Video: https://youtu.be/-RHEuOJkMwc
To be frank, when I was designated Commissioner 3.5 years ago I could never imagine that the two main issues of my portfolio would not only be at the top of the European, but of the global agenda.
What kind of topics will you be discussing today?
This G7 format is of great importance. It started as an initiative of the leaders of the 7 most important countries in the world and now we have taken the follow-up. We met last year in Ischia in Italy, and today we meet at the host country, Canada. I look forward to working together with all my colleagues from these countries to first enhance our efforts in order to better manage migration and fight the phenomenon of terrorism. To join our forces in our counter-terrorism fight to ensure more security and safety for our citizens.
But through all these issues – whether it is migration or security – we see that something very important is at stake across the world. It is our democracy, our democratic values because of the rise of nationalism and populism. These forces have invested a lot in their anti-migrants narrative and they have fostered insecurity among our citizens. So, we have to uphold our democratic values and these 7 nations are maybe among the most democratic nations in the world. So, it is not only about safety and security and to exchange best practices on how to manage migration but most importantly, it’s about how to defend the values upon which the post-war era is built.
As far as the EU is concerned, I can assure you that we have started a fight against all those who threaten our most basic values. And it might sound as an exaggeration if I tell you that what has put in danger all these democratic values in Europe and gave ground to nationalists and xenophobes and populists, was not the economic crisis but the refugee crisis. For the last three years we have made a lot of progress, we are not where we were before. We have enhanced our cooperation within the EU, we exchange information in order to better tackle terrorism, we have set up an internet forum where we cooperate with internet providers because this is the battleground in the fight against terrorism, given the defeat of Da’ech on the ground. And on the other hand, we have adopted comprehensive policies: the common European agenda on migration and the common European agenda on Security.
But we also work together with our global stakeholders, with the US, Canada and with the other countries who are participating in this very important event here in Toronto.
So I repeat what I said before: it is a very important meeting and I look forward to see this format becoming a permanent institution of global cooperation for the years to come. And I look forward to exchanging ideas and thoughts with my colleagues around the table, with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Ministers of Interior.
Our duty towards the humanity, towards the world is here. To defend our values, to protect our citizens and to enhance and deepen our cooperation. Because all these issues do not recognise, do not know borders. They have become global.