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2021-05-09 at 15h01

Europe has common values that don’t allow for any relativism

The Prime Minister of Portugal and the Presidents David Sassoli (Parliament), Ursula von der Leyen (Commission) and Emmanuel Macron (France) at the opening of the Conference on the Future of Europe, Strasbourg, 9 May 2021 (photo: European Parliament)

"The Conference on the Future of Europe is the opportunity for us to acknowledge frankly and openly that today we no longer think as we used to think and that new times require new wills", claimed the Prime Minister of Portugal António Costa during his speech at the ceremony and launch of the conference, as acting President of the Council of the European Union, in Strasbourg, France.

The Prime Minister, who refused any relativism in the European Union principles, used as the slogan for his intervention the four initial lines of the poet Camões’s sonnet: "Times change, desires change, / The being changes, trust changes; / The whole world is made of trust, / Always taking on new qualities".

António Costa remarked the conference is being held at a time when there are "a series of ongoing core discussions on what our Union should look like, that are not just pushing Member States away, but are also dividing the societies within many Member States".

He offered as an example: "Have we gone too far in our Union or are we still lacking what we need? Are we a community of fundamental values or an economic space that finds added value in its integration? How do we combine common values with the respect for the national identities that the enlargements have diversified? How do we articulate national interests with solidarity, for instance in sharing resources or managing immigration?" 

Times change

António Costa claimed that "desires change over time and multiply with diversity, which is why the Treaty of Lisbon offers the necessary flexibility, through the passerelle and enhanced cooperation clauses, so that we do not have to be confronted with the dramatic choice between paralysis of all through lack of desire by some or having these break away from the ones who want to go further and/or quicker".

Notwithstanding, "we have common values that do not allow for any relativism, the Rule of Law or gender equality, yet the variable geometries, as long as they are open to the free participation of all with clear and objective criteria, ensure the possibility to build the future with the necessary unity and natural diversity".

This conference should "focus on the discussion of the many desires of the European citizens and not on State negotiations. This is a Conference of the citizens, for the citizens, and by the citizens", he underlined.

Trust changes

The Prime Minister of Portugal, who spoke in Portuguese, French and English, noted that from this pandemic we can conclude that "citizens acknowledge the added value of the EU’s action" and that they "wat the EU to focus its action on responding directly to their concrete problems".

"If Europe wants to have a future, it must get its strength from the strength of citizenship, he said, adding that "Europe will not have a future unless the young generations have a future in Europe".

António Costa remarked that those who fear migration as a threat to the democratic balance of Europe are wrong, because the threat "is our incapacity to ensure young people have the possibility of being free in self-determining their lives".

A world of changes

The Prime Minister also claimed that the "strategic autonomy that we should seek must be the autonomy of a Europe that is open the world, diversifying our partners, standing up for multilateralism, rising through our values and standards".

As such, "we should head the most important causes of mankind in our century", highlighting the oceans, which are "the most important climate regulator, that require urgent protection and are a huge source of biodiversity and resources".

While others "prioritized the moon or Mars, Europe must embrace the oceans as a cause and mission", he stated.

New qualities

The Prime Minister underlined that "Europe is a community of values and a space with a unique social model in the world, that guarantees protection and equal opportunities for all", adding that "this is a point where we cannot make any concessions or have any exceptions: the future of Europe must be founded on the fundamental values of freedom, democracy and human, civil, economic and social rights". 

However, "we can only preserve this identity if we add new qualities to it", the main one being citizen participation."

The ceremony included a welcome speech by the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, followed by speeches by the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, of the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union, António Costa, and of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, as well as interventions by the Co-Chair of the Conference’s Executive Board, Guy Verhofstat (Parliament), Ana Paula Zacarias (Council), and Dubravka Suica (Commission). 

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