finally they delivered in 1992. In another watershed moment of European history, the leadership of Helmut Kohl and Francois Mitterrand brought into existence a common currency and engaged in Germany’s unification. Reinforcing the spirit of an ever-closer Union towards Central and Eastern European countries. Mobilised by a true sense of Europeanism of its people. Strengthening the Europe of citizens in an expanding area of freedom, security and justice anchored in Schengen. That collective sense of Europeanism gave us the tools to act when new crises came up. Because every time we have faced crisis and doom and gloom, we have come out of it stronger and more united. Like in 2007-2008 when the global financial crisis brought our economies to the brink and put a spotlight on sovereign debt. I fully remember the debates of the time. And how they were dramatically divisive amongst the member states. I remember the headlines claiming that the euro was doomed. But we were able to jointly move past that moment. Healing wounds. Reconciling again. Continuing to build our monetary union, making our currency stronger. The euro has not disappeared. It is the second strongest currency in the world. We owe all this to our citizens’ resilience, but also to the Leaders back then who understood that the European interest must prevail. That is why it is such a great pleasure to be here with Herman Van Rompuy who led the European Union in such turbulent times. A true European. Leading by example. Building the necessary unity to overcome. And he did it. The same happened in 2020. When Covid appeared unexpectedly. When borders were closed. When goods were withheld. When some were asking: can the European Union prevail? How can a project of open borders fight a virus that transcends them? How can open economies survive lockdowns? How can citizens keep trust in their Leaders when their freedoms were restricted, and conspiracy theories were spreading? All the skepticism was defeated sooner rather than later. With unprecedented speed, new collective solutions, and solidarity across Europe. To help member states, companies and families guarantee their businesses, their jobs, their salaries. To buy millions of vaccines jointly for all of Europe. With greater leverage, at lower prices. Saving thousands of lives in Europe. And, at the same time, saving thousands of lives in the rest of the world. And last but not least, jointly borrowing €750 billion to help European economies recover and grow faster. These solutions were unimaginable three months before. We all remember the voices saying that we will never act together in such ways. With such power. At such speed. We defeated the skepticism once again. We came out stronger, and more united from another crisis that could have destroyed us. More recently, in 2022, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine could have also divided us and defeated us. There were many voices that doubted our ability to stay united, to stay firm, to respond in unprecedented ways to an unprecedented aggression. But in just a few days, we imposed the toughest economic sanctions in the history of the European Union. Not just against Russian banks. But freezing Russia’s sovereign assets to restrain its ability to wage war. Those sanctions bite until this day. With sixteen packages of sanctions. With a great alliance of partners from the G7 and beyond. In record time, we made a huge collective effort to decouple our energy ties from Russia. Reducing their revenues to finance the war. Going from dependence to a more autonomous path. Expanding our network of energy suppliers and greening our energy mix. And we acted in full humanitarian and military solidarity with the Ukrainian people, fleeing the war in numbers not seen in Europe since the Second World War. Russia’s aggression gave a new sense of urgency for our strategic autonomy not only on energy, but also on defence. Leading us to a collective effort to boost our defence spending by more than 30% since then. Paving the way for decisions that are shaping a Europe of Defence. Today, I am convinced that it is of outstanding importance that we prove the skeptics wrong yet again. We need to make sure that we come out stronger of today’s crises, like we did throughout our history. Doing more than the lowest common denominator. Deciding bigger and faster. To pave the way for Europe’s well-being tomorrow. To put on top the long-term needs of our citizens, of our security, of our economy, and our Union. First of all, security. In March 2022, in Versailles, we decided that Europe must become more sovereign, more responsible for its own defence and more able to deal autonomously with immediate and future challenges. Europe is a peace project, but peace without defence is an illusion. Europe’s security starts in Ukraine. That is why we need to continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukrainians. To create the conditions for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Ukraine and in Europe. If Russia considers that Ukraine’s borders are just a line on a map, why should it respect any other country’s borders? By supporting Ukraine we are supporting the UN Charter, the international rules-based order, in Europe and beyond.
That’s why Europe must acquire all means to defend itself against military aggression. But we must do so in a way that is truly European, focussing especially on those capabilities that are necessary for our collective security, like air and missile defence, and electronic warfare. We must do so in a collaborative way, through aggregation of demand, harmonisation of requirements and joint procurement with the aim of reducing overall costs, ensuring standardisation and interoperability. We need to be more collectively efficient. Secondly, security needs prosperity to thrive. Security and prosperity are two sides of the same coin. They go hand in hand. Investing in European defence means investing in our industries, in our technology, in quality jobs for our citizens. At the same time, Europe needs a strong, competitive economy to promote prosperity and defend its interests in a challenging global context. When it comes to European prosperity, we have reasons to be proud of our achievements so far. But there is a growing anxiety in Europe about falling behind in the global competition. European citizens want Europe to remain competitive, also in the technologies of the 21st century. They want well-paid jobs to stay in Europe, they want our innovative industries to flourish. And the European Union is responding to those challenges, which were well described in the Letta and Draghi reports. We are now moving from diagnosis to action. We are simplifying bureaucracy, to ensure that national and European rules and regulations do not create an excessive administrative burden for citizens and companies. We are protecting European citizens and companies against high energy costs and working towards a genuine Energy Union. We are clearing the way for more investments. Public and private.
