- English
- Ελληνικά
Dear all,
First of all I would like to thank Elmar Brok and Christopher Glück for their kind invitation.
We are here amongst like-minded. As a young man, I was a strong believer and supporter of a Federal Europe. And while I know that we cannot realistically aspire to become a United States of Europe, I have never lost the spirit of the federalist dream.
Dear friends, we are gathering at a difficult moment for the European Union. We are being tested, not just as a Union, but also as a community, as a family of values.
In times like these I remind myself – and urge others to do so too – of the origins of the European Union. Those were different times, different circumstances, more than 60 years ago. Times have changed. We are facing different challenges today, to some extent even existential ones. The migration crisis, the terrorist threat, the aftermath of the economic crisis, Brexit – not to mention the overall rise of xenophobia, populism and extremism.
But even though the context surrounding the foundation of the European Union has changed, its essence and its raison d'être has not.
You see, in all these challenges that I mentioned that we face today, the only way of addressing them is together. With unity, solidarity and shared responsibility.
Unfortunately, we have more and more voices today trying to tell us that the EU is no good, that the EU has no added value, that Member States are better off on their own.
As Commissioner responsible for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, I have experienced this first hand.
I see citizens debating the actions the Union is taking or should be taking in their view to better manage migration or to increase our security for example. Many of our citizens are worried and concerned. We have to above all listen to these fears and concerns. But we also have to address them – not feed them.
The opinions of our citizens may differ, but we should avoid that citizens simply reject the EU. The cooperation between the European Commission and civil society organisations is of utmost importance in this respect.
The Young European Federalists and the Union of European Federalists play a key role in the strengthening of European democracy and citizens' engagement and I would like to thank you for all your efforts. I recognise that you don't have an easy task right now.
We have a crucial nine months ahead of us for the European elections of May 2019.
Civil society organisations like yours will have a particularly important role to play in the coming months. We will have to show that the EU delivers and brings added value. Again, from my experience in migration and security, I can tell you that no state can cope alone with the challenges Europe is facing and will face in the future – from migration flows to the heinous terrorist attacks that have transcended national borders in the past 4 years. Time and time again over the past years and months, we have demonstrated that the European Union remains the best answer Europe has to these common challenges.
I give you two concrete examples:
1) on the migration side: the number of irregular arrivals by sea have drastically decreased compared to the previous years: in 2017 we even had less arrivals (172,000) than in 2014 (216,000), the year before the crisis when over a million arrived by sea. This is thanks to our joint approach in working together with third countries, fighting smugglers, as well as opening up resettlement pathways for those in need of protection to come safely.
2) on the security side: the terrorist threat is not waning. At least 11 jihadist attacks have been prevented in the past year, including through the cooperation and exchange of information between Member States, and the support of Europol. We have not had a major coordinated attack since Barcelona onr year ago. However, at a time when the highest threat against our citizens comes from home-grown extremism, the visibility and resilience of our shared civic values become cornerstones of our democracies.
In other words, we have achieved A LOT in the past three years at European level, on both migration and security.
Whether it is a fully-fledged European Border and Coast Guard, operational hotspot teams on the ground to help our frontline Member States, or a stronger cooperation with Turkey for example,
or whether it is EU-wide rules to fight and criminalise terrorism, to ban the reactivation of deactivated weapons, or to create a system for Passenger Name Records – all of this could NOT have happened without the EU.
And all of this contributed to a better management of migration on the one hand, and more security on the other.
Citizens should be better informed about all these important European achievements which directly benefit them. And they should have their say in shaping the necessary policies, foremost through the elections of the European Parliament.
Our Europe for Citizens programme – which has supported the Young European Federalists and the Union of European Federalists, and will also in the future – will continue to contribute to this. The programme is a small but important tool we have at our disposal. The programme supports activities that keep citizens connected to the Union, it ensures that citizens can “feel” Europe, for example by participating in town twinnings. The programme also covers the remembrance activities; I am fully convinced that we can only build a common future if we remain aware of our common history, including its darker pages.
Therefore, the Commission proposed a strong successor programme to the Europe for Citizens programme for the next Multi-annual Financial Framework. We want to continue giving citizens the opportunity to participate in shaping the future EU. The Rights and Values programme will ensure even higher European added value and a stronger impact by bringing together the Europe for Citizens programme with the Rights, Equality and Citizenship programme. It will guarantee the continuation of the activities of the current programmes and increase the EU’s potential to promote and protect values, including through for example the work that the Young European Federalists and the Union of European Federalists do.
Part of this programme will also increase financial support for civil society. It is thus in line with the objectives of the European Parliament which called for support to NGOs as multipliers and defenders of EU values.
As I said earlier, we are at a crucial moment right now. We need to both inform and engage the citizens of the European Union about the necessity of the European Union.
In two weeks, we will present further operational tools and instruments to even better respond to some of the migratory and security challenges:
- an even stronger European Border and Coast Guard, with an expanded mandate and resources
- aligned with this, a wider mandate of support for the EU Asylum Agency
- more effective rules on return
- EU-wide rules to take down terrorist content online
You see, the EU doesn't stand still. We continue to support our Member States, our regions, communities and citizens in being better equipped to face some of these important challenges that we face.
It is not that the EU's support and presence replaces the role and importance of our Member States. No, it strengthens it. Because we can be both patriot and European.
It is precisely through our European efforts and cooperation that we make our own countries and communities stronger and more resilient.
The European Union is not some far-away, remote and top-down autocracy.
The European Union is you, me and all of us here.
The European Union is based on very clear values and principles, enshrined in our democratically established treaties.
Ahead of these European elections in May, we need to inform and engage our citizens more:
- not only that everything we do is for the purpose of their rights, freedoms and benefits
- but also that they have the right and the power to shape and influence the EU.
Dear friends, dear European federalists,
There has never been a time when we needed the European Union more. Coming back to what I said in the very beginning:
We all know that we cannot become a Federal Union, but we can have federal-type functions on certain policies: migration and security, defence, economy, foreign policy.
This approach is and should always be in line with the basic principles enshrined in the Treaty: our common values and our duty for solidarity among people and member states.
Solidarity and responsibility should be the fundament of all our policies – from migration and security, natural disasters, to employment, to the economy.
The biggest threat to our stability and prosperity today, is that we take our democracy for granted, and that we underestimate the possibility of the reappearance of tyranny or totalitarianism in some form. We can never let the voices of nationalism, populism or xenophobia become mainstream.
I count on you to help us reach and engage our citizens, to safeguard and strengthen our European Union for the future.