Public investment through a larger fiscal space in national budgets and a new generation of European funds. Private investment through a full Savings and Investment Union – to mobilize the savings of European citizens to invest in innovation, productivity and competitiveness. In all of these efforts, we are guided by the overarching goals of climate and social sustainability. Because without social, economic and environmental progress, prosperity would lead to inequality, to poverty and to injustice. Europe’s social market economy remains the best model, the model we need to defend. The objectives of the European Green Deal, of the climate transition, are generational imperatives. The European Union cannot and will not abandon them. But to keep the Green Deal on the right track we need to release companies and citizens from unnecessary bureaucracy. Thirdly, security and prosperity go hand in hand with a European Union that delivers to its citizens. Our democracies are under threat, from disruptive technologies that promote disinformation on science, climate, politics and culture. But new technologies don’t explain everything. We need to face the deep causes that are shaping our social and political divergences. We need to tackle the causes of inequalities, aggravated by inflation. We need to tackle the housing crisis as a priority for all. We need to tackle the twin transitions to make them fair and leave no one behind, no region forgotten. We need to invest in skills, education and innovation to prepare all generations for the future and to give them a new sense of hope to their lives. We are a Union of democracies, and we also need to take care of them. We need to look to our multipolar world as sea of opportunities instead of an unstoppable competition between nations and continents. The world is multipolar. Both the north and the south are plural. We don’t look to our future according to a logic of confrontation between blocks. The European Union is a consistent, reliable, and predictable partner that strongly support and promote a multilateral rules-based order. We remain committed to all our international engagements, to promote fair trade, the reform of the global financial institutions, humanitarian assistance, ocean protection. And to tackle climate change, global debt, and inequality. We remain committed to the Sustainable Development Goals, the Pact for the Future, and the Paris Agreement. Our partners around the world recognise the value of consistency and predictability in such turbulent times. Let’s build on that. Working resolutely on enlargement with our Western Balkan neighbours, Ukraine and Moldova. Enlargement is the best geopolitical investment the European Union can make. That is why in four months I have visited Ukraine twice. That is why I visited Moldova in the beginning of March, and we will convene a bilateral summit this year. That is why the first summit I chaired was with the Western Balkans, a region I will visit in May. Expanding our fair-trade agenda with a network of partners who believe in multilateralism and predictable rules. That is why the European Commission concluded the Mercosur and Mexico agreements and is engaged with India to make a trade and investment pact a reality by the end of the year. We must amplify this momentum to others. Expanding our trade partnerships is also a geoeconomic stabilizer to the rules-based order. Working effectively to engage with a wider network of international partners must be based on common interests, shared priorities, and tailored approaches. Like the summit we recently had with South Africa in Cape Town. And the participation in the Arab League summit in Cairo supporting its reconstruction plan for Gaza. And the one we will have, next week, with Central Asia in Uzbekistan. And with the United Kingdom in May. And with Brazil, Japan, China and Egypt in the coming months. And the upcoming meetings of the G7, G20 and COP30. The world needs European engagement and Europe needs to bring its partners closer. We also need to find solutions that can be adapted to the most urgent global challenges. Like the combination of global debt and climate inaction. More than three billion people around the world live in countries that pay more for debt servicing than education and health. Let alone climate adaptation and neutrality. They face unprecedented pressures on public services and governments, resulting in protests, unrest, violence. In some cases, even coup d’états, civil war and regional instability. Inspired by Pope Francis, we must lead a global initiative to relieve some of this debt in exchange for green investments. Replacing the debt-financing cycle of the debtor with green investments by the creditor. Because it helps both sides. It is a win-win situation. For the entire planet. Based on sustainable development goals. The European Union has all the conditions to lead the debate. It is not only necessary. It is urgent. And that is why we will have three summits with the regions most concerned in the next eight months. With the African Union, with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, and with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The marvellous thing about of our Union is that it is never done, never finished. Our Union is still the best way to protect, to prosper, and to promote our interests in the world. The best way to accommodate our differences. To build the necessary consensus. To make our societies more resilient, more connected, more dynamic. Without it, we are all weaker; with it, we hold the future in our hands. We need the European Union to shine again. We need the European Union to inspire more. We need the European Union to deliver to its citizens. With confidence. With courage. With creativity. Like our Founding Fathers back in Rome. Thank you very much. | 
